Olympus 35 RC bokeh ?

[benoit_deshaies]

Hi, I recently bought an Olympus Trip 35 on ebay ($5). It's a cute

little camera, but I find that the out-of-focus areas look very harsh.

I suspect that's due in part to the 2-blade aperture control in the

shape of a diamond. Combined with the crude focus system (only 4

steps: 1m, 1.5m, 3m, infinity), a lot of pictures look very harsh/hard.

 

I'm considering getting a 35 RC to replace it. I believe it's the

exact same size, but in a rangefinder version instead. Having better

focus should get rid of the harshness in the subject, but I'm

wondering what kind of bokeh I should expect? Thanks.

[lex_jenkins]

While I'd usually say that aperture shape is only one factor in the quality of bokeh, with the very simple aperture types such as those found on the Trip, XA-series and others, yeh, some ugly, harsh bokeh can result.

 

I just try not to worry about it with my XA3. When I had a 35 RC I don't recall ever paying attention to the bokeh. I suppose it's safe to say it was neutral at worst.

 

Most of the Zuiko bokeh cult attention focuses (pardon the pun) on those designed for the OM system anyway, not for the compact or fixed lens cameras.

[john_fleetwood]

The 35RC is a favorite of mine. You might have to go through some bad ones before you find a good one, but a good one is fantastic.<div></div>

[john_fleetwood]

Here is the the photo from which the detail was taken:<div></div>

[benoit_deshaies]

Thank you for the replies and images. You have confirmed my choice: I now want a 35RC. It has the perfect size for what I do and will have a true focus system, which is my main irritation with the Trip 35.

[russ_butner___portland__or]

The Oly RC, is as great little camera. Fantastic design with a sharp 2.8 lens. Wonderful viewfinder. Perhaps the best of all the rangefinder's?

 

Russ

[lex_jenkins]

I'd rank the Canonet GIII QL17 slightly ahead of the Olympus 35RC. The Canonet is very sturdy and slightly better built.

 

The 35RC had some minor flaws, such as a self timer lever that ignorant folks were prone to flipping up instead of down. Once the lever was poking over the top plate it was pretty much useless.

 

The plasticky shutter speed dial seemed out of place compared with the rest of the camera.

 

And the focus rings were often poorly damped, tending to slip around. Not bad for one-finger focusing tho'.

 

The film advance mechanism emits a slight clicking noise, probably due to a pawl clicking across a gear. It's just slightly less discrete in quiet places than the Canonet, tho' the shutter sound itself may be quieter.

 

Still, a really good fixed lens consumer grade rangefinder. If the Canonet is a 9 the 35RC is an 8. Wish I'd kept mine.