SHOOTING FILM ON A BUDGET 01: An Alternative to The Leica | Olympus 35 SP rangefinder camera review 

You are so right about the long shutter button being the weakest point of these fixed lens rangefinder cameras. It is needed for the auto exposure system operation I presume. I do not own this Olympus, but my Konica S 1.6 (also 7 elements lens) has the same quirk.

Wow! Wow! The Fuji eterna photos are incredible! Seems like the lens and film are a great match!

70s range finder cameras, renowned for their quietness, with some models even quieter than the M3. Despite this, the M3 holds a special place in my heart because of its lens rendering and the infinity knob, enabling rapid focus by touch without needing to peer through the viewfinder. In a sense, the M3 has honed my ability to capture photos swiftly, making me solely responsible if I ever miss a shot.

Excellent video! Thank you very much for doing it, you allowed me to enjoy knowing that I have an Olympus 35 SP.

i just got one of these today and i’m excited to try it !!

Thanks! I love my Leica as a tool. That means handling it. The pictures come out exactly as with any other quality range camera.

I shoot majority of my work on a 35 SP, it's jack of all trades, a brilliant camera!

Great review of your experience with this Olympus and your photography is very good as well. Thanks

Beautiful camera 📷 with an excellent lens. I'm always looking out for one to add to my collection.👍

Such underrated cameras. I've shot actual projects with my RC and the image quality is fantastic.

I have an M3 with a modern nokton & a 35 SP. The M3 is just extraordinary, the viewfinder is wonderful, the whole experience of taking pictures feels so great with it in a way i cant describe further, you really have to own one to get it. On the other hand, i would not sell my SP 35 for any sum of money ever, that is the camera i take with me when i dont want to think a lot, that is mainly when i travel and go to new places, the spotmeter is very handy, the quality of pictures even at f1.7 is astonishing and overall its a great camera! Great video Steven!

Great video! As are all your videos. The 35SP is an amazing camera, you're lucky to have found two examples with working lightmeters though! I've been using mine without the built in lightmeter since I got it, this video has inspired me to try to get it working. I totally forgot it had such a fancy program auto exposure mode, since mine has never worked. The only thing I wish it had would be a 1/1000s shutter speed and a 1600 ISO film speed setting. The 35SP isn't nearly as common in the US as the 35RC. The RC was my first film camera 15 years ago, I only now realize how lucky I was to randomly pick that model. It's tiny, even compared to the SP, cheaper, has a seemingly more durable lightmeter, and the lens is pretty nice - although it's nothing compared to the SP's lens. I was shocked at the results of my first roll through the SP, just beautiful colors and tone.

Wonderful shots Steven, thanks for the Olympus 35 SP story. That lens is really quite nice!

Fantastic work on this video. Thank you for this!

Excellent review! I own the Olympus 35SP N variant and I like it very mucho though it has a tendency for lens flare. The manual you showed is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I am from!

Hello! I have an Olympus 35 RC, you know, it's smaller with a 42mm lens. f/2.8, it is not as bright as the SP but it is very good. The advantage of this model is its size and, by the way, its lower weight. It is also cheaper on the used camera market. Its use has given me a lot of satisfaction and I personally have no problems with the shutter button. I do have problems with the type of batteries it takes and the added inconvenience of not being able to get the adapter for smaller batteries. In my country (Argentina) it is impossible to buy in international stores due to the enormous tax burden with which any imported merchandise is levied. The adapter would cost me the same or maybe more than the camera. Thanks for your nice videos!

i recently found a 35-sp in my uncles attic. It has been sitting there for who knows how long. I have cleaned it up and changed out the battery. This video helped me undertsand the camera thanyou for making it.

Hi Steven, I love your videos. Your way of talking and your photographs are so beautiful. Years ago I thought Leica is the only way to heaven but after my MP got damaged after only 50 films I used and the costs of fixing it (about 500 €) I was very disappointed and bought me a Yashica electro 35 GTN. The results were astonishing and 10 years ago you could buy them for about 50 € including the leather case. Than I also bought me some of the other including the Oly SP which was not the best in my row of the old camera. She was not to bad and spot metering was pleasure. After I have seen some of your videos, especially the one on F4, I reactivated the Nikon FM2 and bought a F4, so you stole me some money ......

Thanks for another great video. I have always wanted a Leica M3, but never wanted to spend that much money. I have been thinking of an 35sp for the rangefinder experience

Thanks. Great introduction to the 35SP.

The camera most similar to this Olympus without a doubt is the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s, from 1966 (3 years earlier). Except for the fact that the Minolta is slightly bigger and heavier (slight error at 11:35) and that the lens is 45mm vs 40mm and made up of 6 elements and not 7, otherwise it's exactly the same in everything except that it has the light meter integrated in the lens, so it automatically corrects any filter, but on the other hand it does not have the spot meter. The construction is that of a real tank

Thanks for this wonderful review and congratulations on the beautiful photos taken with the 35SP. This video helped me a lot to decide on purchase this camera, and so far I'm loving it.

What a fantastic review. Thank you!

Hi Steven, I have the same concern about the long shutter release, not quite sure when it’s going to fire. I should be using a camera of this pedigree more often, but my go to camera is the Nikon FM2, with the 35mm f2.8 and 85mm f2 lens .

Thank you Steven, I love it when this camera gets into the hands of people who's opinions I respect. Yes, the camera is a bit quirky, but the lens is phenomenal. oh, and the best way to save the battery life is to either take out the battery or put some electrical tape over the sensor when not in use. It will drain very quickly if there's any light to be sensed. Thanks.

Great video. I have some old Nikons and a few lenses, and I have never had a rangefinder camera. I have always wanted a leica or nikon rangefinder but the expense has aways put me off. I just bought a 35sp for £200 in near mint condition. Great camera to have the rangefinder experience before spending ££. Film and film processing is getting expensive, i shoot old Nikon lenses on an d600 or on my old Nikon bodies. And recently just had a few films processed, i had so many good photos on film. And the d600 fills up with average shots, i really think before committing an image to film, and get far better photos when i shoot film. Maybe i miss some good shots on film because i choose not to click. But it really slows me down and makes me think about how and what I shoot. Leica cameras have been a bit tarnished in my eyes as they have become luxury items and fashion accessories, and leica owners are either passionate photographers or photo/gear snobs. I don’t think my photographs justify me having an m3 even if its a beautiful thing to own. I would probably only ever buy 1 lens for an m3 anyway (50mm). So the 35sp offers a very similar and in someways superior experience. Looking forward to getting the Olympus 35sp and taking it out. Thanks for your great content

Oh, and the spring sound when you fire the shutter does hot happen on mine. That maybe a warning sign of some other problem. Thanks again.

Great video. Just have ordered my copy from Japan. Your contribution has convinced my decision.

Just got one 35 DC to regain the film operation feel after using modern OM digital camera for years

Just picked one up from an estate sale, solid camera!

Another really thoughtful video - it is definitely a camera to give as a gift to someone considering film photography. The 40mm focal length is a very nice one to use. I wish the Leica M's had the frame lines for it, though I know the CL/CLE does. For 40mm, I have landed on using the Rollei 40mm 2.8 HFT - but also expensive to buy as you point out, even more so than the Rokkor and Summicron 40mm. However, an excellent lens.

Love this video! I’m thinking about picking this camera up. You have a new subscriber🌸

such a good video dude!!!!! I'm buying an SP just because of your passion for it!! was always considering it but now I know it's meant to be

Great shots with a nice camera and lens my friend, it is a very interesting review

Awesome video Steven cheers. I have the Oly 35SP I've used it quite a few times always enjoy it and the Images it produces always make me smile. Lovely camera think I'll dig it out again soon.

Beautiful video. Very informative and helpful. Thank you

The Minolta HiMatic 7sii is just as good a camera as this, if not better. In terms of sharpness and contrast, it's hard to beat any Minolta rangefinder. Has a similar 40mm f/1.7 lens. No spot meter but you don't need it. It calculates for the filter and shoots perfect pictures every time. And smaller and lighter than most fixed lens rangefinders. But your images from the SP were fantastic, Steven! Loved every one of them. You made the SP look good :-)

honestly such an gem of a camera. just shot the first "test" roll of colourlpus through it and dropped it off for dev today. I find it better to hand to people as well, explaining split prism focusing on slr confuses non photogs and I just hand my 35sp and say line the rangefinder patch up, hold this button and click the shutter to expose on my face.

美麗分享 ～平民 Leica ！多謝❗️多謝💪

Amazing videos and thank you for the honest opinion on the camera really good information

Kodak film prices has gone crazy especially Porta 400. Nowadays I use Kodak Gold which is kind of sensibly priced. I shot Kodak Gold early December last year to capture the last glimpse of Momoji at Kyoto. Nowadays not cameras but film is the limiting factor imho. Thanks for sharing.

such a great video!!!!

Olympus LC, the predecessor of RD and SP!

Thank you for making such great content.

I have tried and owned a number of rangefinder cameras (Leica IIIc, Contax II, Nikon S2, Canon P, etc.), but my favorite easily id the 35 SP. I don't find the long shutter button travel to be too bad when I think about all the mechanical functions going on in the body powered by that stroke. My only complaint is that I wish Aperture Priority automatic mode was available. That is a small price to pay for what the 35 SP delivers. Besides being very sharp and detailed, my images were also very contrasty.

fantastic video! Thanks!

Love your masterpiece

一如既往的精彩！

ハイ!OLYMPUS spいいですよ。 完全プログラムですが、35EDはスロー シャツターがついて室内でもフラッシュ−無しでOKです!やはりお勧めはトリップ35ですね。 KONICA SⅢもお勧め!。

Great video, thank you!

Proper alternative to a Leica in Olympus happens to be an Olympus Pen F (The most Barnack like of Olympus) or get a Canon Leica Screwmount camera, Nicca, or Nicca/Tower camera. The Yashica YF is the most M2/M3 like Leica Screwmount of all.

I got my 35 SP and Canon LQ19 G3 at about the same time for about US$130 each. I find the Canon's image to be sharper than the 35 SP, but the 35 SP is the more involved manual camera and nicer design. People always ask me about it when I take it out for a shoot. Some thing about shooting film; it takes me more time to find the subject matter, compose the image and get the parameters correct since it does cost me more to shoot in film(like $1 a picture if I get it developed) . Like to see your ideas on film photography and why I should shoot film more often instead of digital, great video editing and commentary on the subject.

last month, I bought an Olympus 35 RD, and a 35SP. The mechanics and the lens are perfect, but the Auto mode has problems. They cost me less than £100.00. They are a bit quirky tooperate, they are less solid than my Leica M film cameras, but the lenses are absolute gems.

很好的影片欸 很喜歡

The shutter sound was what I hated the most. Like a spring pinging a hollow metal box... it just ruined the moment of capturing the photograph for me... like a musician hitting the wrong note at the end of a song.

Just get a cheap Konica 40mm f1.8 for your mirrrorless camera.

How many lenses are there for this Olympus 35 SP ?

Do you have a link to purchase the Fuji Eterna in bulk rolls? I have been shooting Kodak Vision 3 stock and would like to try the Fuji Eterna stock. I can not seem to find it in bulk roll. Just re-rolled into 35mm cartridges.

Sorry! If it's not 100% a Leica-M, it will never compare. I don't care how good it is! Many copied and finally gave up!

期待中文注解

Thanks. Great introduction to the 35SP.