The fogotten Olympus.

<p>Lately I have been using many of my Olympus cameras, the various Pen series and the OM1 and OM2 and for this post, the overlooked FTL.<br>

The FTL must have the shortest model run of all time, just one year...1971-1972,and it's existence was soon overshadowed by the brilliant OM cameras.<br>

This was the first full frame 35mm SLR from Olympus, whose main claim to fame were it's various R/F cameras and of course, their main game...the half frame cameras with the Pen series at the top.<br>

The FTL was a fairly unremarkable SLR, but with full aperture TTL metering and a locking M42 thread mount similar the the Mamiya SLR's. Of course, normal M42 lenses would work on it.<br>

The lens range was very limited, a 50mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4, 35mm 2.8, 28mm 2.8,135mm 3.5 and a 200mm F4. Although the cameras seem reasonably common, the extra lenses are not. Thanks to Michael Smith from this forum who supplied me with the 35, 135, and 200mm lenses. Just need that 28mm now! <br>

The FTL is really nice to use and makes a funny tinny clink when fired, but the focusing screen with a microprism spot, is one of the best that I have used.<br>

I will be doing a future post on the Pen F and OM1 soon.</p><div></div>

<p>Some pics with the FTL.</p><div></div>

<p>No.2</p><div></div>

<p>No.3</p><div></div>

<p>No.4</p><div></div>

<p>No.5</p><div></div>

<p>No.6</p><div></div>

<p>No.7</p><div></div>

<p>No.8</p><div></div>

<p>No.9</p><div></div>

<p>Last one, for JDM!</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks for viewing. The lenses are all really good as you would expect, with the 50mm being a really sharp little tacker. Film was Across, except the Canberra shots which were Tri-X, all in Pyrocat HD.<br>

Sorry to post two so soon, but I just don't find the time too easily at the moment.</p>

<p>I love this camera already - loved it as soon as I saw the photo. It has that same kind of aesthetic that the Contaxes sort of have. I have a few M42 lenses, I might have to buy this camera to use them! I can see two listings on eBay, one is from Italy, and from what I can make out there is a minor flaw. The other is from South Africa, and it seems in okay condition.</p>

<p>Go for it Karim. I have three bodies, one has a problem with the mirror sticking up every now and then. One other has a advance lever that doesn't spring back too well...fairly common I believe. Thing is, the meters work well on them all. The styling is typical clean looking, that's Maitani for you....truly great designer.</p>

<p>Nice pics Tony - and fascinating camera. I've never even heard of an FTL, and, to be honest, I never considered what Olympus might have been doing full-frame-wise before the OMs, even though I was a committed OM user for ~20 years. The FTL appears to share at least some design elements with the later OMs - the vinyl trim separating the leatherette from the chrome, and the switch around the rewind knob. Do you know if the lenses are the same design as their later OM-mount counterparts?</p>

<p>Thanks David. As far as I know the OM series and their lenses were a complete re design, although I would imagine that many of the lens formulas remained the same or similar. Maitani just managed to shrink everything!</p>

<p>It is a joy to use a film cameras. I have several OM-2 all of them with motor winder, it is a gem, and a couple of lenses. Occasionally, load them with film and out there to shoot. The funny thing, I shoot most of my life with Nikons, and get those 3 Olympus OM-2 after my friend past a way, he used Olympus systems. It is a brilliantly build, small, and a very good little camera, I wish, todays cameras as nice and small as those Swiss Watch quality build cameras where was.<br>

I like the images here.<br>

Thank you for the post Tony.</p>

<p>Tony,</p>

<p>These photos astound me in contrast and sharpness. I should have never sold you those lenses. I should have kept them to myself!</p>

<p>I am happy you put them through their paces. You had been harping about testing in the forum for sometime. I waited and waited, but gave up waiting!</p>

<p>Again great post.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Mike</p>

<p>New Tanks...so crispy!</p>

Excellent results. This is a rare beast of an SLR. A semi proprietary M42 mount eh? I am ordering the

Pyromania you boys down under use... I want to see what result I can achieve. Godd luck finding the

28mm

<p>That is a really nice looking camera and, as you said, tack-sharp shots. Thanks for sharing! </p>

<p>Wow Tony, I always look foward to your post's. I have been an Olympus user since 1971 starting with the Pen series and moving to OM's after that.<br /> The FTL is indeed a strange bird. By the time it came out Maitani was already deep into the design of the Olympus X camera project, what was to become the OM-1 system. There had always been some spectulation it was 'outsourced' but it turned out that it was made 'in house' by Olympus. Perhaps they thought they needed to keep their hand in the game until the OM was ready. <br /> Somehow I've missed owning any of the FTL's. At that time I was not too impressed with Olympus' newest offering. My very first 35mm SLR had been a Miranda D with interchangeable screens and now any future SLR I owned just had to have that feature. This because I had fallen in love with plain matte screens and could not get along with split wedge or micro prism screens. That is why I perfered the early Pen F over the FT, It had a matte screen whereas the FT had a micro prism center spot. When the OM-1 came out and I bought one my very first accessory purchase was the 1-4 matte screen, although now I prefer the 1-10 matte with grid lines.</p>

<p>I wait with great anticpation for future post's about Olympus cameras, indeed any camera you write up is a treat.</p>

<p>I think by the time the FTL hit the market, photographers were wanting open aperture metering as well as some kind of bayonet mount. The FTL brilliantly filled the time interval needed for the development and marketing of the OM series SLR's. Who knows how far Olympus would have gone with the FTL if the OM system had not been developed. The writing was on the wall for the M42 mount cameras with Pentax developing the K mount which would be adopted by several camera makers. Still, the M42 had a brief reprieve in the mid 70's when several models (I think Chinon) offered fast silicon metering that allowed stop down metering to be almost as fast as open aperture. Thanks for an informative post.</p>

<p>I recall reading an interview (via Internet) with Maitani stating that the FTL was 'outsourced'. Possibly that meant the design was provided by another company but the cameras were built by Olympus? Regardless, the FTL of 1971-72 is a rather interesting M42 mount camera with a locking lens feature similar in concept to Fujica's M42 SLRs. Now it seems to be an uncommon camera on the used market and often rather pricey as well.</p>

<p>I have a couple of these with 50mm 1.4s. Over the years I managed to find the 28, the 135 and the 200mm. Wonderful cameras and very clean design. The M42 mount is a little quirky due to the locking pin which snaps in place, however they work fine for this system, can't really use them for other M42 cameras.</p>

<p>Nice series of images, Tony, the shadow play in the museum and the perspective in the bridges are my favorites. Thank you for posting.</p>