Vintagelens

  • Bargain Corner
  • Search for:

No products in the cart.

Return to shop

Uncategorized

How to determine the age of an olympus trip35.

Olympus trip 35

The serial number on an Olympus Trip 35 camera does *not* give you a precise date of manufacture. The only way to tell is to open the film compartment and carefully remove the pressure plate on the back of the door (this is quite easy. It simply slides free from its locating pins) and look for a code on the back of the pressure plate. The code consists of 3 characters: 1st Japanese character or letter (in later models) signifying the assembly plant.

2nd number representing the last digit of the year of assembly (e.g. 5 = 1975, 0 = 1980). 3rd number or letter representing the month of assembly, 1-9 for Jan-Sep, X, Y, Z for Oct-Dec. for example; N1Y = November 1971 Of course the TRIP 35 was manufactured between 1967 and 1984, so if you are unsure if you have a 1968 or 1978 model, the chrome shutter button is the earlier and the black the later.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Username or email address  *

Password  *

Remember me Log in

Lost your password?

  • Recent Photos
  • The Commons
  • Flickr Galleries
  • Camera Finder
  • Flickr Blog
  • The Print Shop
  • Prints & Wall Art
  • Photo Books
  • Stats Dashboard
  • Get Auto-Uploadr

Olympus Trip 35

7,983 Members •

50.4K Photos •

1,448 Discussions

Group Since Jul 12, 2005

Drag to set position!

  • Discussions

Serial number Trip 35 list

' width=

mike eckman dot com

Olympus Trip 35 (1967)

This is an Olympus Trip 35, a 35mm scale focus camera made by Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. between the years 1967 and 1984.  The Trip was an extremely popular compact camera and is credited as one of the first truly successful point and shoot cameras, ushering in a new age of simple cameras to those who otherwise would never have bought a rangefinder or SLR camera.  The Trip requires no batteries and uses a selenium cell exposure meter for programmed auto exposure, but also allows for the option of manually selected f/stops.  The Trip came with an accurate metering system, a reliable shutter, and a quality lens which meant that it was both dependable and delivered excellent results for the millions of people using them.  Many can still be found in good working condition today, making them an ideal point and shoot for film shooters looking for an easy to use, but high quality, vintage shooting experience.

When you look at the progression of 20th century camera development, you can see some themes surrounding the style and features of cameras that were released in a particular period.  Folding and box cameras dominated the earliest parts of the 20th century, Leica and other 35mm “miniature” cameras were all the rage in the 30s and 40s.  By the 50s, the Single Lens Reflex began to be the preferred style of camera over the rangefinder, and at the start of the 60s, “electric eye” cameras opened up doors with auto exposure to people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to (or didn’t want to) shoot high quality and properly exposed images.

It seems that by the end of the 1960s and going into the 70s, the industry was getting the idea that people wanted more compact and easy to use cameras, but without too many sacrifices in quality.  Auto Exposure not only eliminated a lot of the guesswork that would have stumped novice photographers, but also meant that the manual controls that are needed to set things like shutter speed and f/stops could be eliminated from the design, making them simpler to produce and cheaper to sell.  The prevalence of electronics, both in shutters, metering systems, and viewfinder displays also helped decrease the size of cameras compared to fully mechanical ones a decade earlier.

Of all the major players at the time, Olympus seemed to be the one company who did the most to differentiate themselves in the compact camera market.  The half frame Olympus Pen model made it’s debut in 1959 before anyone else was making a serious effort in the compact camera segment.  Each of Olympus’s subsequent full frame cameras were smaller than those released by their competitors, and although it wasn’t out yet, the upcoming OM-series SLR would offer a fully featured semi-professional level camera system in the smallest package possible.

In 1968, a new model called the Olympus Trip 35 would make it’s debut to relatively little fanfare.  This new camera broke very little new ground, it didn’t have the credentials of the Pen’s designer Yoshihisa Maitani , and none of it’s specifications would have excited semi or professional photographers.  The name “Trip” was chosen to suggest the camera’s intended purpose as a vacation camera for people who wanted a capable, yet compact and simple camera.

Originally retailing in 1968 for $59.95, when adjusted for inflation this compares to about $450 today which is right in the realm of what a capable, yet not out of reach camera would sell for today.  The Trip had a quality 4-element D.Zuiko lens, fully automatic programmed auto exposure via a selenium meter, and an easy to use focusing system with click stops for Portrait, Group, and Scenery.  The camera was only slightly larger than the very popular Pen series yet exposed full sized 24mm x 36mm shots on regular 35mm film.

Throughout it’s decade and a half of production, the camera only saw very minor changes.  The two most obvious were the switch from a chrome to a black plastic shutter release button and an expansion of the ASA film speeds from 200 to 400.

In my research for this article, I found very little information about the Trip around the time of it’s release and into the early 1970s.  The most prevalent form of advertising was a series of commercials that aired in the UK featuring famous photographer David Bailey and his Trip.

Check out the following commercial featuring Bailey and Monty Python alum, Eric Idle .

It doesn’t seem as though the camera caught on until a few years after it’s release, but once it did, it remained a very popular model being sold until the early to mid 1980s.  Many sites on the Internet today suggest that up to 10 million Trip 35s were sold , but based on serial number research, the actual number is probably closer to half that.  But even with 5 million units sold, the Olympus Trip 35 remains one of the most successful single models of any camera ever made.

By the time the Trip 35 went out of production in 1984, there were already a huge number of more advanced cameras with more features, yet the appeal of a mechanical camera that worked without a battery and could still deliver quality results is why it stayed around for so long.

Olympus recognized the success of the Trip name and would reuse it in a series of simple auto focus cameras that were in production from 1984 to 2000, but none with the long lived popularity as the original Trip 35.

Today, the Olympus Trip 35 remains a very popular model for collectors and film enthusiasts alike.  A combination of a plentiful supply of them that can be found cheaply, good reliability, and an easy to use design that produces excellent results means that almost everyone who uses one, still has favorable things to say about them.  This is a model that is highly recommended by many, including me, and one that definitely deserves a place in your collection.

Year of Production

The Olympus Trip 35 was in production for about a decade and a half, and a common question among collectors is when was my camera made?  There are a few articles online suggesting that the earliest models have 6 digit serial numbers and the first 7 digit serial numbers appeared in 1971 – 72, but the Olympus Trip 35 Flickr group has a post that suggests the month and year of manufacture can be revealed by a date code stamped on the underside of the film pressure plate.

The pressure plate is easy to remove as it simply needs to be pulled off on one side.  Do it slowly so as not to bend the clips, but I was able to get mine off without any damage to it.  Sure enough, on the back of mine, I saw the number 26 which suggests mine was made in June 1972.  I’ve copied the relevant information from that Flickr group here, and take no credit for this information.

  • 1st Japanese character or letter (in later models) signifying the assembly plant.
  • 2nd number representing the last digit of the year of assembly (e.g. 5 = 1975, 0 = 1980).
  • 3rd number or letter representing the month of assembly, 1-9 for Jan-Sep, X, Y, Z for Oct-Dec.

The Trip 35 was manufactured between 1967 and 1984, so if you are unsure if you have a 1968 or 1978 model, the chrome shutter button is the earlier and the black the later.

Further reading through the discussion in this thread, it appears that later Trips either don’t have this number stamped anywhere, or the numbers that are there don’t make any sense so it’s possible that the later cameras either used a different system, or none at all, but this should at least allow a good number of Trips to be dated.

My Thoughts

How good could it be?  This is a simple compact camera from the “electric eye” era with a large selenium meter and a limited number of shutter speeds, after all.  There were tons of cameras like this made over the years, so despite the overwhelming evidence that the Trip 35 was something special I had to find out for myself.

For starters, the Trip is small, but not too small.  This was a camera that was designed to be packed into luggage and taken on vacation, so portability was factored into it’s size.  Of course Olympus already had their well known half-frame Pen series, and the Trip 35 in someways looks like a full size Pen.  At a weight of 390 grams, the camera is light enough to not be noticeable when hanging from a wrist strap, but isn’t so lightweight as to feel cheap.

The overall design of the camera has a very minimalist Japanese look to it.  By that I mean, no unnecessary bumps, curves, or protrusions.  The top plate is very straightforward featuring a rewind knob with fold out handle, the flash hot shoe, cable threaded shutter release, and automatic resetting exposure counter window.  The shutter release on this one is chrome as were all the earlier Trips.  At some point in the late 70s or early 80s, the shutter release was changed to a black plastic type, but otherwise looked the same.

Flip the camera over and the bottom has the rewind release button and a centrally located 1/4″ tripod socket.  While I always appreciate the inclusion of a well thought out tripod socket, the lack of a Bulb or any shutter speed slower than 1/40 likely suggests that not too many Trips ever saw use on a tripod.

The back of the camera continues with the same squared pattern vinyl body covering from the front and features a rectangular viewfinder window and to the right, the film advance wheel.

This style of rear film advance wheel was a hallmark of most of Olympus’s compact cameras.  It first appeared on the original Olympus Pen in 1959 as a way to make the camera as inexpensive as possible and continued with the Trip and the later XA-series of cameras.

Although a cost cutting measure, in reality it works quite well, as two quick left to right swipes of your right thumb across the wheel is enough to advance the film one full exposure while simultaneously cocking the shutter.  I can’t honestly say that a film advance lever would have been much faster.

Loading film into the Trip is an uneventful affair.  There is a small release on the bottom of the camera’s left side which unlocks the door.  Film loads from left to right onto a multi-slotted fixed take up spool.

Despite it’s economy pricing, the film compartment is as good as cameras costing quite a bit more with it’s over sized and dimpled film pressure plate which helps maintain film flatness while decreasing resistance, and even featuring a metal spring on the door to help keep the cassette stable while shooting.  In the previous image to the left, you can see this camera’s degraded light seals which like many cameras of the era, needed to be replaced before I could shoot it.

Although lacking a rangefinder or any other kind of optical focus aide, the Trip 35 has a simplified focusing system that uses 4 click stops for various types of photography.  At each click stop is an icon which can be seen through a small window from within the viewfinder.  The four stops represent the following distances:

  • Closeup – 1m (3.2 feet)
  • Portrait – 1.5m (5 feet)
  • Group – 3m (10 feet)
  • Scenery – Infinity

Although not visible from this angle, a focus distance scale with marks in meters and feet is on the opposite side of the lens, visible for the bottom in case you don’t like the icons.

Combined with the wide depth of field offered by the 40mm D.Zuiko lens, guessing focus in most brightly lit scenes is very easy and quite a bit faster than had the camera come with a rangefinder.

Also visible from this angle is the aperture scale ring which enables full and partial auto exposure modes.  Turning the inner ring to the A position allows the camera’s meter to select one of the two shutter speeds (1/40 or 1/200) and any range of f/stops from f/2.8 to f/22 to get the exposure right.  If there is insufficient light to make a properly lit exposure, a red flag will appear in the viewfinder window and the shutter release will be locked.

For flash photography, or those who want a little more control, you can choose partial auto exposure mode by turning the aperture ring to any position from 2.8 to 22.  In each of these positions, the auto exposure system is not fully deactivated, it will still measure light output and select an appropriate f/stop up to that point.  So for example, if you manually select f/16, and the exposure meter thinks that f/8 is the right choice, that’s what it will use.  In this partial mode, the shutter speed is fixed at 1/40 and cannot be changed.  If you require a 1/200 shutter speed in manual mode, there are articles online showing you how to open the camera and modify it to do so .  Without this modification however, the camera should not be used for fast action shots in manual mode.

Lastly, at the very front of the lens, is a ring for setting the ASA film speed for the meter.  Earlier Trips were limited from 25-200, but were later increased to allow ASA 400 film to be used.

The viewfinder is large and bright, showing projected frame lines for the 40mm frame.  The frame lines do not automatically correct for parallax, so there are hash marks to indicate the frame at close focus.

In an effort to make the camera as small as possible, the viewfinder is a bit too close to the lens which causes it to protrude into the viewfinder in the bottom right corner.

Below the viewfinder is a peep hole that allows you to read both the selected focus distance and shutter mode at the same time.  In the previous two images, the camera is set to Portrait and Auto.

Lastly, when there is insufficient light to properly expose an image, a red flag will appear in the viewfinder window and the shutter release will be locked, preventing you from making an exposure.  This could be a problem for people wanting to use faster film as the fastest speed supported is 400 but for most general shots it should be fine.

The Trip is very easy to use and I’ve found it’s best with cameras like these to not overthinking these, and to use them to their strengths, which is exactly how I intended to use it.

For my first roll through the Trip, I loaded in a fresh roll of Fuji 200 and took it with me to the Chicago Bears training camp prior to the 2019 season, and like the Bears season turned out to be, that first roll was a disaster as I foolishly used the camera without replacing the light seals and the entire roll had major light leaks in every single image.  Whoops!

Into the repair queue went the camera, and after having a free weekend to replace the degraded light seals with some new ones, I loaded in another roll of Fuji 200 and took some fall pictures with it.

OlympusTrip-15

There is a reason the Olympus Trip 35 almost universally receives constant praise and was in production for over a decade and a half.  This is an immensely fun and easy to use camera that delivers excellent results, and perhaps shocking to no one, my results were excellent too.

I left the camera in Auto mode for the entirely of it’s first two rolls and tried to use it as closely as possible to how it’s target audience would have.  Looking at the images I got, they are all properly exposed, sharp across the frame, and show no signs of optical flaws common in lesser cameras.  A tiny amount of vignetting was evident in a few images, but nothing that should bother anyone.  As is the case with any lens marked Nikkor or Rokkor. Olympus’s lineup of Zuiko lenses make spectacular images.

The Olympus Trip wasn’t the first at anything except possibly being the first truly capable point and shoot camera and for that, has quickly become one of my favorite cameras in all of my collection.  As much as I’d love to tell you that a folding plate camera from the 1920s or some quirky 1950s SLR is going to be my “go to” camera when I want to shoot film, the reality is cameras like the Olympus Trip will get the call far more often than 95% of what’s in my collection.

I could probably come up with a few nitpicks about the camera like for example the cramped viewfinder that is blocked by the lens in the bottom right corner, or being limited to only 2 shutter speeds and not having a true manual mode, but frankly, if Olympus had changed any of those things, it likely would have negatively affected the success of the camera.  Having such a simple shutter meant that it was more reliable and cheaper to produce.  Had the camera cost even as little as $10 more, less people would have bought it and it likely wouldn’t have been in production for as long.  If there were more features it might have not appealed to the entry level consumer like it did.

The Olympus Trip 35 is a perfect example of “less is more” and in this case, it is WAY more.  As this article tops 3400 words, I regret to say that I have nothing new to add to the countless number of positive articles about this camera that already exist.

They’re all right.  This is a wonderful camera and one I strongly recommend you check out!

Related Posts You Might Enjoy

http://www.mikeeckman.com/2019/03/olympus-pen-ee-s-1962/

Minolta Hi-Matic E (1971)

External Links

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Olympus_Trip_35

https://www.casualphotophile.com/2016/10/03/olympus-trip-35-camera-review/

https://kosmofoto.com/2017/03/olympus-trip-35-review/

https://www.35mmc.com/05/05/2018/olympus-trip-35-taught-little-bit-spontaneous-photographically-andrew-morang/

https://emulsive.org/reviews/camera-reviews/olympus-camera-reviews/the-olympus-trip-35-vs-the-olympus-xa2-in-the-field

https://www.kenrockwell.com/olympus/trip-35.htm

http://photo-utopia.blogspot.com/2008/03/olympus-trip-35.html

https://lewiscollard.com/cameras/olympus-trip-35/

https://schneidan.com/2016/07/01/olympus-trip-35/

https://wycameras.com/blogs/news/review-olympus-trip-35

http://mattsclassiccameras.com/rangefinders-compacts/olympus-trip-35/

https://www.kpraslowicz.com/2004/07/08/olympus-trip-35-1200th-modification

https://www.flickr.com/groups/olympustrip35/

Like this article? Share it!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Now I understand why this camera is a consistent good seller on That Auction Site. For your readers who may not know, the letter preceding the name “Zuiko” on Olympus manual focus lenses indicates the number of elements, with A = 1, B = 2, etc etc through H = 8 (found on the H. Zuiko 35mm f2.0 in the OM series, which I think is the most complex prime lens Olympus made). . Early manual focus Nikkors of the pre-AI variety use a similar scheme, but the letters are based on Latin or mathematicians’ designations for the number of elements: T = tri, Q = quadra, P = penta, H = hexa, S = septa, on up thru D = deca.

Thanks for the feedback Roger, perhaps this would make for an article of it’s own as Minolta did it with their lenses too.

First Letter (no. of groups): T=3; Q=4; P=5; H=6; S=7; O=8; N=9. Second Letter (no. of elements): C=3; D=4; E=5; F=6; G=7; H=8; I=9; J=10; K=11; L=12.

For example, the 58mm f/1.2 MC Rokkor – PG contained 7 elements in 5 group

I have 3 Trips and really must rationalise and sell a couple of them

String pull Kodak first successful point and shoot?

Thanks Mike and Roger for the Groups/Elements codes here. I knew Nikon, but not theothers

Great article! There was one change/variant you didn’t mention – the all black model produced for two years between 1968-1969. I have three Trips, one early Chrome button, one later black button and, of course, the Trip Noir, which is my faithful travel companion. I’ve even run some infrared film through it (successfully) – it truly is an exceptionally capable camera.

Mike I’ve had a few trips in my time and found them so easy and fun to use. There is a one thing to look out for when buying one, check the red flag pops up when you cover the meter with your hand indicating insufficient light – if it doesn’t show and the shutter still fires then you may have a problem. Also i thought the apature settings were mainly there for when a manual flash was attached and the user then sets the appropriate f stop for the subject to distance coverage needed.

Am I alone in thinking that the Trip 35 is the full frame version of the Pen EES2? I have both.

Olympus’s design theory back then shared a similar family resemblance across many models. I am certain that was intentional! 🙂

Like this Post? Let me hear your thoughts! Cancel reply

Olympus Trip 35

The Olympus Trip 35 is a fully-automatic 35mm compact camera , manufactured by Olympus from 1967 [1] to 1984, during which time over ten million units were sold, [1] though this oft-quoted figure is likely to have included later plastic-bodied Olympus cameras with Trip branding, as the original Trip 35 had serial numbers going up to around 5,400,000. [2] The auto-exposure mechanism is effectively solar-powered by a selenium cell surrounding the lens, and consequently the camera runs without batteries. Until June 1978, the shutter button was silver-coloured metal. After that date, all Trips had a black plastic button.

  • 1 Auto-exposure mechanism
  • 3 Viewfinder

Auto-exposure mechanism

With the aperture ring set to "A", the camera operates as a program automatic with a working EV range of 8.32-17.4 at ASA 100. [3] Half-pressing the shutter-release button locks the exposure with both the aperture and shutter speed (of which there are only two, 1/40 and 1/200s) fixed by a delicate but accurate mechanism. As explained by one repair page ,

The combination of aperture and shutter speed that the exposure mechanism chooses depends on the amount of light available. The precise amount of light that triggers a change of the shutter speed is not documented in the user manual, but it is believed to be around EV 13. When brightness of EV 13 or more is detected, the Trip 35 will increase the shutter speed to 1/200 sec in preference to using a smaller aperture, and use a narrower aperture as light levels increase from there, presumably to avoid the diffraction effects that affect all 35mm cameras below f/11. [4] Below EV 13, it will use the 1/40 sec speed and widen the aperture for lower light levels. The camera will refuse to fire if there is not enough light, with a red plastic flag appearing simultaneously in the viewfinder. This mechanism makes it impossible to make the error of shooting with the lens cap in place.

When the aperture is set manually (primarily for flash photography), the shutter speed is set to 1/40th of a second. However, the meter is still active even in this "manual" mode. Setting the aperture manually merely sets the widest permissible aperture, and the auto-exposure mechanism may still choose to set a smaller aperture than this if it sees fit. [4]

Other than this, the camera offers no controls for setting exposure manually, though one can easily set exposure compensation by changing the film ASA dial to a higher or lower value.

The Trip 35 has a 40mm f/2.8 Zuiko non-interchangeable lens, with four elements in three groups. Ken Rockwell suspects this to be a front-element focusing Tessar . [5] This lens has a reputation for being extremely sharp, even in the corners; in Rockwell's tests, Costco-scanned Fuji ISO 400 print film loaded into this camera out-performed a Canon 17-40 f/4 L lens in the corners. [5]

The lens provides simple zone-focusing with 4 cute distance symbols marked on the top-left of the lens. These correspond to the real distance markings on the underside of the lens: 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 3 meters, and infinity. Filter ring is 43.5mm.

The viewfinder is an albada-type, with parallax markings for closer focusing. There is a second, very small window under this, nicknamed the "Judas window", which shows the current aperture setting and distance symbol which are on the lens barrel.

A small red flag will appear in the viewfinder if the auto-exposure mechanism decides there is not enough light and refuses to fire.

This camera's aperture blades (there are two blades) tend to be become sticky over time. Before purchasing an old Olympus Trip 35, ask the seller if the aperture is properly opening and closing at all values (f/2.8-f/22). This can be done by manually selecting each aperture value and half-pressing the shutter button. Otherwise, the lens unit would have to be disassembled and cleaned.

  • ↑ 1.0 1.1 Olympus' history of EE-equipped cameras (archived)
  • ↑ Serial numbers collected by the Olympus Trip Flickr group
  • ↑ Specifications in the user-manual.
  • ↑ 4.0 4.1 See the Trip 35 program graph , and the explanation in this thread .
  • ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.kenrockwell.com/olympus/trip-35.htm
  • Manual available from UCL
  • Olympus Trip 35 group on Flickr
  • A modification that allows a 1/200 shutter speed with manual aperture control
  • Illustrated instructions for repairing a Trip 35
  • Trip 35 in the Olympus Global History (archived)
  • This is a trip at Classic Cameras by RaúlM.
  • Lionel's Olympus Trip 35 page in French at 35mm-compact.com
  • Olympus Trip 35 on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand (in French)
  • Flickr image
  • Image by rick soloway
  • Japanese 35mm viewfinder
  • Image by Michele M. F.
  • Image by Hans Jan Dürr
  • Image by vincentnip
  • Image by Ênio Resende

Navigation menu

Personal tools.

  • View source
  • View history
  • List of Companies
  • Community portal
  • Recent changes
  • Random page
  • What links here
  • Related changes
  • Special pages
  • Printable version
  • Permanent link
  • Page information
  • This page was last edited on 7 November 2021, at 07:11.
  • Text is available under GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 ; other licenses apply to photos.
  • Privacy policy
  • About Camera-wiki.org
  • Disclaimers

UK Watch Forum banner

  • Forum Listing
  • Marketplace
  • Advanced Search
  • Watch Discussion Forum
  • Honour's Topics

Tripping the Light Fantastic: The Original Olympus Trip

Always"watching"

  • Add to quote

olympus trip 35 serial number

No, David Bailey thinks he's me.  

wrenny1969

You probably won't like this - I don't as it's a bit of a hatchet job but if someone offered a quality conversion or a modern re-run might it attract customers?  

Service Engineer

A great post and an enjoyable read. I owned three of the original Olympus Trip cameras over the years and found them all to be excellent. I even found an original Olympus Trip User Manual in a charity shop and later obtained a couple of the original soft zip up camera cases.also from various charity shops. I bought a flash attachment from a guy on Ebay who assured me it was an Olympus Trip flash unit complete with its plastic cover. Not sure if it was a genuine Olympus item but it worked fine so I was happy. Oddly enough I also obtained my Olympus Trip as a replacement for a Zenith SLR although mine was the equally troublesome and more basic Zenith E model. Your post has brought back some very happy memories for which I thank you. Kindest regards, Chris (Service Engineer)  

  • ?            
  • 54.2K members

Top Contributors this Month

SEIKO7A38

Daniel J. Schneider

Photographs, blog and reviews by a film photographer

Olympus Trip 35: Every bit as good as its reputation

Share on Twitter

I didn’t just stumble on the Olympus Trip 35. I knew all about its excellent reputation as a sharp, simple camera with a good pedigree.

I’m fairly certain I first heard of the Trip 35 on the the Film Photography Podcast some years back, when the hosts were going through a bit of an obsession with the little powerhouse.

It’s the 1960s equivalent of a point and shoot — much more than a box camera, but almost as hands-off as can be. Set the ISO and the focus range, and fire away.

I mentioned the Trip 35 back in February , and discussed a little about production numbers and dates, etc. The important parts are: black ones were only made for a couple years and tend to command much higher prices, especially in good shape — but they’re the same as the silver ones underneath the enamel.

Description

Olympus Trip 35 lens controls

The Trip 35 is a small camera, just a little larger than the later Olympus 35RC , and fairly lightweight. It still feels good, though, in line with many other cameras of its era. Though it has some plastic in it, it is primarily a metal camera with all that vintage solidity.

Being a product of an era when high standards of quality seemed to apply across the board, it’s a whole lot better than one might expect today based on the quality gulf between high-end and low-end, which started to broaden noticeably in the 1970s and is now rather abyssal. The lens is exceptionally sharp, the auto-exposure system is at the top of its class, and the viewfinder is bright and accurate.

The lens is a 40mm f/2.8 D.Zuiko — a four-element design that bests a lot of the Trip 35’s direct competitors’ three-element lenses. While it’s not as fast as some of the f/1.9 and f/1.7 lenses in the pack, the sharpness is tough to beat.

Olympus Trip 35 top cover

The light meter uses a selenium photovoltaic cell, with a large light-gathering matrix surrounding the lens. The Trip 35 requires no batteries to operate, but if the meter dies, the camera will not function in auto mode.

The auto-exposure system features only two shutter speeds — 1/200 second and 1/40 second. In auto mode, it hunts through apertures at 1/200 in an attempt to make a proper exposure, and then slows down to 1/40 to continue the hunt if necessary. If a proper exposure isn’t possible at 1/40 second and f/2.8, a translucent red flag will pop up in the viewfinder. Otherwise, the exposure is made.

Looking through the viewfinder, you’ll notice a simple brightline frame with some parallax correction marks. It’s not huge, but it’s big enough, and it’s bright enough, too. Below the main viewfinder is a tiny prism that adds a view of the markings on the control rings on the lens barrel so you can see the aperture and focus.

Olympus Trip 35 viewfinder

On the lens barrel you can set the film speed (from ASA 25 to 400) by turning the 43.5 millimeter filter ring, and also the aperture for flash mode. The aperture ring has an “A” for auto mode, and the rest of the fixed aperture settings are meant to pair with the subject distance to match a flashgun’s guide number. When a manual aperture is selected, the shutter is locked at 1/40 second. The shutter can be permanently modified to stay at 1/200 , but this will limit the camera’s low-light abilities.

The third setting on the lens barrel is the expected one — focus. The Trip 35 uses zone focusing rather than a rangefinder. The four pictographs correspond to fairly standard distances: a little head and shoulders for 1 meter, two little heads and shoulders for 1.5 meters, two full-length people and a kid for 3 meters, and a mountain for infinity. In case you forget (or just prefer numbers to pictographs), the opposite side of the focus ring has distance markings. The pictograph is what gets shown in the viewfinder, though.

The shutter release button is threaded for a cable release. The rewind knob has a flip-out crank, and there is a frame counter on the right shoulder. The film advance is a thumbwheel on the back edge of the top cover behind the shutter release button.

Snow melt in alley

Be sure to push in the take-up spool release button on the bottom cover before rewinding, and rewind before opening the film door with the small silver latch tab on the bottom left corner of the camera.

There is a standard tripod mount on the bottom, and the top features a hot shoe (and there’s a PC sync socket on the front cover, below and to the right of the lens).

And that’s about it — there just isn’t a lot of technical detail to the Trip 35, but there is elegance in simplicity.

With that, let me tell you what I like about it.

I didn’t expect to like the Trip 35 so much at first. I mean, hearing it talked about and seeing so many articles, I expected it to be just another 1960s-70s rangefinder-wannabe. Don’t misconstrue that to mean I expected it to be bad — but I didn’t expect it to set itself apart.

Longmont Historical Society

I think I was wrong. It’s not the best camera I’ve ever used, by any means, but its euphony of size, fit and finish, function, and image quality is really pretty special.

I’m not shy about my troubles with zone- and scale-focus cameras. I have terrible luck with them, mostly because I don’t remember to focus them before I press the shutter. I don’t know that I wouldn’t have better luck if I used them (or, more likely, one of them) more of the time, but in the limited experience I have with them, I just don’t remember more than half the time.

The Trip 35, though, solves that problem for me by showing me the focus setting clearly and brightly in the viewfinder. For me, this clears the biggest roadblock in the way for me to get good images with this class of camera. And for me, at least, it was by far the biggest roadblock.

Okay, okay — the images I’m attaching here aren’t so great — but they’re meant to check the thing out: to see lens distortions and aberration, focus across the breadth of the frame, and so on. And a lot of them also are taken as opportunities for me to test out the feel of the camera.

St. Vrain Masonic Lodge

The film counter on mine was stuck at first. In fact, it was stuck all through my testing. I didn’t figure out how to unstick it until I was writing this. I’m not sure how I managed to miss the solution — I just opened the film door with the shutter uncocked and operated the advance, and the counter reset to the “S” (for Start). Everything else worked right from the start.

I found my Trip 35 at an antique mall, and while I paid below market for it, I didn’t get a thrift-store price. I’m okay with that. I’d been expecting one to turn up in a thrift store after all the talk, but not having actually seen one in five years of trawling thrift stores for photographica, I decided to go for it. Once I had it my hands, it pretty much wasn’t going back in the cabinet.

As stated above, it’s the much-less-common black version of the Trip 35. It’s not perfect — it has a few scuffs and signs of use on the enamel. But the lens is crystal clear and everything works as it should.

Longmont church

I found the size exceptionally right. It’s almost as small as a camera could be and still feel like it fills my hands adequately. The arrangement of the controls is good — really good. The film advance is smooth and fast. The shutter release has just the right amount of tension.

The shutter is quiet, too. Not silent — or even quite as silent as some others — but it’s impressively quiet. I can see why it’s prized for street photography. No batteries required, easy to zone focus, and, in decent light, no fiddling with exposure. It truly becomes point and shoot.

The results are great, too. Sharp from edge to edge, no noticeable distortions, and minimal chromatic aberration. My color tests were with expired film, but the results struck me as good. Contrast on the black and white shots, taken with Ilford Delta 100, was excellent.

If I had a complaint, it would be that the Trip 35’s aperture ring is narrow enough to be difficult to operate with my big sausage fingers. But it’s not really designed to be used without a flash attached, which is something I just don’t do very often.

One minor issue I had — and it was all me — was missing a ton of pictures because I didn’t check that it was loaded. With or without film, the Trip 35 happily clicks away. I think, at one point, I took about 40 pictures and started to wonder why I wasn’t out of film. Turning the rewind knob a bit, I realized there wasn’t any film in the camera, so I loaded it and spend some time retracing my steps to re-take what I could.

The only realistic avenues for improvement with the Trip 35 would be to give it fully manual controls, or a coupled rangefinder. Those deficiencies prevent me from rating the Trip 35 a perfect five stars, but don’t take that to mean you shouldn’t try one out if you have the chance — it’s a really great little camera.

Here are the rest of the test shots I feel like displaying:

Longmont Speakeasy

olympus trip 35 serial number

Olympus Trip 35 – A Fully Mechanical Vintage Point and Shoot Camera (Review)

  • May 31, 2022

Share

Cool to see a new review of the old analog Olympus TRIP 35 (here on eBay) ! Analog Insights writes:

In today’s episode, Jules, Paul and I review the Olympus Trip 35 – a beautiful, compact 35mm viewfinder camera with built-in selenium light meter, an excellent 40mm f/2.8 Zuiko lens and an automatic exposure mode. The camera was first introduced in 1967 and built until 1984. According to most online sources, about 10 million units were produced in these 17 years, yet this number is likely to include later plastic versions with some form of Trip branding. Looking at the actual serial numbers, it is more likely that Olympus built around 5.4 million units of the Trip 35. Paul is also known as Trip Man (https://www.tripman.co.uk), selling refurbished classic Trip 35 cameras and accessories online out of England. He is a true authority and thus my perfect guide to this wonderful little camera. I cautiously reached out to him asking whether he would be available for a conversation via Zoom and he decided to spend a short spring vacation here in Munich. We used the opportunity to take the Trip 35 out on a photo walk in Munich’s Westend district shooting Ilford Pan 400 on a cloudy day. Paul could use the Trip 35 here in Munich as it was originally intended – as a light, easy-to-use travel camera that lets you explore the world, focus on your subject and nothing else. I also took the camera out together with Jules on a photo walk around dusk in a former industrial area. To match the beautiful golden light, we shot a roll of Kodak Gold 200 rated at ISO 160 and got some excellent results as well. Let’s get started and learn more about the Trip 35.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

  • previous post: a bit of everything…
  • next post: Leica and Panasonic Signed Strategic Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement, and Develop “L2 Technology” as Symbol of the Collaboration

X @Olympus_Corp

Olympus Global Homepage

Global Website Directory

  • History of Olympus Products

Olympus TRIP 35

olympus trip 35 serial number

The Olympus TRIP 35 is a full-sized compact EE camera based on the Pen EES. It first went on sale in 1968. The name reflects its suitability as a convenient camera to take on trips. The TRIP 35 became very popular as a camera that combined ease of use, reliability and a low price with superb photographic performance. It remained a best-seller for over the next 20 years since its launch.

Olympus TRIP 35 Instructions Manual

  • Olympus Manuals
  • Digital Camera
  • Instructions manual

Olympus TRIP 35 Instructions Manual

  • Instructions manual (13 pages)
  • Repair instructions (17 pages)
  • page of 13 Go / 13

Table of Contents

Advertisement

  • 1 Setting the Camera to Manual System
  • 2 Loading the Film
  • 3 Engaging the Film End with the Take-Up Spool
  • 4 Before Closing the Rear Cover
  • 5 Checking the Film Counter
  • 6 ASA Film Speed Setting
  • 7 Setting the Camera to Auto System
  • 9 Composing the Picture and Releasing the Shutter
  • 10 Rewinding the Film
  • 11 Flash Photography
  • 12 The Olympus Pen Flash CL
  • 13 When Using Ordinary Flash Gun or Electronic Flash
  • 14 Technical Data
  • Download this manual

Related Manuals for Olympus TRIP 35

Digital Camera Olympus Trip 35 Repair Instructions

Related Products for Olympus TRIP 35

  • Olympus Trip 500
  • Olympus TRIP 505
  • Olympus TRIP 600
  • Olympus TOUGH-6020
  • Olympus TG-310
  • Olympus TG-610
  • Olympus Tough TG-810
  • Olympus STYLUS STYLUS TOUGH-3000 /TOUGH-3000
  • Olympus DIGITAL CAMERA TG-805
  • Olympus T8000BB2 - Stylus Tough 8000
  • Olympus Tough 6000 - Stylus 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera
  • OLYMPUS TG-620
  • Olympus TG-625
  • Olympus TG-1
  • Olympus TG-830
  • Olympus TG-3

Rename the bookmark

Delete bookmark, delete from my manuals, upload manual.

  • Olympus Trip 35
  • Edit source
  • View history

The Trip 35 is a fully-automatic 35mm compact camera , manufactured by Olympus from 1967 [1] to 1984, during which time over ten million units were sold. [1] (This oft-quoted figure is likely to have included later plastic-bodied Olympus cameras with Trip branding, as the original Trip 35 had serial numbers going up to around 5,400,000.) [2] The auto-exposure mechanism is effectively solar-powered by a selenium cell surrounding the lens, and consequently the camera runs entirely without batteries. Until June 1978, the shutter button was silver-coloured metal. After that date, all Trips had a black plastic button.

  • 1 Auto-exposure mechanism
  • 3 Viewfinder
  • 4 Common failure and fix
  • 5 References

Auto-exposure mechanism [ ]

With the aperture ring set to "A", the camera operates as a program automatic with a working EV range of 8.32-17.4 at ASA 100. [3] Half-pressing the shutter-release button locks the exposure with both the aperture and shutter speed (of which there are only two, 1/40 and 1/200s) fixed by a delicate but accurate mechanism. As explained by one repair page ,

The combination of aperture and shutter speed that the exposure mechanism chooses depends on the amount of light available. The precise amount of light that triggers a change of the shutter speed is not documented in the user manual, but it is believed to be around EV 13. When brightness of EV 13 or more is detected, the Trip 35 will increase the shutter speed to 1/200 sec in preference to using a smaller aperture, and use a narrower aperture as light levels increase from there, presumably to avoid the diffraction effects that affect all 35mm cameras below f/11. [4] Below EV 13, it will use the 1/40 sec speed and widen the aperture for lower light levels. The camera will refuse to fire if there is not enough light, with a red plastic flag appearing simultaneously in the viewfinder. This mechanism makes it impossible to make the error of shooting with the lens cap in place.

When the aperture is set manually (primarily for flash photography), the shutter speed is set to 1/40th of a second. However, the meter is still active even in this "manual" mode. Setting the aperture manually merely sets the widest permissible aperture, and the auto-exposure mechanism may still choose to set a smaller aperture than this if it sees fit. [4]

Other than this, the camera offers no controls for setting exposure manually, though one can easily set exposure compensation by changing the film ASA dial to a higher or lower value.

The Trip 35 has a 40mm f/2.8 Zuiko non-interchangeable lens, with four elements in three groups. This lens has a reputation for being extremely sharp, even in the corners. The lens provides simple zone-focusing with 4 cute distance symbols marked on the top-left of the lens. These correspond to the real distance markings on the underside of the lens: 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 3 meters, and infinity.

Viewfinder [ ]

The viewfinder is an albada-type, with parallax markings for closer focusing. The windows are made of plastic. There is a second, very small window under this, nicknamed the "Judas window", which shows the current aperture setting and distance symbol which are on the lens barrel.

A small red flag will appear in the viewfinder if the auto-exposure mechanism decides there is not enough light and refuses to fire.

Common failure and fix [ ]

Although Trip 35 units are considered to be well-built and mechanically reliable, many vintage units are experiencing a similar symptom: stuck or sticky aperture.

Identification of misbehavior: On a normal Trip 35, the aperture hole must automatically retract to minimum f/22 whenever shutter button is not pressed. Set the lens to different manual aperture setting and press the shutter, the aperture bore should open to different size accordingly and retract to minimum as soon as the shutter button is depressed. If the aperture does not respond, get stuck somewhere in the middle, then the aperture assembly has a lubrication problem.

The following webpage described the remedy in detail: http://www.thermojetstove.com/Trip35/ . However, there are a few steps that can be improved.

1. It's not necessary at all to open the upper cover to take out the aperture assembly. Keeping the top cover in place has 2 advantages: improved handling and what's more important, top cover is the best position to draw reliable referencing dots which is explained later.

2. When disassembling upper cover, it's not necessarily at all to have the rewind crank removed. simply lift the handle and rotate, and screws will expose.

3. Since focus in this model is done by rotation of screw type front lens element, positioning is absolutely crucial and messing up will be very painful. The online article documented this step however is confusing. The detailed steps should be as follows:

1. Remove the outer ring while having the focus ring set to infinity ('Mountain') 2. Use a marker pen to mark the position of 12 o'clock on plastic edge of front lens. This dot is temporary and shall be removed in step 4. For accurate matching, it's best to use a ruler to mark another spot on metal top cover in a line along the diameter. (Call it 1ST DOT for reference) 3. Rotate the front lens fully clockwise till the bottom(in the article, the term 'the whole way' is really confusing and caused big trouble for me). Then, again using a ruler, draw another dot on metal top cover (2nd dot) along the center and the marked spot on front lens, . 4. Remove the mark on the front lens. 5. When reassembling front lens, first double check the focus ring is in position of infinity, then screw the lens in fully clockwise to the bottom. Draw another dot on the lens edge along 2nd dot and lens center. Let's call it 3rd dot. 6. Rotate the lens counter-clockwise until 3rd dot is aligned with 1st dot. 7. Reinstall front ring, be sure to insert the extend directly into the pit in focus ring, tighten 3 screws and make sure outer ring (With Olympus Zuiko Made in Japan mark) rotate symmetrically with focus ring.

Follow this procedure, factory-level focus accuracy should be retained after a lubrication maintenance.

References [ ]

  • ↑ 1.0 1.1 Olympus' history of EE-equipped cameras
  • ↑ Serial numbers collected by Flickr group
  • ↑ Specifications in the user-manual.
  • ↑ 4.0 4.1 See the Trip 35 program graph , and the explanation in this thread .
  • Olympus Trip 35 - Sample Images
  • Olympus Trip 35 Users - Facebook Group
  • Salerno's Olympus Trip 35 age identification page.
  • Jim Simon's Trip 35 page
  • Lionel's Olympus Trip 35 page in French at 35mm-compact.com
  • Olympus Trip 35 page at Retrography.com by Simon Simonsen, Denmark
  • Manual for Olympus Trip 35
  • Olympus Trip 35 group on Flickr
  • A modification that allows a 1/200 shutter speed with manual aperture control
  • Illustrated instructions for repairing a Trip 35
  • Olympus Trip 35 short intro and use with Kentmere 100 film
  • Trip 35 in the Olympus Global History
  • This is a trip at Classic Cameras by RaúlM.
  • Video Manual by Shawnee Union
  • Olympus Trip 35 Instruction Manual in English.
  • 1 Radioactive lenses
  • 2 Helios-44
  • 3 Minolta XG series

olympus trip 35 serial number

Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

8 May, 2013

Post Categories:

Share this post:

I’m certainly not the first and I suspect I won’t be the last to write a little something about the Olympus Trip 35. I have read this camera had sales figures of around 10,000,000. Olympus used the ‘trip’ moniker on a lot of cameras subsequent to the one in question here, so who knows how many trip 35’s were sold? What is clear is that the number is vast! You only need to go on eBay and see how many are for sale at any one time. Just search for ‘Olympus trip’ on google and you will find entire websites dedicated to the things. This camera is a popular little snapper and has been since it hit the market in the late 60’s.

Olympus Trip 35

It’s production ran from 1967 through to 1984! It’s popularity was helped along by David Bailey and by the fact that the very simple 40mm lens is exceptionally high quality. It was touted as a camera that could take professional quality images yet is small and very easy to use … No wonder they sold so many!

The name “Trip” comes from the the idea that it was intended as a camera for taking on holiday. I guess this translates to a camera for everyone. And that it really is! This camera is a true point and shoot that even the most inexperienced photographer could use with little chance of failure. This is due to the slightly limited but very simple design and operation. The camera is almost entirely automated for all situations apart from shooting with a flash. Load the camera with a film between 25 and 400iso, set it as such on the dial around the front of the lens and you can let the camera do pretty much the rest.

The selenium cell based light meter effectively powers the cameras operation. With the camera set to ‘A’, based on the light hitting the meter it will choose the most appropriate aperture between f2.8 and f22. It will also choose either 1/40th or 1/200th for the shutter speed. If the amount of light isn’t adequate for at very least 1/40th and f2.8 it will simply prevent the photo from being taken. It tells you this is happening by popping up a little red flag in the viewfinder. If this happens it is intended that the user attach a flash.

If taken off ‘A’ and an aperture selected manually the meter and the flag are disabled and the camera set to shoot at 1/40th. The assumption is that a flash would be attached and that an appropriate aperture for the subjects distance would be selected. Of course it also means that as long as you are happy shooting a 1/40th you can just choose your own aperture and shoot without the little flag stopping you. This does lead to the camera being used more creatively and outside of the way it was intended but more on that later!

Focusing is achieved by selection of one of four possible preset distances which are denoted by four familiar pictures. A head and shoulders for the closest focusing and a picture of mountains for infinity. The second furthest focusing distance (denoted by three little people) is highlighted in red. The same red as the ‘A’. This is no accident, in daylight set the camera to ‘A’ the the three little red people and you can shoot away with little worry of out of focus images.

This simplicity does make for a very enjoyable shooting experience, but with a little imagination the camera can be used (as previously mentioned) outside of the intended way.

The first little trick is quite an obvious one really. The camera can be tricked into over or under exposing by changing the film speed. Eg 200 ISO film in camera and up to 1ev of under exposure can be achieved by setting it to 400iso. You could of course also dial in up to 3ev of over exposure. An example of where this might be useful would be shooting a backlit subject eg a person stood in front of a window.

Another trick is for low light shooting. When set to ‘A’ low light shooting is somewhat limited. That pesky red flag rears its little head and a 400iso limit is a little low. As mentioned before though, the little red flag can be disabled, and if not using the lightmeter there is no need to worry about what ISO the camera is set to. So as long as you are happy at 1/40th you can put whatever ISO film in you like and manually select exposure with the aperture control. There are in fact many people who do this some of whom post in the Flickr group. It’s not something I have tried since resurrecting the camera… But I’m going to … And will post some shots when I get around to it!

So what’s all the fuss about? Surly there are more highly specified cameras that allow shooting in more circumstances without such limitations. Well yes, but it’s the simplicity that is the charm, combined with a superb lens and the fact that they so rarely go wrong it’s hard not to love this camera!

So that’s the Trip 35, a cult classic, incredibly simple to use, hardy, cheap as chips and packed with charm … Basically, buy one! Use it, love it!

Additional – I have done a ‘Through the viewfinder’ article on this camera which can be found here Through the Viewfinder – Olympus Trip 35

Some useful links: Help with dating your trip Instructions for repairing your trip 35 A possibly useful modification

Find more similar content on 35mmc

Use the tags below to search for more posts on related topics:

Contribute to 35mmc for an ad-free experience.

There are two ways to contribute to 35mmc and experience it without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here.

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

Sign up here.

About The Author

olympus trip 35 serial number

David Wignall on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 11/11/2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of new posts by email.

olympus trip 35 serial number

Robert Gerrish on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 10/04/2020

olympus trip 35 serial number

Camera Review Blog No. 06 – Olympus Trip 35 – Alex Luyckx | Blog on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 26/11/2019

Olympus Trip 35 review - Kosmo Foto on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 15/04/2019

5 Frames With An Olympus 35 RC - by Julian Higgs - 35mmc on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 03/05/2018

olympus trip 35 serial number

Neilson on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 25/02/2016

olympus trip 35 serial number

Christos Theofilogiannakos on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 16/10/2015

olympus trip 35 serial number

Hamish Gill replied:

Huh, that's interesting! I didn't know that ... Very clever little cameras really!

olympus trip 35 serial number

Dave on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 09/04/2015

Yeah, thats what I'm saying ... Put 200iso film in and set it to 400 and it will under expose it by 1ev Put 200iso film in and set it to 100, 50 or 25 and it will over expose buy 1,2 and 3ev respectively... Thats right isn't it??

Olympus Trip 35 on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 24/05/2013

Trip 35 and some very cheap film and Connie. on Olympus Trip 35 Review – A cult classic point & shoot

Comment posted: 23/05/2013

Leave a Comment

Related Posts

olympus trip 35 serial number

7 March, 2024

By AndreArma

Film Photography News - March 3, 2024

3 March, 2024

By Molly Kate

Analogue Showcase at 2021 TPS

2 March, 2024

Booper

21 February, 2024

By Dave Powell

olympus trip 35 serial number

Photography & Projects

Looking for some inspiration, or just want to flick through the project work and photos?

olympus trip 35 serial number

Reviews & Experiences

If you're looking for photography equipment and peripheral reviews, this is the place to start!

olympus trip 35 serial number

Theory & Reflections

olympus trip 35 serial number

Tutorials & Knowhow

If you want to learn or discover a new technique, build on your skills, or be inspired to have a go at a bit of DIY or camera modification, then you’re in the right place.

Contribute to 35mmc

Paid Subscription

£2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here

Content contributor

Become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

The Olympus Trip 35 Review: Everything You Need To Know

I’ve worked with many Olympus Trip 35s over the years and I’ve discovered the pros and cons of this brilliant little rangefinder camera!

The Olympus Trip 35 is so popular because it’s very easy to use, it has a great lens and it’s ideal for the novice photographer. Also, the Olympus Trip 35 is one of the only 35mm cameras powered by the sun, making it really handy to take on holiday with you. Since 1967 10 million units have been sold, which is a tremendous amount even today.  

If you want to know how this camera compares to others, how much you should be paying, some of its common issues and much, much more then read on!

I’ve worked with a hell of a lot of Trip 35s over the last few years and I like them because they’re really simple. If there’s something wrong with a Trip 35 I usually know it pretty much instantly because they aren’t especially complicated.

I’ve sussed out all the common issues, what can be fixed easily and what spells the end for an individual Trip 35. Usually, it’s lens fungus or an unreactive aperture that means doom for this little camera.

After years of working with them, I took one to the south coast of England to do a full review and I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. As you’ll see throughout the article, there are actually some good pictures that came from this ancient camera.

Some shots were let down by the very real limitations of this camera but on the flipside, due to the brilliant 40mm Zuiko lens, when the exposure is correct, its shots are great.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this camera so it’s well worth reading up on it to figure out if it’s the right fit for you. I enjoyed shooting it more than I expected but it wouldn’t be a camera that I’d rely on regularly.

Olympus Trip 35 Specs

Format – 35mm

ISO – 25 – 400

Battery – Solar Powered Selenium Battery

Exposure – Automatic

Shutter Speeds – 40 – 200

Flash – Hot Shoe

A Brief History Of The Olympus Trip 35

Introduced in 1967 and rolling on until 1984, the Olympus Trip 35 was completely ahead of its time. Sporting a solar-powered light meter in the late 60’s was pretty special.

Of course, Olympus’ market audience was pretty obvious, being named ‘Trip’, it’s kind of spelt out for you. Strong, reliable, doesn’t need any batteries, anyone could use it, that pretty much ticks all the boxes when it comes to a holiday camera.

Incredibly, over 10 million Trips were sold (Up for debate) and of course, they’re still being bought and sold to this day.

How Does The Olympus Trip 35 Battery Work?

The Olympus Trip 35 is powered by the sun using a selenium light meter which is the ring around the lens. This powers the light meter and allows the camera to choose the shutter speed and aperture (depending on which settings you have on). This would have been very unusual in its time but the fact that it’s still reliable today is brilliant.

Is The Trip 35 Lens Good?

Yeah, the Olympus Trip 35 has a pretty good lens but I’ve got to say, there are quite a few drawbacks. The lens itself is a beautiful 40mm 2.8 Zuiko lens, it’s pretty high quality for a camera that feels like a point-and-shoot.

I’d say the main drawback is that the focus is zonal and you only have 4 options. You should be able to see above, there’s a picture of one person, then two, then a group and then a landscape symbol. These are your focus options and it’s basically, 1.5m, 2m 3m and 6m and beyond.

This does limit the camera quite a lot but you’ve got to forgive a 50-odd-year-old camera sometimes.

The focal length is interesting, 40mm is pretty unusual but it’s still just wide enough to take the kind of pictures you’d usually take when you go on your holidays. It’d probably be preferable to have a 35mm lens but beggars can’t be choosers.

The Olympus Trip 35 Compared To The Olympus OM10

It’s worth comparing the Olympus Trip 35 with the Olympus OM10 as they’re currently at similar prices.

The Olympus Trip 35 isn’t that similar to the Olympus OM10, the Olympus Trip 35 is a small point-and-shoot rangefinder and the OM10 is an SLR however, it’s good to see what the Olympus Trip 35 is like in comparison to another well-known camera.

The Olympus OM10 would provide much better shots as it has better quality lenses and more control however, the Olympus Trip is more convenient, more compact and easier to use.

How Much Is The Olympus Trip 35 Worth?

Currently, the Olympus Trip 35 is worth around $100-125 or £70-100. You can of course get the Trip 35 for less if you try bidding for it on eBay or search thrift stores and flea markets but it’s worth trying to make sure that your Trip 35 is all working correctly.

What Kind Of Photography Is The Olympus Trip 35 Best For?

The Olympus Trip 35 is unsurprisingly best for travel-type photography. This camera was made with travel in mind as it’s small, compact, strong, easy to use and doesn’t require any batteries. Otherwise, this is also a good camera for day-to-day use. Photographers like David Bailey championed the Olympus Trip 35 believing that it was an incredibly high-quality camera. 

Although the Olympus trip 35 has a great lens it’s not necessarily overly accurate and it’s not easy to focus correctly so despite the fact that it has a 2.8 lens it doesn’t mean it’s very likely that you’ll be able to focus correctly close range and get the most out of that lens. 

This is not necessarily ideal for more professional types of photography and is definitely better to be used in day-to-day life and travel photography. 

Is The Olympus Trip 35 Fully Manual?

The Olympus Trip 35 has two settings, one is an automatic setting that chooses your aperture and shutter speed for you, it decides between a shutter speed of 40 and 200 and between apertures of 2.8 and 22.

Alternatively, you can decide the aperture and the shutter speed will be decided by the camera. All focusing is manual and all ISO needs to be changed manually.

How To Use The Olympus Trip 35

Olympus Trip 35 is a very simple camera to use once you get the hang of it, until then understanding its limitations can be slightly hard. 

If your camera seems not to be working properly try to leave it in the sun for some time to effectively charge its battery.

To open the back of the camera there is a small lever on the bottom of the side of the camera which just needs to be pulled down until the back pops open. 

To change the aperture just rotate the ring at the base of the lens, this ring will show numbers from 2.8 two 22. If you want to shoot in automatically then turn it all the way around until the red ‘A’.

To change the ISO you just need to rotate the ring on the outer edge of the lens until you are to the correct ISO.

In order to focus you need to rotate the black ring on the lens. The closest focus mode is portrait mode, then there is middle-range portrait row mode, next, there are people standing further away from you and finally, there is a full landscape mode.

To attach a flash you simply have to slide it into the hot shoe located on the top middle of the prism. 

To shoot and wind on you just have to press the shooting button on the top of the camera and then wind the black winder on the back of the camera until you can’t wind it any further.

To rewind the film you must first press the black button on the bottom of the camera to release the film and then wind the silver winder on the top left of the camera all the way back until it feels loose. 

Common Faults Of The Olympus Trip 35

As the Olympus Trip 35 is a very old camera it has a number of common faults, hopefully, I can shed some light on these and help you avoid them or potentially fix them.

Commonly the red flag of the Olympus trip 35 will stop working, the red flag usually shows you when the scene would be too under-exposed. The red flag would appear at the bottom of the viewfinder when you are looking through it and would usually stop you from taking a picture if it’s too dark.  

Sometimes the lens won’t react correctly to light, this is a great thing to check because if this is happening then it’s not really something that you can stop and it will ruin your photos. If this is happening the only advice I can give is to put it in the sun for a bit to see if this charges your selenium battery.

It’s likely that the light seals have worn away unless you bought your camera from a reputable dealer. You will probably have to replace a small number of light seals just to ensure that you do not get light leaks, this is fairly easy and if you want to find out how to do it then go to this link .

Lastly, the lens may have fungus and if the fungus is internal and it’s not something that would be easy to fix it would be much simpler just to get another one.

Final Word On The Olympus Trip 35

This is a great camera for travel and is certainly a camera to consider using. Personally, it’s not my kind of camera, I prefer more control and this just doesn’t cut it for me!

For a camera of its age, it truly is fantastic, a solar-powered vintage wonder that can still produce some beautiful shots!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Hey! I've been shooting film for a very long time and throughout all of my 20's it's been my main format. In 2019 I started to buy and sell film cameras and I became a top rated seller on Etsy and eBay. I've built up a wealth of knowledge about different kinds of film cameras and their common issues.

Since I started photography I've produced a number of zines/prints and more recently made a book called 'So Far So Good'.

I started this website in late 2021 with hopes of helping out people who had been looking for similar information to me and so far, I'm really enjoying it.

Similar Posts

Kodak portra 160 vs kodak ektar 100 – what’s the difference.

I’ve been shooting film for over 7 years and over that time I’ve shot a lot of Ektar 100 and Portra 160 and found the small differences between the two. Kodak Portra 160 has fine grain, pastel colour saturation, perfect skin tones and brilliant dynamic range, making it perfect for a number of different types…

The Pentax ME Super Review: Everything You Need To Know

I’ve shot and tested a hell of a lot of Pentax ME Supers over time I’ve got to grips with this fantastic SLR, this has provided me with great insight on this compact king. The Pentax ME Super is one of the best 35mm Aperture Priority cameras ever made. Many people agree that the Pentax…

The Olympus AF-10 Review: Everything You Need To Know

I’ve shot with the Olympus AF-10 for a number of years, so now I know the pros and cons of this budget point-and-shoot film camera! The Olympus AF-10 (AKA the Olympus Infinity JR) is a compact 35mm point-and-shoot camera with a 35mm 3.5 autofocus lens. The Olympus AF-10 can be purchased in red or black…

The 7 Best 35mm Film Cameras For Portraits

We’ve all read about the best film cameras but they very rarely provide you with the best for specific styles. Over the years I’ve shot hundreds of film cameras and I’ve found the best portrait cameras for you! The best 35mm cameras for portrait photography are also some of the best film cameras generally. To…

Is the Olympus MJU II Really That good? Ultimate Guide

Over the last few years, I’ve tested a hell of a lot of Olympus MJU II’s and I’ve really got to grips with the real-life pros and cons of this cult classic camera. Along the way, I’ve discovered all of the reasons people love this camera and I’ve also got to grips with all of…

The Olympus OM-10 Review – Everything You Need To Know

I’ve worked with many OM10s over the years and I’ve discovered the pros and cons of this brilliant SLR camera! The Olympus OM10 is a great 35mm camera for beginners. This camera will produce great shots due to the brilliant lenses available for it. The Olympus OM10 is also easy to use and will help…

OldCamsByJens

Trending Now

  • Pentax ME Super
  • Olympus OM-10

Popular Products

Canon 814xl electronic, canon auto zoom 814 electronic, minolta 110 zoom.

  • Film Cameras
  • Point & Shoot
  • SLR Cameras
  • 35mm Film Camera's
  • Movie Cameras
  • Digital Cameras
  • Compact Cameras
  • DSLR Cameras
  • Accessories
  • Camera Straps
  • Bags & Cases
  • Popular Systems
  • Extension Tubes
  • Teleconverters
  • Light Meters
  • Memory Cards
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • Shipping Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • My Wish List
  • Collections
  • Accessories and more
  • Best Sellers
  • Canon FD System

Recent Post

The olympus trip 35.

12 January 2024

Featured Products

Praktica mtl 5 + 50mm f1.8, minolta hi-matic g2 + minolta 20 flash, pentax s1a + 50mm f1.8, minolta xg 9 + 50mm f1.7, pentax spotmatic sp ii + 50mm f1.4.

The Olympus Trip 35 - OldCamsByJens

Discovering the Charm of the Olympus Trip 35: A Timeless Companion for Every Photographer

Introduction.

Welcome to the world of the Olympus Trip 35, a camera that's as charismatic today as it was when it first clicked its way into the hearts of photographers decades ago. In an era where digital photography reigns supreme, this compact, 35mm film camera stands out as a testament to the enduring appeal of analog photography. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes into the world of film, the Olympus Trip 35 is a camera that promises simplicity, fun, and stunning results.

A Journey into the Past: The Olympus Trip 35 Legacy

Born in the 1960s, the Olympus Trip 35 quickly became a beloved companion for travelers and photography enthusiasts alike. Designed as a compact, easy-to-use camera, it appealed to a broad spectrum of photographers – from those capturing family holidays to the artists exploring the raw beauty of everyday life. Its ability to deliver high-quality images with minimal fuss has cemented its place in the annals of 35mm film photography, making it a sought-after piece for collectors and a beloved tool for those still shooting on film.

Design and Build: The Compact Wonder

The Olympus Trip 35 is a masterpiece of minimalism and efficiency. Its sleek, silver body and durable design make it both eye-catching and practical for everyday use. The camera's weight and size are perfect for on-the-go shooting, fitting comfortably in a pocket or a small bag. As a point and shoot, it's incredibly user-friendly, inviting even the most novice photographers to experience the joy of film photography without feeling overwhelmed by complex settings.

Experiencing the Olympus Trip 35: User Perspective

Using the Olympus Trip 35 is a journey back to the roots of photography. Loading the film, you'll feel a connection to the craft that's often lost in the digital age. Its viewfinder is clear and uncluttered, providing a true window to the world you're capturing. The focus system, with its simple zone focusing, lets you quickly adapt to your surroundings, while the automatic exposure ensures your shots are well-lit, capturing the essence of your moments with beautiful simplicity. Users often rave about the sharpness and richness of the photos, a testament to the camera's enduring quality.

The Joy of 35mm Film in a Digital Age

Shooting with the Olympus Trip 35 reminds us why 35mm film has a charm that digital sensors struggle to replicate. The anticipation of developing your film, the warmth and depth of the colors, and the subtle imperfections that give each photo its character – these are the joys of film photography. The Olympus Trip 35 not only makes these joys accessible but does so in a way that’s inviting and uncomplicated.

Why the Olympus Trip 35 is a Must-Have for Photography Enthusiasts

If you're looking to step into the world of film photography or seeking a reliable, high-quality camera that strips photography back to its purest form, the Olympus Trip 35 is an ideal choice. Its blend of simplicity, quality, and compact design makes it perfect for photographers of all levels. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its ability to adapt to the needs of different users, making every photography journey a delightful experience.

The Olympus Trip 35 stands out as a beacon in the world of compact cameras, a bridge between the past and present, and a tool that continues to bring the magic of 35mm film to the hands of new generations of photographers. We invite you to experience this magic firsthand. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just beginning, the Olympus Trip 35 awaits to become a cherished part of your photographic journey. Visit us to explore and start your adventure with this timeless classic.

  • Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose options, edit option, back in stock notification, terms & conditions.

Photoflakes.

by Thijs Kennis.

olympus trip 35 serial number

Olympus Trip 35 Review | A surprisingly good camera

This is the kind of review where I have the luxury to start with a standard quote you find anywhere you read about the Olympus Trip 35: “Production of the Trip 35 lasted almost two decades, and Olympus produced more than 10 million of them”. And although I couldn’t help but add that statement to the start of this review, I quickly found out that it seems not to be true. So before we hop into this review, I tried to find out where the quote came from to check its validity. After some digging it turns out that in fact Olympus itself is responsible for the rumor. In an article that was published on their very own website in 2007 , they stated:  “It remained a best-seller for many years, and over the next 20 years over 10 million were produced.” Dig a little deeper however, and you find that based on serial numbers and production dates, it is more likely that they in fact produced approximately 5.6 million units, with a grand total of 10 million if you count all other Olympus cameras that carry the “Trip” branding in whatever shape or form. That might be the reason why Olympus has removed the “10 million unit” claim from their “museum” section when you go there in 2022. Anyway, that’s the intro out of the way. I bought a Trip 35 a while ago when I “accidentally” won it at an auction on some Swedish website. I wasn’t actually that interested in owning one, I had always passed it off as a cheap holiday camera and never gave it much thought. Besides, I didn’t really care for cameras that use zone focussing as I much prefer to see if I am in focus through the viewfinder of an SLR or Rangefinder. Or at least so I thought…

Look and Feel When the camera arrived it looked in great condition. I bought it “As-is” for the equivalence of 22 USD including international shipment and in all honesty expected something wrong with the camera. When I took it out of the box, I was surprised how well built it was. The camera is beautifully made and has typical late 60’s design quality about it: Sturdy and with a surprising heft to it without being too heavy. Without even using it, it was immediately clear why this camera sold so well for almost 20 years. Everything just seems to be in the right place and it fits in the hand beautifully. The shutter button sits exactly in the right position, when you hold the camera your thumb automatically rests on the film advance wheel, and the focus ring is placed nicely on the lens so that it is easy to select focus when you frame your shot. All those points above might seem arbitrary but they matter because the strength of this camera doesn’t sit in one particular feature but rather how the overall package comes together. My particular model was built in July 1976(Olympus printed production information on the film pressure plate) but despite it being over 46 years old, everything still feels tight and without play. The focus selection snaps in place nicely, the dial that let’s you set the automatic and flash modes still feels tight and has a nice amount of resistance to it. Even the shutter button and film advance wheel still feel like what I’d expect a new, well-build camera would feel like. 

Where the camera did show its age, was on the film door and the aperture blades. Like I said earlier, I bought the camera “As-is” and upon closer inspection it clearly needed new light seals. The back plate had too much play to it and I suspected it would leak light if those weren’t replaced. Furthermore, there seemed to be a tiny bit of oil residue on the aperture blades but nowhere near as much as on some of my other old lenses so I didn’t think much of it. On closer inspection however, it did seem like the aperture blades were not always moving freely. Luckily, I am quite experienced servicing cameras and after removing the front lens element and clearing the oil out from the blades, it was as good as new and ready to go. I always keep some foam and felt at the ready so I also quickly installed some new light seals whilst at it. After that the camera the backdoor felt sturdy and the camera was ready for its first roll of film.

Using the camera

I took the camera out on a particularly cold and sunny day in Copenhagen(-6°C, or 21°F for those of you unlucky enough not to be using the metric system). Given it was a bright day, I decided to put a roll of Kodak Gold 200 in it. After selecting the right ISO by twisting the silver ASA ring on the front of the camera to 200 and it was ready to go. The camera has two shutter speeds: 1/40 and 1/200 that it automatically selects when you set the camera to auto mode. That auto mode is dependent on a lightmeter, but it does not need any batteries for it to operate. 

That is because around the lens sits a round selenium light meter. The system is so elegant in its simplicity and ingenuity and I will do my best to explain how it works as simply as possible: Selenium has photoelectric properties, meaning that it releases electrons when it is exposed to light. The more light it is exposed to, the more electrons it releases. The light meter runs off that tiny bit of electricity it generates, but simultaneously uses the same electricity to measure the amount of light coming in and to select the right settings.The more power is coming in, the further the needle of the meter gets pushed. The further it gets pushed, the higher the aperture is selected. Once the maximum aperture of f/22 is reached, it switches gear from 1/40th to 1/200th and the process starts all over again. It is so beautifully elegant yet so effective. If there is not enough light for the picture to be taken, the same needle pushes a little red flag up into the viewfinder to tell you that there is not enough light, whilst also blocking the shutter. In other words: If there is not enough light, the camera makes sure you do not ruin your shot by blocking the shutter button and throwing up a red flag. And it does all that without the need of a battery.

This is another example of the brilliant design of the Trip 35 and yet another addition to the overall package. It has another benefit too. When it was sold new, the camera came with a lens cap. Selenium light meters theoretically have a limited lifespan and so it is good practice to keep a lens cap on the camera when it is not being used. The brilliance in this system is that when you have the cap on the camera, it automatically blocks the shutter. Where with other rangefinder style cameras I have more than once ruined a shot by forgetting to remove the lens cap (Yes, I am that kind of guy), Olympus designed the camera in such a way, that the lens cap doubles as a shutter lock: When the cap is on, no light reaches to light meter, and so it blocks the shutter and throws the red flag. 

It’s all so brilliantly fool proof and it makes for such an enjoyable shooting experience. I just point the camera at my subject, look through the viewfinder, select 1 of the 4 focus distances and fire away. Speaking of the viewfinder, it is bright, clear and has illuminated frame lines that show you an approximation of what will be in your shot. There is a tiny little mirror on the bottom right of the viewfinder that clearly shows you what mode and focus distance you have selected. Where with other zone focus cameras you have to take your eye from the viewfinder to check what mode and focus zone you are in, with the Trip 35 it gives you that information in the viewfinder. I think for me this is what sold me on the Zone Focus system. It is so easy and straight forward to use, that I absolutely do not mind that it is not a coupled rangefinder of SLR focus system. Yes, it takes some getting used to estimating the distances but in all honesty, the guidance icons is so clear that I would trust anyone estimating the focus using the icons correctly. 

olympus trip 35 serial number

Day-to-day use So that is enough raving about the design of the Trip 35. It is a blast to use in day-to-day use but is there absolutely nothing negative to say about this camera? Of course there is! For starters, the ISO selection dial is also the ring the lens cap sits on. This means that you have to take care when you remove the lens cap, that you do not accidentally knock the ISO to another setting. It doesn’t happen often, but I have made it a habit to check the ISO setting every now and again to make sure I did not accidentally knock the ISO down or up. Furthermore, there is no way of seeing what setting the camera has pre-selected for you. I noticed on my ISO 200 roll, that in bad lighting conditions more than 1 shot suffered from motion blur. Of course you can “just” keep your hands still, but that does not really work with moving subjects. Because of that, I prefer using this camera with a 400 or even 800 ISO film speed. Setting the camera to the maximum ISO setting of 400, significantly reduces the amount of times the system selects 1/40th as its preferred shutter speed. And that brings me to the last gripe I have with this camera: It has no straight forward manual mode. Yes, you can lock the shutter by pointing it at a darker spot in the image and half pressing the shutter button, recomposing the image and taking the shot, but full manual control takes more work than that: On the lens you can pre-select an aperture for use with flash, but by doing so, it will automatically select 1/40th as a shutter speed. That is not very practical on a bright sunny day. You often read online that it is impossible to shoot 1/200th and manually select the aperture but that in fact is not true. Olympus did add a full manual mode for us photo nerds but it is quite the process: 1. Block the lightmeter so it shows the red flag and half press the shutter. 2. Move the aperture setting to F/11 or higher whilst still half pressing the shutter to see the flag go back down 3. Move the aperture back to whatever value you want to shoot at whilst keeping the shutter half pressed 4. Take the shot by squeezing the shutter down completely Using this method, it will select 1/200th of a second and your preferred aperture, which allows you to shoot using sunny 16, but I have to admit that it is a bit of a process. I am fully aware that it probably is not the right camera to complain about the lack of manual settings, given it was aimed at family use during holidays(hence the name “Trip”) but I figured it was with mentioning.  Image quality Now we are almost 3 pages in and we haven’t even spoken about image quality yet. In the end, what good is a well designed camera if it does not produce nice images. Luckily, also here this camera simply does not disappoint. The lens is razor sharp and has a ton of character. It seems slightly softer at F2.8 but shots are still plenty sharp and shots taken in bright sunlight where the camera selected a higher ISO the shots are really really sharp. I would go as far and say that it rivals the sharpness of my 50mm F1.8 Nikon E lens. Contrast is great and the coatings seem to be doing a great job as it handles lens flair very well. The images seem to be leaning towards the more yellow spectrum compared to other lenses and cameras I own. I am not certain if this is due to the coating on the lenses, but I like the character of it a lot, and if I do not enjoy it, I simply correct it in post. This lens produces surprisingly good images, so good in fact, that I have found myself leaving my SLRs at home and carrying this camera instead on casual walks.

olympus trip 35 serial number

Conclusion All in all I have to say that I have been so pleasantly surprised about this camera, that I would go ahead and call it one of the best cameras I have tested in a long time. Its compact build makes it easy to use and put in a pocket and all the clever little design implementations combined, makes it a great camera for both beginners as well as enthusiasts. It withstood the test of time remarkably well and I would highly recommend anyone into film photography to pick one up, especially considering how affordable they still are.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Cameras By Max Ltd

How To Use The Olympus Trip

April 28, 2023 By Cameras By Max

The Olympus Trip is a super popular camera among beginners to film, so here is our guide on how to use this awesome little camera, and some tips on how to get the most out of your Olympus Trip.

Olympus Trip 35mm film camera in wood covering in front of a plant

What is the Olympus Trip?

The Olympus Trip 35 was introduced in 1967, and discontinued in 1984, which is considered a long production run for a 35mm film camera. Over ten million Olympus Trip cameras were sold in this time. 

Many people wrongly call the Olympus Trip a rangefinder camera, however we would classify it more as a point and shoot with zone focusing.

 alt=

What features does the Olympus Trip have?

The Olympus Trip is really easy to use, and has some cool features that set it apart from other point and shoot 35mm film cameras.

  • Zuiko coated 40mm f/2.8 lens : this lens is sharp, and the wide aperture makes it versatile in a lot of situations.
  • Automatic settings : the Olympus Trip has two shutter speeds and aperture from f/2.8 to f/22.
  • No batteries needed : the Olympus Trip is powered by the selenium meter around the lens. This is also what receives light and tells the camera which aperture is needed.
  • Red flag feature : when the camera does not have enough light to take a photograph, a red flag appears in the viewfinder.
  • Zone focusing : the Olympus Trip has four focus settings depending on how far away your subject is from the camera.

What are the different parts of the Olympus Trip?

The top plate.

The Olympus Trip top plate is very simple. The camera features are easy to find, making it an ideal camera for beginners. Below is a labelled diagram of the camera.

Olympus Trip 35 35mm film camera top plate nomenclature

On the left of the top plate is the rewind knob (more on that later). In the middle is the flash hotshoe, used for mounting hotshoe flashes to the camera. The shutter button is the small black button on the top. On some models of Olympus Trip, this button can be silver. The small panel on the right is the shot counter that displays the number of shots you have taken.

The Olympus Trip lens holds most of the key settings for the camera , such as the ASA, focus, and aperture. 

Olympus Trip 35 lens settings

The ASA dial is set to match the roll of film that you put in the camera. For example, if you are using Portra 400, the ASA setting is set to 400. 

The focus settings are simple, and known as zone focusing. There are four zones to choose from. We go through them in more depth later on in this article. 

The aperture settings are only used if you are using flash. Otherwise, the camera is set to "A", which allows the camera to choose the aperture and shutter speed automatically. 

The Bottom Plate

There is only one function on the bottom plate of the Olympus Trip 35: the rewind button. (And the tripod mount, technically.)

Rewind button on the bottom of the Olympus Trip 35mm film camera

The rewind button is pressed when you are ready to start rewinding your film. 

How To Load Film In The Olympus Trip

Loading film takes some practice, but it is really easy when you get to grips with it. 

To load a roll of film in the Olympus Trip, first you have to open the back of the camera. To open the back of the camera, pull down this small silver tab, shown below.

How to open the back of the Olympus Trip camera

Once you have the back of the camera open, you can load your roll of film. To load the roll of film, pull the rewind knob up. The roll of film goes in with the top of the canister (the part that sticks out) at the bottom of the camera. See the image below.

How to load film in the Olympus Trip

When the canister is in, as shown above, you can pull the film leader across the camera to reach the other side.

Pull the film leader across the length of the camera

The rewind knob being put back down will lock the canister in place as you pull the film across. In order to lock the film onto the film spool in the camera, it has to go partly into one of the slots, and the notches at the bottom of the spool have to go through the sprockets on the film (the holes). 

Sprockets on the Olympus Trip 35

In order to be able to advance the film across the camera, you have to fire the shutter . You can do this by pointing it at a bright light or by setting the aperture setting to one of the numbers. 

I recommend firing the shutter, and advancing the film (with the advance thumb wheel) twice before closing the back, so that you can make sure the film is definitely loaded correctly. As you get more confident, you can fire the shutter less times and therefore get more photos on your roll of film. 

How To Take Photos With The Olympus Trip

Now you have loaded your roll of film, and closed the back of the camera, you are ready to start taking photos! 

The first thing to check is that your ASA is set to the same speed as your roll of film. For example, Portra 400 is ASA 400. Or Kodak Gold is ASA 200. 

Close-up of the Olympus Trip 35mm film camera ASA dial

When looking through the viewfinder, you will be able to see your frame lines, and the focus setting that the camera is set to. The viewfinder of the Olympus Trip does not show you where the focus is set, just which symbol you have the lens set to.

View through the viewfinder of Olympus Trip 35mm film camera

When the lens is set to "A", the camera will choose the shutter speed and aperture for you manually. If the image you are trying to take is too dark, the red flag will come up. 

You can override this by setting it to one of the numbers instead, but be aware that these are intended for a flash to be used with it. By setting the Olympus Trip to a number on the lens, it reduces the shutter speed to 1/30 - that's one thirtieth of a second. So you will need to have a steady hand when doing so.

How does the film counter on the Olympus Trip work?

When you first load your roll of film, it may look as though the film counter is not moving. It takes two or three shots for the shot counter to move to the number one. 

The back of the camera needs to be closed in order for the shot counter to start working. 

The counter shows the amount of images you have taken, not how many you have left.

Shutter counter on the Olympus Trip 35

How do I focus the Olympus Trip 35?

The Olympus Trip focus settings are simple, but take some getting used to. There are four settings on the camera. The symbols for these are found on the black part of the lens, as shown earlier in the article. 

The symbols are as follows:

Symbols for the Olympus Trip 35 focus settings

The Olympus Trip has  four focus settings . The viewfinder view does not change as you change the focus settings, so you need to know which setting is correct for how far away your subject is. Luckily, this is  not hard.

The first setting has the symbol of one person. The first setting is used for close-up photographs , where the subject is less than 1 metre away.

The second setting is of two people, which is to be used for subjects from 1.5 to 3 metres away. 

The third setting is a symbol of three people. This setting is used for subjects that are between  3 and 6 metres away. 

The final setting is a symbol of a mountain, which is used for anything beyond 6 metres away. 

If you ever forget these numbers, they are engraved on the underside of the lens (opposite to the symbols on the top). 

How does the Olympus Trip 35 red flag feature work?

The purpose of this Olympus Trip feature is to stop you from taking a photograph that is not exposed enough and therefore will not be visible when developed.

When there is not enough light in your image, the red flag will pop up in the viewfinder. You will clearly be able to see it if you are looking through the viewfinder. It also blocks the shutter button from being pressed.

Red flag feature inside the Olympus Trip viewfinder

Can I use the Olympus Trip at night?

Yes, you can. 

The easiest way to do this is to attach a flash to the top of the camera.

Attaching a flash to the top of the camera is easy and most flashes can be used on the Olympus Trip. It has a standard flash hotshoe on the top of the camera. 

Here is an example of a flash that can be used on the Olympus Trip:

When using a flash on the Olympus Trip, there are different settings to use. These are the aperture numbers on the silver barrel of the lens closest to the camera. 

The aperture you use needs to be read off of the meter table, which is usually displayed on the back of the flash unit. 

How to use a flash on the Olympus Trip 35

You can read more about using the Olympus Trip at night here .

How To Rewind Your Film

Congratulations, you've finished your roll of film. 

How can I tell if the roll of film is finished?

You will start to feel some resistance when trying to advance the camera. Do not force it, as you will snap part of the mechanism. 

If you are using a 24 exposure roll of film, you will have reached the 24th shot. The shot counter should show the number 24, or near to that number. The same applies for a 36 exposure roll of film, as this will show the number 36. Sometimes you are lucky and get 37 or 38 shots out of a roll of film. 

When the film will not advance any more, the film is finished. 

How do I take the roll of film out?

On the bottom of the camera is your rewind button. Push this button in. It should stay in after you have pressed it once. 

You can now use the rewind knob to rewind the film into the canister. Turn the knob clockwise. 

Using the Olympus Trip 35 rewind knob to rewind film

Rewinding the film usually takes around thirty seconds of rewinding. You will feel when the film comes off of the spool at the end, because the rewind knob will have less resistance. Keep rewinding it until you feel certain that the film is back inside the canister. 

You can now open the back and take the film out. 

Back of the Olympus Trip 35mm film camera

That's just about everything you need to know about the Olympus Trip 35 35mm film camera! We really recommend this camera for beginners, so we hope you have a great time using it and create some lovely images. 

I think my Olympus Trip is broken; what should I do?

A lot of Olympus Trip 35mm film cameras have never been serviced in their lifetime. Because they are holiday cameras, a lot of them have sand in the mechanisms. 

We highly recommend getting your Olympus Trip serviced if it hasn't been used in a while. 

Maintained, these cameras can last many years, however when they have been left for decades, they can develop a few issues, such as stuck aperture blades, stuck shutter, non-functioning light meter, etc. 

All of our Olympus Trip services and repairs are very affordable, so definitely consider sending it to us before deciding that it doesn't work, or putting it back in a drawer. 

Shop our full range of Olympus Trips and accessories here:

Find out more about the olympus trip here:.

Different colours of Olympus Trip cameras

Featured Camera: The Olympus Trip 35

Olympus Trip camera with flash attached - can you use the Olympus Trip at night?

Can You Use the Olympus Trip At Night?

If you like what we do, but can't buy a camera from us, please consider buying us a cup of coffee! It helps us to keep these resources free, consistent, and accessible. 

Still stuck on which film camera to buy?

Try our film camera quiz. All you have to do is answer a few questions, and then you will get a list of personalised camera recommendations. 

Or send us a message on Instagram , send us an email , chat to us on our live website chat, or read some more of our blog posts!

Max, owner of Cameras By Max

Article written by: Max

Max is the owner of Cameras By Max. They work full-time repairing and refurbishing all the 35mm film cameras you see on the website. Their favourite camera (at the moment) is the Olympus XA, and their favourite city in the world is Edinburgh.

Take our quiz to find your perfect film camera.

Not sure which camera is best for you?

Congratulations! Your order qualifies for a free planted tree. Plant a tree with any order over £60!

No more products available for purchase

Your cart is currently empty.

Olympus Trip 35 Film Camera Review

A cult classic, an engineering marvel, and an excellent value for a modern film photographer.

Olympus Trip 35 (black paint) and a few trip necessities.

Olympus Trip 35 is one of the most popular 35mm film cameras ever produced. It’s affordable, it’s easy to use, the lens is sharp, it needs no batteries, and it’s compact.

Trip 35 uses a scale focus system, which may seem daunting at first — but it’s not difficult, and the camera has unique aides to help you get the right distance — I’ll explain below.

I’ll also cover all the basics of operation (including the auto and manual modes), lens performance, and build quality of this excellent entry-level Olympus film camera .

A Cult-Classic, Engineering Marvel, an Excellent Value for a Modern Photog

Why is Olympus Trip 35 a favourite of so many photographers?

Olympus Trip 35 is not an expensive camera. It has decent specs, but it’s not the sharpest, fastest, or most compact camera. Yet, it’s loved by many photographers of all levels today.

Back when it was introduced — over 55 years ago — it was a huge hit. The camera was in production for 15 years, having sold between five and ten million units .

Trip 35 sold for $59.95 at launch in 1968, or $530 in today’s money. But you may still find a working copy for $50 in 2024!

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus.

But it’s not just the price that makes this camera good. Trip 35s are built very well with lots of metal components and an excellent glass lens. They are a pleasure to hold and use. They’re nearly pocketable and don’t require any advanced photographic know-how or a manual to get started: if you know how to load film , you can use this camera.

🤓 Trip 35’s automatic exposure system that chooses an aperture and shutter speed by converting light energy into mechanical force is of particular interest to film nerds like me. Though many fancy cameras from the era used selenium light meters for aperture or shutter-priority modes, Trip 35 combined both functions in a relatively simple and remarkably reliable design .

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus.

Olympus Trip 35 specs and features.

Trip 35 is a successor to Olympus PEN (namely, EES and EES-2) cameras’ excellent mechanical/optical design and portability.

My black paint brass Olympus Trip 35 version weighs 413g/14½oz , though some copies of this camera may weigh up to 20g lighter. The camera is nearly pocketable at 12×7×6cm (4 ½ ×2¾×2¼”), though it’s not the smallest .

Olympus Trip 35’s remarkably small (for the time) dimensions and ease of use are undoubtedly at the core of this camera’s name and ethos: a camera that’s easy to throw in a small bag or a pocket for a trip.

 ☝︎ Further reading: “ How to Travel With Film Through Airport Security .”

The leaf shutter on Olympus Trip 35 has two speeds: 1/40s and 1/200s. It can switch between the two automatically via the mechanical trap-needle system. In manual mode, Olympus Trip 35 only uses the 1/40s shutter speed. There are no Bulb and no self-timer modes.

The lens is a non-interchangeable Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm 𝒇2.8-22 (four elements in three groups). The closest focus distance is 1m/3ft. The lens uses an odd 43.5mm screw-in lens filter thread that can be adapted to the more common 40 or 46mm threads .

Fully automatic exposure (A) is controlled mechanically by converting ambient light energy via selenium cells (bubbles around the lens) into mechanical movements that modify the aperture and shutter speeds. The camera can be operated manually via the aperture ring around the lens, which will always trigger the shutter at 1/40s if not set to A. The exposure meter is operational between EV8 and EV17 ; it accepts films with ISO 25 — ISO 400 (which needs to be dialled in manually before shooting). No batteries needed.

Small image.

The viewfinder features a mechanical “red flag” warning system for scenes with insufficient lighting (the camera will also prevent exposures in those conditions). It shows bright lines with parallax markings inside a small but bright window with 0.55x magnification. The eye relief isn’t great, but if you aren’t wearing glasses, you’ll notice a “ Judas window ” that overviews the camera’s shooting mode and distance settings.

Film advance is done with a thumb wheel; rewinding via the rewind knob is unlocked with a rewind button; the film cover opens with a small latch a the bottom-left when looking at the camera’s back.

Hot shoe and a PC socket are available for flash sync. Learn how to use flash with cameras like Trip 35 here .

Free Olympus Trip 35 manual download.

I’ve recently scanned the manual that my camera came with and converted it to a convenient PDF file that you can download for free here:

➜  Free Download :   Olympus Trip 35 Instructions Manual  (PDF)

Small image.

This manual took some cropping and assembly as its pages aren’t standard (it’s folded like a map). I hope that this little bit of extra effort makes it easier to read on your screen. However, I’m not sure how well it will look in print.

You’ll be asked to sign up for a free account with Analog.Cafe. It comes with access to more downloadable guides, additional website features, and a monthly community newsletter.

Taking the first photo with Olympus Trip 35: loading film & setting focus.

Trip 35 is easy to load — the only tricky part is finding the latch to open the film door. ( If you’ve never loaded film in these types of cameras, check out this guide .)

Given that you’ve loaded your Trip 35 with film rated between ISO 25 and 400, you’ll need to set the ASA/ISO dial to match your film speed . In general, ISO 100-400 films do best with this camera (a higher-ISO film works best in subdued light, and lower-iso film provides finer grain).

For automatic exposures, the ring around the lens closest to the camera body should be set to “A.” But manual exposures are possible at the constant 1/40s shutter speed (can be metered as 1/30s) with the apertures selected via the same ring (i.e., any number other than the “A”). Learn how to shoot film cameras in manual mode here .

A view through the Olympus Trip 35 viewfinder window.

I appreciate the bright frame lines with parallax markings in the viewfinder . They make framing feel a little easier than on cameras with masks . Though I would prefer the self-illuminating kind.

The viewfinder window is fairly small. It’s usable with the glasses on; however, I had to use contacts to take advantage of the “Judas window” — a small secondary view below the main finder frame lines that shows the set distance icon and camera shooting mode/aperture.

Pointing the camera at things that are insufficiently lit for the film ISO/ASA set on the camera would raise a small translucent red plastic flag and block the shutter button. This would not happen when the camera is in manual mode (i.e. when an aperture value is selected instead of the “A”).

Olympus Trip 35’s shutter button provides medium-high resistance, it has a long travel distance, and it’s very well-balanced with the rest of the body for shake-free hand-held exposures . The leaf shutter is also shake-free (though it feels a little loud for what it is ).

Trip 35 uses a zone-focusing system. For a casual photographer, it works by turning the focus ring around the lens until it clicks to either a single-person icon 👤 for portraits, a two-person icon 👥 for group portraits, a red “group-snap” icon ⍒.⍒ , or the mountains icon 🏔️ for landscape photos.

Below the lens barrel, there are more precise focus markings in feet and metres. Learn how to zone-focus quickly and accurately here .

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus.

Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm 𝒇2.8 lens.

One of the most celebrated components of this camera is its lens. It’s very sharp in the middle , especially at 𝒇5.6-8 , with only minor swirl and softening in the corners.

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus. No sharpening applied.

The lens renders a medium-low amount of contrast on my copy, but the coating appears to work well, as I noticed no overwhelming or unexpected flaring in any of my photos.

Overall, I found D. Zuiko 𝒇2.8 well-corrected, suitable for reproducing fine detail on high-resolution films.

The 40mm focal length is common and well-suited for a non-interchangeable camera system. It translates to ~57° diagonal angle of view — very close to the 60° in our central vision . Essentially, this means easy framing for most situations.

The 40mm D. Zuiko may not be appropriate for interior/architecture photography, close-ups, telephoto, or certain landscape images.

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus.

Olympus Trip 35 portability and ease-of-use (ergonomics).

Even though Trip 35 isn’t the smallest or the lightest 35mm film camera , it’s reasonably portable for the type of lens it uses and a full metal body. All of its controls are perfectly positioned for quick, intuitive action. With a little practice, you can use this camera one-handedly.

I kept mine in wool jacket pockets and hoodies with no issues. Despite fitting will in hand, Trip 35 is noticeably hefty; my Peak Design wrist strap solved any danger of dropping this camera.

Olympus Trip 35 build quality & variations.

Trip 35 was a remarkably successful design; understandably, Olympus didn’t want to change it much while it continued to make record sales. All of the Olympus Trip 35s look nearly identical, with some known changes introduced in the 1970s that had little effect on appearance and no effect on performance (i.e. a plastic shutter button instead of the metal one).

The only significant divergence from the standard design was the black paint brass Trip 35 , which remained in production for just two years. This variation is much rarer than the silver aluminum bodies, but in Olympus’ world, this means that there are less than a hundred options available at any time, and they cost $50 extra.

If you plan to keep this camera for a while and are willing to spend a little more, the black version may be worth it (if you like the look of brassing). It has excellent build quality and an impressive appearance; every part fits perfectly, in line with what you’d expect from the much more expensive Olympus PEN half-frame SLRs .

Olympus Trip 35 wtih Kodak ColorPlus. The Auto mode added about 1-2 stops of over-exposure.

But despite their clever design and quality assembly, Trip 35s can be prone to deterioration.

In my copy, the light meter over-exposes every brightly lit frame by 1-2 stops. It’s difficult to say if it’s the time taking a toll on the intricate cells or if it’s the imprecise nature of the selenium metering that’s preventing me from taking perfectly exposed images.

A clever photographer can always compensate by setting the film ASA/ISO higher in full sun or shooting Trip 35 manually. But if you’re looking to get a copy, you should verify that the camera is sold as fully functional . An online listing would say that in the title or the description.

Trip 35 mods, hacks, and repairs.

Repairing Trip 35s may cost as much or more than the value of the camera. The good news is that simple fixes (like cleaning oil of the shutter and aperture blades) aren’t difficult if you’ve got the right tools and know-how.

Another common issue with cameras this old is the light seals. The soft, spongy material tends to crumble over time, which in turn can create light leaks . I have a guide on fixing that quickly and cheaply here .

Being a mechanical camera with manual controls, Trip 35s can survive past the span of the selenium cells that power its fully automatic shooting mode. Some photographers may prefer to use the camera in the manual mode for more precise control over exposure. You may even modify yours to shoot with the faster 1/200s shutter speed for improved action snaps and reduced motion blur.

How much does Trip 35 cost, and where to find one.

Olympus Trip 35 film camera is a fantastic value in terms of fun, image quality, and build quality. Most copies of these cameras can be bought between $20-120 — depending on the condition. And a few bucks more can get you the rare-ish black paint version .

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Olympus Trip 35 purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!

About this article :

It can take five hours of work (or more) to write and proof a quality five-minute read with high-res illustrations. Below are the people who made this one possible. All content is reviewed, styled, and edited by Dmitri .

Catawiki is continuously updating its technology. You are currently using an outdated browser. To optimise your browsing experience, please update your browser.

You can set your cookie preferences using the toggles below. You can update your preferences, withdraw your consent at any time, and see a detailed description of the types of cookies we and our partners use in our Cookie Policy .

Cameras & Optical Equipment

Leica Lenshood Noctilux 12503 Prime lens

Rollei K7F Analogue camera

Leica M2 & Elmar 5 cm/2,8 Analogue camera

Yashica Close-Up lens Set No. 2 + Yashica 30mm lens Hood Lens adapter

Carl Zeiss, Rollei Mutar large 0,7 xBay II For Rolleiflex | Wide angle lens

Leica Ia - (Elmar 2nd version + Elmar Close-Focus)

Leitz Per strumenti scentifici + Leica Summaron F2.8 35mm Analogue camera

Rollei Rollei Magic II - c1963 - working Twin lens reflex camera (TLR)

Rollei Rolleiflex 4x4 gray - c1957 - in goede staat Twin lens reflex camera (TLR)

Leitz Hektor F = 2.8 cm 1:6,3 Wide angle lens

Leica R3 Electronic (Safari) Single lens reflex camera (SLR)

Rollei Rolleiflex Rolleicord Adapter Back + 4 Plates + focusing screen boxed KIT. Film holder

Yashica 30mm SLR Lens Filters 2x (UV & 1A) Lens adapter

Leica Vario-Elmar R 35-70mm f 3,5 11244 Analogue camera

Steinheil Orthostigmat 1:4,5 f=35mm VL Wide angle lens

Mamiya-Sekor C33 Professional | Twin lens reflex camera (TLR)

Leica D-Lux 109 | Digital compact camera

Bronica Yashica-D Copal MXV + leren tas | Twin lens reflex camera (TLR)

Yashica Mat 120 / medium format camera

Leica Leicaflex SL2 + Leitz Summicron-R 2/50mm | Single lens reflex camera (SLR)

Rollei Rolleinar 2, Rolleinar Bay 1 bayonet.

Leica CL + summmicron-C 40mm 1:2 Rangefinder camera

GOMZ Lubitel 2 | Twin lens reflex camera (TLR)

Leica I A 1927/28 no 36638 Analogue camera

Related collections

  • Realist Stereo viewers
  • ICA Medium Format Camera
  • Calumet Flight case
  • Lucky Digital Compact Camera
  • Moskva Folding camera
  • Leica Microscope Lens
  • Balda Pinhole camera
  • Oude Delft Projection Lens
  • Kingston Cameras and Optical Equipment
  • Linhof Barrel lens
  • Franka Kamerawerk Cameras and Optical Equipment

IMAGES

  1. Olympus Trip 35

    olympus trip 35 serial number

  2. Olympus Trip 35, 1967 (look at that serial number!)

    olympus trip 35 serial number

  3. Olympus Trip 35

    olympus trip 35 serial number

  4. SAM_0223

    olympus trip 35 serial number

  5. Olympus Trip 35

    olympus trip 35 serial number

  6. Serial number and age (an explanation)

    olympus trip 35 serial number

VIDEO

  1. 1978 Olympus Trip 35

  2. Olympus Trip MD 3

  3. Olympus Trip XB3

  4. Olympus Trip 35

  5. Olympus Trip MD Короткий Огляд for Sale

  6. Olympus TRIP 35底片相機Q080153

COMMENTS

  1. How to determine the age of an Olympus TRIP35

    The serial number on an Olympus Trip 35 camera does *not* give you a precise date of manufacture. The only way to tell is to open the film compartment and carefully remove the ... Of course the TRIP 35 was manufactured between 1967 and 1984, so if you are unsure if you have a 1968 or 1978 model, the chrome shutter button is the earlier and the ...

  2. Serial number and age (an explanation)

    john millar: The serial number on an Olympus Trip 35 camera does *not* give you a precise date of manufacture. The only way to tell is to open the film compartment and carefully remove the pressure plate on the back of the door (this is quite easy. It simply slides free from its locating pins) and look for a code on the back of the pressure plate. The code consists of 3 characters: 1st ...

  3. Serial Number

    shouting shadow: I thought this would be a way to know actually how many Trips there are in this group and it can also be fun to discover someone with a close serial number camera and see where this camera "lives". I start with the serials of my Trip 35s and where they live. KEEP IT ROLLIN' ;) country: Portugal serial numbers: 2987511 3884182 4984451 4248994 4321085 5319812

  4. Serial number Trip 35 list

    Dharma Singh: To avoid very long items in other topics in this group I propose to put the serial number data here. It can be copied and edited by everyone who likes to update and/or add other data related to this database. Please add and correct data to make this a nice and as complete list as possible.

  5. Olympus Trip 35 (1967)

    This is an Olympus Trip 35, a 35mm scale focus camera made by Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. between the years 1967 and 1984. ... Many sites on the Internet today suggest that up to 10 million Trip 35s were sold, but based on serial number research, the actual number is probably closer to half that. But even with 5 million units sold, the Olympus ...

  6. Olympus Trip 35

    The Olympus Trip 35 is a fully-automatic 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus from 1967 to 1984, during which time over ten million units were sold, though this oft-quoted figure is likely to have included later plastic-bodied Olympus cameras with Trip branding, as the original Trip 35 had serial numbers going up to around 5,400,000. The auto-exposure mechanism is effectively solar ...

  7. Tripping the Light Fantastic: The Original Olympus Trip

    3rd number or letter represents month of assembly (1-9 for Jan-Sept, X,Y,Z for Oct-Dec); Thus the code N1Y = November 1971. Note that serial numbers for the original Olympus Trip 35 go up to about 5,400,000, which may mean that the figure of over ten million units sold over the production run may include later plastic-bodied Trip-branded cameras.

  8. Olympus Trip 35 Users

    Lots of questions about serial numbers for early chrome Trips and serial numbers for All Black Trips. I've serviced over 300 trips so far Early chrome pre 1970 I've had 18 pass through my hands The...

  9. Olympus Trip 35: Every bit as good as its reputation

    The top cover of the Olympus Trip 35 houses the hot shoe, shutter release, serial number and frame counter. Behind the shutter release, on the back of the top cover assembly, is the thumbwheel film advance. (Daniel J. Schneider) The light meter uses a selenium photovoltaic cell, with a large light-gathering matrix surrounding the lens.

  10. Olympus Trip 35

    Looking at the actual serial numbers, it is more likely that Olympus built around 5.4 million units of the Trip 35. Paul is also known as Trip Man (https://www.tripman.co.uk), selling refurbished classic Trip 35 cameras and accessories online out of England. He is a true authority and thus my perfect guide to this wonderful little camera.

  11. Olympus TRIP 35

    The Olympus TRIP 35 is a full-sized compact EE camera based on the Pen EES. It first went on sale in 1968. The name reflects its suitability as a convenient camera to take on trips. The TRIP 35 became very popular as a camera that combined ease of use, reliability and a low price with superb photographic performance. It remained a best-seller ...

  12. OLYMPUS TRIP 35 INSTRUCTIONS MANUAL Pdf Download

    Olympus digital camera user manual (92 pages) Digital Camera Olympus TG-320 Manuel D'instructions. Appareil photo numerique (80 pages) Digital Camera OLYMPUS TG-620 Instruction Manual. (167 pages) Digital Camera Olympus TG-830 Instruction Manual. (102 pages) Digital Camera Olympus U TOUGH-8000 Instruction Manual.

  13. Olympus Trip 35

    The Trip 35 is a fully-automatic 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus from 1967 to 1984, during which time over ten million units were sold. (This oft-quoted figure is likely to have included later plastic-bodied Olympus cameras with Trip branding, as the original Trip 35 had serial numbers going up to around 5,400,000.) The auto-exposure mechanism is effectively solar-powered by a ...

  14. Olympus Trip 35

    Weight. 390 g (390 g) Made in. Japan. The Olympus Trip 35 is a 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued, after a lengthy production run, in 1984. The Trip name is a reference to its intended market—people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s, it was the subject ...

  15. A cult classic point and shoot

    With the camera set to 'A', based on the light hitting the meter it will choose the most appropriate aperture between f2.8 and f22. It will also choose either 1/40th or 1/200th for the shutter speed. If the amount of light isn't adequate for at very least 1/40th and f2.8 it will simply prevent the photo from being taken.

  16. The Olympus Trip 35 Review: Everything You Need To Know

    The Olympus Trip 35 is so popular because it's very easy to use, it has a great lens and it's ideal for the novice photographer. Also, the Olympus Trip 35 is one of the only 35mm cameras powered by the sun, making it really handy to take on holiday with you. Since 1967 10 million units have been sold, which is a tremendous amount even today.

  17. The Olympus Trip 35

    Discovering the Charm of the Olympus Trip 35: A Timeless Companion for Every Photographer Introduction Welcome to the world of the Olympus Trip 35, a camera that's as charismatic today as it was when it first clicked its way into the hearts of photographers decades ago. In an era where digital photography reigns...

  18. Olympus Trip 35 Review

    Dig a little deeper however, and you find that based on serial numbers and production dates, it is more likely that they in fact produced approximately 5.6 million units, with a grand total of 10 million if you count all other Olympus cameras that carry the "Trip" branding in whatever shape or form.

  19. How To Use The Olympus Trip 35: The Full How-to Guide

    The Olympus Trip is really easy to use, and has some cool features that set it apart from other point and shoot 35mm film cameras. Zuiko coated 40mm f/2.8 lens: this lens is sharp, and the wide aperture makes it versatile in a lot of situations. Automatic settings: the Olympus Trip has two shutter speeds and aperture from f/2.8 to f/22.

  20. Olympus Trip 35 Specification

    The following specifications of the Olympus Trip 35 are as stated in the manual, whilst the rest obtained by dismantling the camera. Made in. Japan; Serial Number. 3641141; Film Size. 24 mm × 36 mm; Lens System. D. Zuiko; F2.8; Focal length 40 mm; Four elements in three groups; Shutter Mechanism.

  21. Olympus Trip 35 Film Camera Review

    Trip 35 is a successor to Olympus PEN (namely, EES and EES-2) cameras' excellent mechanical/optical design and portability. My black paint brass Olympus Trip 35 version weighs 413g/14½oz, though some copies of this camera may weigh up to 20g lighter. The camera is nearly pocketable at 12×7×6cm (4½×2¾×2¼"), though it's not the ...

  22. Olympus Trip 35

    Olympus Trip 35 - serial number 3432819.

  23. Olympus Trip 35

    Splendid Olympus Trip 35 with original Olympus PS 200 flash (in cover) and protective cap. The camera is undamaged and in beautiful and working condition. The serial number is 1611257. This Trip is a 35 mm compact camera made by Olympus. The camera was sold from 1968 to 1983. The lens is nicely clear and the shutter works properly. Olympus called the camera "Trip" because they intended to ...