The orientation of images captured by a half-frame camera is typically vertical, or portrait.
Half-frame cameras utilize standard 35mm film but expose only half the size of a normal 35mm frame with each shot. This results in getting twice as many exposures on a roll of film (e.g., 72 shots on a 36-exposure roll). Due to the way the film advances and how the camera is typically held, the resulting images are oriented differently than those from a standard full-frame 35mm camera.
Default Orientation
According to the provided reference: "Half frame cameras normally shoot images in a vertical (portrait) oriented format."
This means when you hold the camera in the typical landscape orientation (sideways) to take a picture, the image captured on the film will be taller than it is wide.
Achieving Landscape Orientation
To capture a horizontal (landscape) image with a half-frame camera, you need to rotate the camera 90 degrees. The reference explains: "You have to turn them on their sides to take horizontal (landscape) oriented images, but it really isn't that hard to do."
- Standard Hold: Results in a portrait-oriented photo.
- Rotated Hold (90 degrees): Results in a landscape-oriented photo.
The viewfinder also reflects this default orientation: "You just see the world through the viewfinder first in portrait mode, before you decide what you want to do." This means when you look through the viewfinder holding the camera normally, the frame you see is taller than it is wide, showing you the area that will be captured in a portrait orientation.
Summary of Orientation
| Camera Hold | Image Captured Orientation | Viewfinder Display |
|---|---|---|
| Normal (Sideways) | Vertical (Portrait) | Vertical (Portrait) |
| Rotated 90° | Horizontal (Landscape) | Horizontal (Landscape) |
This unique characteristic is a key feature of shooting with half-frame cameras like the Olympus Pen series.
