Taking Photos with the Olympus Trip 35:

How to Take Photos with the Olympus Trip 35:

Step 1: Ensure the camera is wound on

This gets the shutter ready and primed to take a photo.

Step 2: Set subject zone focus distance on the lens

The Olympus Trip 35 has 4 settings which equate to focusing zone distances away from the camera (shown on the underside of the lens barrel):

  1. 🧍‍♀️Close focus ≈ 1 meter. This setting is used for focusing on anything ~1 meter away from the camera, be it close headshots or other close up details.
  2. 👥 Portrait ≈ 1.5 meters. Used for focusing on anything ~1.5 meters away from the camera, for example portraits or capturing wider details in the photo.
  3. 👯   Group  ≈ 3 meters. Focusing on anything ~3 meters away from the camera, eg. full length body shots/group photos.
  4. 🌄 Scenery ≈ 5+ meters. Focusing on everything 5+ meters away from the camera, great for landscapes or subjects far away from the camera!

Step 3: Ensure aperture ring is set to 'A'

For 99% of situations in good light without a flash, it's best to leave the camera set to the red 'A'.

This lets the camera's solar powered meter set the exposure settings automatically and ensures a good exposure.

Step 4: Compose the photo using the viewfinder

Use the projected frame lines to see the area that will be captured in your photograph. There are hash marks to indicate the change in frame at close focus.

Step 5: Take photo by pressing shutter button

There should be a small click as the shutter fires - indicating a photo has been taken! 🙌 If instead a red flag appears in the viewfinder, this is a warning that there is not enough light in the scene for a proper exposure. 

You can manually disable the red flag low light warning and take a photo anyway in low light by setting the aperture to '2.8'.

Towards the end of the roll it is important to not try to wind on the camera hard when you start feeling quite a lot of resistance or cannot wind on further - this signifies that the roll is finished, but if pushed too hard at this stage can result in the film snapping in the back of the camera.