Olympus Pen Flex1962

History

The Pen Flex appeared in 1962, four years after Yoshihisa Maitani introduced the original Pen (1959). By this point Olympus had established the Pen EE family as its mainstream half-frame auto-exposure line. The Flex was a variant or market-specific model within that family . Production ran through the mid-1960s alongside the Pen EE.

The Pen EE-2 (1968) and Pen EE-S effectively superseded the Flex's position in the lineup, continuing the selenium auto-exposure formula with minor improvements.

Why It Matters

The Pen Flex is significant primarily as an example of how Olympus iterated quickly on the Pen concept in the early 1960s. Maitani's half-frame format offered 72 exposures per roll of 36-exposure film at a time when film cost was a real constraint for amateur photographers in Japan. The selenium meter and auto-exposure system removed the need for users to understand exposure, broadening the market considerably.

For 2026 shooters, the Pen Flex is a working half-frame option at lower prices than the Pen D or Pen W, with the convenience of automatic exposure. The selenium cell may be degraded on surviving examples, which is the primary functional risk.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Mass-market Japanese domestic amateur photography, early 1960s.
• Part of the Pen family that collectively enabled a new class of inexpensive half-frame documentary photography in postwar Japan.

References

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

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