Olympus Ace (1956–1959)

The Olympus Ace is a fixed-lens 35mm viewfinder camera from the late 1950s, built around a coated 45mm f/2.8 lens of three elements in three groups. It uses a Seikosha-Rapid leaf shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/400 second plus B, and offers X-sync flash via a contact on the front of the body. Focusing is by scale — no rangefinder — with a close limit of about 3.5 feet. The camera has no self-timer, and film is advanced by a knob rather than a lever.

What little documentation survives describes the Ace as a simple, light camera that lies well in the hand — a straightforward, low-cost introductory model. A 1989 dealer advertisement in High-Fidelity (March 1989, p.46) promotes Olympus camcorders at competitive prices, reflecting the brand's continued market presence. Its bright-line viewfinder is an unusual implementation: it employs a small roof pentaprism made of resin inside the finder, so the frame appears centered but the top corners of the view as seen by the eye may be cut off depending on viewing angle. The film pressure plate is polished, with a matte grey film track.

Sources disagree slightly on dates: one places production at 1956–1959, while another says the camera was introduced in 1957 — plausibly design and tooling began in 1956 with a market release the following year. The original Japanese price was ¥13,000, and a 1959–60 dealer catalog suggested a US resale price of $29.95. The Ace E, an export variant with a different 45mm f/2.4 lens, is a distinct model and should not be confused with this one.

Known specifications:

Type: 35mm viewfinder camera, fixed lens
Lens: 45mm f/2.8, three elements in three groups, coated; 43.5mm filter thread
Shutter: Seikosha-Rapid leaf, 1–1/400 sec + B, X-sync
Focusing: scale, 3.5 ft to infinity
Film speed: ASA 6–400
Advance: knob/thumbwheel

No dimensions, weight, production quantities, or extended critical reviews have been located. The record is thin, but the Ace stands as a tidy example of late-1950s Japanese scale-focus simplicity.