The Olympus Pen half-frame camera
October 1959
A small, cheap camera that took 72 half-frame pictures on a roll of 35mm film. Designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, it started a half-frame boom in Japan.
How it began
Olympus asked the young engineer Yoshihisa Maitani to design a camera that would sell for ¥6,000, much less than other cameras. He chose the half frame: the original 18×24 mm cine frame, half of 35mm.
How it works
The frame runs vertically along the film, so the camera is held upright for landscape-shaped pictures. Halving the frame doubles the number of shots per roll and allows a smaller lens and body.
Why it mattered
It was a hit, and by the mid-1960s half-frame cameras were a large part of the Japanese market. Maitani went on to design the OM series and the XA, and the Pen name returned in 2009 on Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Limits and what replaced it
The small negative gave less detail, and labs often printed half-frames badly. The boom faded by the late 1960s, as full-frame compacts got smaller.
Today
Half-frame cameras are popular again with film photographers; the Pen name returned on Olympus mirrorless cameras.