William Sommerwerck wrote
>... the Pen F/FT were half-frame cameras, and
>used an unusual rotating shutter, and equally unusual mirror system to
>replace the pentaprism. These features made a very compact camera
>possible. (I've often wondered why Olympus didn't try to apply these
>innovations to a full-frame camera.)
Because the half frame format is vertical there was room to fit a mirror at
90 degrees and turn the pentaprism sideways in the Pen F/FT.
I once did a drawing showing how, by incorporating a non-removable motor
drive in the base of an OM body, and using the film frame cut-out in a
rotary shutter to clear the viewfinder, such a rotary shutter could be made
room for in a full frame s.l.r. and sent it to Olympus, Tokyo. I had a
charming letter back, telling me they were passing my suggestion to their
Technical Department, but I heard nothing further. In retrospect, it would
have needed to be a much bigger shutter disk for horizontal full frame and
would need quite hefty mechanisms to first spin it fast enough and then
brake in a single revolution. The inertia forces would probably spin the
camera out of your grasp!
Regards
Keith
keith_r.k.berry@xxxxxxxxxx
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