page_title: Zuiko
section_title: Automated exposure 35mm cameras
hierarchical_section_title: Zuiko / Fixed-lens cameras / Automated exposure 35mm cameras
caption_attribution_description: This excellent camera has been described extensively elsewhere. Luckily, I bought mine before Ken Rockwell reviewed it and prices started to climb... None of this was in the seller's description, but this example came in the box as shown, with instruction booklet and original receipt. It had been cleaned, the light seals replaced, a battery and Oly lens cap fitted. The braided silk strap was also included, and is excellent for use with a small, light camera such as this.
context_page_description: Zuiko is a brand of optical lenses made by Olympus Corporation that was used up to and into the Four Thirds system era. The name Zuiko means 'Light of the Gods', using a character from the Mizuho Optic Research Laboratory, where the lens was developed, and a character from Takachiho Corporation, which would eventually become the Olympus Corporation.
  With the introduction of the Micro Four Thirds system in 2008, new lenses for that system started to be branded as M.Zuiko Digital.
context_section_description: Olympus released the Olympus-Auto electro-set (1958) and Auto-B electro-set (1959) shortly after the Ace interchangeable lens rangefinder, using styling largely borrowed from the Ace. Both of the Auto models had built-in exposure meters, and were distinguished by lens speed; the older Auto had the faster G.Zuiko 42mm f/1.8 lens carried over from the 35 S-II and the Auto-B had a slower E.Zuiko 42mm f/2.8 lens. Cosmetically, the Auto had a cover for the meter window, which was omitted on the Auto-B. The 'electro-set' designates the semi-automated exposure system; by setting the film speed on the camera body, match-needle metering is used to set aperture and shutter speed simultaneously. The aperture and shutter speed settings are coaxial with the lens and are geared to turn together when the shutter speed is changed; the aperture may be varied, but the shutter speed will change with aperture to maintain exposure. The Auto Eye of 1960 succeeded the older electro-set models and added full shutter-priority autoexposure using a non-interchangeable version of the D.Zuiko 45mm f/2.8 from the Ace. The camera will not release the shutter if the correct exposure cannot be set based on the selected shutter speed. A slightly faster D.Zuiko 43mm f/2.5 was used for its successor, the Auto Eye II, released in 1962.
  Also in 1962, Olympus released the S Electro Set (engraved with 'Olympus-S' on the top plate), which used the G.Zuiko 42mm f/1.8 lens from the original Auto. An updated version designated SC was released in 1963; it retained the 'Olympus-S' top plate engraving using the same lens but switched the meter technology from selenium cell to cadmium sulfide (CdS). The successor of the Olympus-S twins was the first of the two-letter 35 xx models, released in 1965; the Olympus 35 LE used a slightly faster G.Zuiko 42mm f/1.7 lens with similar double Gauss optical construction and prominently advertised the use of six transistors. A similarly-styled 35 LC using the same lens was released in 1967, which dropped the autoexposure functions of the 35 LE. Like the older electro-set models, the 35 LC coupled the shutter speed and aperture rings so that once the exposure was set, changing the shutter speed would also automatically change the aperture.
  Between 1968 and 1983, Olympus sold the Trip 35 camera. It was a scale/zone-focused camera based on the Pen EES which featured a D.Zuiko 40mm f/2.8 Tessar-type lens, two automatically-selected shutter speeds (​¹⁄₄₀, which doubled as the manual flash sync speed, and ​¹⁄₂₀₀) for aperture-priority autoexposure, or programmed autoexposure driven by the selenium cell meter. No batteries were required.  It was marketed as a kit with a compact flash.
  The 35 LE/LC were followed by the flagship fixed-lens 35 SP rangefinder of 1969, again using the G.Zuiko 42mm f/1.7 lens. The 35 SP featured both manual and programmed automatic exposure modes, where the meter reading automatically set both aperture and shutter speed. A switch on the back of the 35 SP engaged the spot meter to override the default scene-average metering. An updated 35 SPN added a battery check in 1972, but otherwise kept the same features and lens as the 35 SP. The camera was restyled and was re-released as the 35 UC in 1973.
  Meanwhile, Olympus released the 35 EC economy fixed-lens camera alongside the 35 SP in 1969; compared to the SP, the EC had a slower E.Zuiko 42mm f/2.8 lens carried over from the Auto-B of 1959, but was also markedly smaller and lighter. The 35 EC offered programmed automatic exposure only (both aperture and shutter speed set automatically by the meter) and had no rangefinder.  The 35 EC was replaced in 1971 by the 35 EC2, which added a battery check function.  The updated 35 ECR of 1972 added a rangefinder to the 35 EC2 but again was limited to programmed autoexposure.  In 1974, Olympus released the 35 ED, last of the 'economy' line, equipped with a slightly wider D.Zuiko 38mm f/2.8 lens, rangefinder focusing, and programmed autoexposure only. 
  In 1970, Olympus marketed the 35 RC as a mid-range compromise; although it
caption: 1970 Olympus 35 RC compact, E.Zuiko 42mm f/2.8
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