OlympusTrip 35

Place the Olympus Trip 35 in context and you land in the tail end of the all-metal, all-mechanical era — no batteries required for the shutter, no software to update. Catalogued as a zone-focus compact, it pairs the D.Zuiko 40mm f/2.8 with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: sold over 10 million units across two decades — one of the bestsellers ever.

Format

35mm

Year

1967

Lens

D.Zuiko 40mm f/2.8

Min. focus

0.9 m (zone)

Flash

Hot shoe (no built-in)

Battery

None — selenium meter

The D.Zuiko 40mm f/2.8 doesn't chase exotic specifications; it just renders cleanly, focuses predictably, and gets out of the photograph's way. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. Battery: None — selenium meter. Make sure you can still source them locally before paying for a clean copy. There's no built-in flash, but the hot shoe accepts any auto-thyristor unit; a small Vivitar or Sunpak is the period-correct pick. Minimum focus is 0.9 m (zone), close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: David Bailey starred in the iconic UK TV ads: 'Who do you think you are, David Bailey?'. The mild-normal focal length flatters faces and street scenes alike without either looking forced.

Reputation is doing a lot of the price work on the Olympus Trip 35; the camera is good, but pay for the camera, not the legend. A footnote that often comes up: runs forever without a battery thanks to the selenium ring around the lens.

• §1Sold over 10 million units across two decades — one of the bestsellers ever.
• §2David Bailey starred in the iconic UK TV ads: 'Who do you think you are, David Bailey?'
• §3Runs forever without a battery thanks to the selenium ring around the lens.