Olympus Pen D1962

History

Released 1962. Variants:

• Pen D (1962) — original, selenium meter.
• Pen D2 (1964) — switched to CdS meter (battery required).
• Pen D3 (1965) — refined CdS, last version.

Production ended 1969. The Pen D line was the "premium half-frame" sibling to the simpler Pen EE / EE-2 / EE-3 series.

Why It Matters

The Pen D's f/1.9 lens is unusually fast for any half-frame camera. Combined with the half-frame format's built-in 2× crop factor, the 32/1.9 acts roughly like a 45mm equivalent on full-frame at maximum aperture — a fast normal lens in a pocketable body. For low-light half-frame work (cafes, evening street), nothing else from the era competes.

For 2026 buyers, a Pen D is one of the more sought-after half-frames after the interchangeable Pen F. The selenium-meter version is reliable; the D2/D3 CdS versions need the same mercury-battery workarounds as other 60s CdS bodies.

Lenses & Accessories

Lens fixed. Standard hot/cold-shoe flashes work via the leaf shutter's all-speed sync.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Less famous than the Pen F but cult favorite among half-frame enthusiasts.
• Featured in Maitani retrospectives.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Olympus Pen D
• Wikipedia: Olympus Pen

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