Olympus Trip 35 Shutter Mechanism

Olympus Trip 35 Shutter Mechanism

The Olympus Trip 35 has a very elaborate clockwork shutter mechanism, which is extremely reliable. The shutter speed remains precisely the same in any condition and this quality makes it more superior than other designs.

A coiled band spring powers the clockwork shutter mechanism. When the user advances the film through the thumbwheel, they also wind the shutter spring coil simultaneously. This is why the film must advance to the next frame in order for the shutter release to operate. In addition, when taking double exposures, the film had to advance forward, as this also wound the spring.


Shutter Firing Action

Shutter Firing Action

This rotating cam with an off-centre pivot is spring loaded and cocked. When triggered, it moves a lever sideways as shown by the solid arrows. This motion carries to the shutter leaves on the other side by a rotating shaft as shown by the dotted arrow.

Firing Pin Movement

Firing Pin Movement

In profile view, this shows the same shaft on the other side of the mechanism plate. The thick dotted arrow shows the shaft. The rotation of the shaft is a very small arc, which translates to an almost linear motion that moves the shutter leaves as shown by the arrows.


Flash Synchronisation Switch

Flash Synchronisation Switch

In this photograph, you can see the switch contacts. The shutter mechanism opens the shutter blades and trips the switch contacts along the way simultaneously.