EP245: Violet Color, Taipei — Olympus Pen-FT with Kodak Vision3 200T/5213 (Remjet Removed)

Roll #245 — my first half-frame roll where the double frame count actually sank in

Film: Kodak Vision3 200T/5213, remjet removed (Reflx Lab 200T repackaged version)
Developed & scanned: Violet Color, 2025/3/5
Camera: Olympus Pen-FT
Lenses:
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5

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I'm not a self-styled photographer chasing personal milestones. I'm just an ordinary person who finds shooting film genuinely fun — I treat it like a toy, an adult toy, where the enjoyment comes from the act of using it, not from waiting to see the results.

This roll marked two firsts for me. First time shooting a full roll of half-frame in landscape orientation. First time developing at Violet Color on Hankou Street near Taipei Main Station.

I'd been meaning to try Violet Color for a long time, but it was never on my route, so I kept putting it off. Then one day I happened to be near Taipei Main Station with a finished roll in my pocket. I checked Google Maps, realized Violet Color was a short walk away, and decided to go see if they handled 127 film. This was for the Baby Rolleiflex I'd picked up — a Rolleiflex 4x4 — which takes 127 format.

As far as I've been able to find out: Jin Ying in Changhua handles 127, Li-lai in Xinzhuang doesn't, and Violet Color does — both color and black and white. When asking about niche formats, it's worth going in person rather than calling; since it's not a standard item on the price list, you're more likely to get a "no" over the phone than you deserve. I asked at all three in person, and got better answers that way.

Walking into Violet Color for the first time, I was immediately struck by how busy it was. Four groups ahead of me, all there for film — dropping off, picking up, or buying. The location helps, obviously, but they also stock more than just Kodak — Ilford, repackaged cinema film, and more. You can replenish your stock while you're picking up a developed roll. And the prices are lower than online.

This roll covers two chapters: the first half is Chinese New Year in Taichung with my wife and five-year-old son, the second half is daily life back in Taipei — including an OM System OM-3 hands-on event, a family hike in Tucheng, and a lot of living room views. It was also my first time using the Olympus Pen F 25mm f4, which I consider the closest match to the Pentax 17's 25mm f3.5 in the entire Pen F lineup — similar aperture, same 25cm minimum focus distance. The advantage of the Pen F system is that it's SLR: what you see is what you get, which eliminates the guesswork that comes with the Pentax 17.

Half-frame means a lot of frames. I've selected 63. Take your time.

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#1
Deciding which lens to mount on the Pen-FT for the Taichung trip — going through old shots in Lightroom, then settling on the lightest option: the 38mm f1.8.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#2
We were at a kiln-firing farm in Changhua (Lecai Greenhouse Leisure Farm), and since it was sweltering, my father-in-law came over with a basket of drinks. I spotted a can of Assam Milk Tea — the packaging brought back a rush of childhood memory. Not the same drink anymore, but the label still hits. This was also my last roll of the Reflx Lab Kodak Vision3 200T/5213. Looking at these colors — that mix of warm and cool — I immediately wanted to order ten more.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f2.8)

 

#3
There was a fish-scooping game for the kids — they loved it. Poor fish, though. Years ago at Arakawa Amusement Park in Tokyo, I saw a fish memorial stone next to the fishing pond — a small monument for the fish that had been caught and released so many times they eventually didn't make it. Standing beside it made me want to be more careful with them. All I can say is: may they rest in peace.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/125, f2.8)

 

#4
Our kiln — whole chicken inside. The smoke was thick enough to sting your eyes. We couldn't stay anywhere near it.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f4)

 

#5
My brother-in-law and the kids. Looking at their clothes, I realize I completely forgot to wear red for the New Year.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f4)

 

#6
Cherry tomatoes from the farm. Genuinely delicious.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/250, f2.8)

 

#7
A closer look at the tomato flowers.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f4)

 

#8
My son and wife — he's nearly six here and looking so familiar to me. I started shooting digital (M4/3) when he was around two, then got into film when he was three. Film photography is approaching its third year now, which in school terms would be the end of middle school. I'm genuinely glad I started. Looking back through those years of photos, I feel content. People often ask what the difference is between shooting on a phone and shooting on a camera. My answer: they're just different toys. Different shapes, different ways of playing. You can't know what it feels like from watching someone else do it.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/250, f2.8)

 

#9
Second day of the New Year and I still had to work. Walked from my in-laws' place to a Louisa Coffee near the Wuquan West Road and Meicun Road intersection and opened the laptop.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f2.8)

 

#10
Spinning tops in Taichung — good fun. I played with these as a kid too.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f4)

 

#11
The Pen-FT tops out at 1/500 — that's about as fast as you can freeze motion. Since all Pen F bodies share that 1/500 ceiling, I'd recommend pairing the system with ISO 200 film. It lets you shoot wide open in most situations. The 200T handled dynamic range beautifully on this roll. I wouldn't recommend the 500T for the Pen F though — with a 1/500 max shutter, you risk overexposure at wide apertures in bright light, but stopping down defeats the whole point of these lenses. My recommendation for the best color film for the Pen F system: Kodak Vision3 200T/5213, no question.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f4)

 

#12
I used to think Mika Nakashima had great eyebrows. Yes, specifically the eyebrows.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#13
A Tuesday overtime evening. Cracked open an Asahi.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#14
Writing at some point past midnight on a Thursday, hungry enough to open a bag of shrimp crackers from the pantry. If I could only keep one snack in a post-apocalyptic world, it would be these. Original flavor.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#15
Same Thursday, later — I glanced at the clock and it was past five in the morning. Time to sleep.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#16
Saturday morning, 8:29am. Looking at a pile of clothes I'd only half-sorted the night before because work ran long.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1s, f2.8)

 

#17
My son took this one of me.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1s, f2.8)

 

#18
A quiet record of my son's workspace. The cardboard panels around it are a partition he built himself.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/60, f1.8)

 

#19
Another Monday morning at MOS Burger, working before a client meeting in the afternoon.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/60, f2.8)

 

#20
Afternoon tea — very pure, because it will absolutely keep me up at night. Shot hand-held, which means I was still functioning.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/4, f4)

 

#21
The limit of what the Olympus Pen F can do when tracking a moving cat.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/500, f2)

 

#22
A resolution test. Half-frame is half-frame — it will always be half-frame.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/250, f8)

 

#23
Celebrating my son's sixth birthday at Pin Tian Ranch.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#24
For me, the 60mm f1.5 is the standout lens in the entire Pen F system — wide open, it's remarkable. Here my son is building his sixth birthday gift: Lego Technic Kawasaki Ninja H2R (42170).
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#25
Another angle. Safe hand-hold speed for the 60mm f1.5 is 1/60.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#26
Half-frame product shot test, starting with the 60mm f1.5 at minimum focus distance. For product photography, longer focal lengths are just more flattering — everything sits flat and balanced. This already confirms it.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/250, f11)

 

#27
Switching to the 38mm f1.8 — higher magnification, but distortion creeps in. The bottom of the ice cream starts to narrow.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/250, f11)

 

#28
The 25mm f4 gets similar magnification to the 38mm, but the distortion is noticeably worse. Wide-angle lenses just don't work for close-up product shots.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/250, f11)

 

#29
My son got up at 5:59am to continue building the Lego he hadn't finished the night before. Excellent. Good for focus and concentration.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/60, f1.8)

 

#30
After the build was done, we noticed something was off. That evening around seven we decided to crack it open and check — and ended up dismantling almost the entire thing and rebuilding from scratch. We finished at 11:43pm.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/500, f2.8)

 

#31
Documenting the Lego instruction booklet.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/60, f2)

 

#32
A busy Friday. Eating dumplings for lunch while catching up on a parenting newsletter.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/60, f4)

 

#33
Saturday morning — English class for my son. Before class we stopped at a breakfast place for intestine noodle soup because he insisted. We only had five minutes. We were late. Worth it.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/60, f4)

 

#34
Shot on Dihua Street in Taipei — I've never properly explored this area. It looks like the kind of place that rewards slow wandering.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/250, f8)

 

#35
Attending the OM System OM-3 hands-on event at Olympus Plaza Taipei in Dadaocheng.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/60, f4)

 

#36
Genuinely moved by the presenter euyoung's talk. Real sincerity — I have a lot of respect for that.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#37
There was a queue to try the OM-3, so I stepped outside and wandered for a bit.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#38
Looking back at my shots, I realized I never photographed the OM-3 itself. I think that says it all — no spark. And I once owned the original Olympus OM-3, so seeing this new camera carry that name gives me a strange feeling. Its design clearly follows the OM-1 lineage, yet it calls itself the OM-3 — while the actual OM-3 looked nothing like this.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#39
I have complicated feelings about where OM System has ended up, but I genuinely respect the dedication of the Taiwan distributor, Yuan Yu, in keeping things going.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#40
Walking through Dihua Street after leaving Olympus Plaza — found some interesting little things along the way.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#41
Old signage typography just hits different.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/250, f8)

 

#42
Tonight's dinner.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#43
Family hiking day.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#44
We climbed some rocks. Documenting it.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#45
The Costco Cascade trekking poles are actually quite good.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/125, f4)

 

#46
The 25mm f4 is significantly smaller and lighter than the 25mm f2.8 — a better hiking companion. It handles close-up shots just fine too.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/125, f4)

 

#47
Depth of field test — this one at f8.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/250, f8)

 

#48
For close-up work, f4 on the 25mm actually holds up fine.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/250, f4)

 

#49
Another at f4.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/500, f4)

 

#50
A Sunday — morning hike done, and then somehow I ended up with solo time in the afternoon at Decathlon. A rare thing on a weekend.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#51
The coffee machine we thought had died came back to life on its own. Testing different settings for a new batch of beans.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#52
First time with tungsten film — had to shoot city lights at night. This is Nanjing Fuxing MRT Station.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#53
Another angle of the Taipei cityscape.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#54
Back to buying physical books lately — secondhand copies are so much cheaper.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/4, f4)

 

#55
Been introducing my son to Gothic Rock lately, starting with Within Temptation. Turns out he can handle it — he even memorized the song title "We Go to War."
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#56
Late-night work session, lighting a candle. The 25mm f4 holds up well for close-ups — the depth of field is comfortable, not so shallow it misses focus.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 25mm f4 (1/30, f4)

 

#57
The lantern is called a Feuerhand because Feuerhand literally means "fire hand" in German.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 38mm f1.8 (1/30, f1.8)

 

#58
My son and I stopped into a Lego store and each picked out a minifigure — I got a pirate, he got a pirate captain. I told him my favorite Lego sets growing up were the pirate series. All discontinued now.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#59
Another Saturday morning English class drop-off.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#60
Pen F 60mm f1.5, wide open. The rendering is just remarkable — and this was hand-held at 1/60.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#61
My son often brings along a guinea pig stuffed animal we bought in Kumamoto — the one in the center of the frame. While reading him Journey to the West on audio, I made a point of explaining that the "Tianzhu" in "guinea pig" (天竺鼠) is the same "Tianzhu" as the ancient name for India in the story.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#62
The MRT signage typeface changes occasionally. Worth documenting.
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

#63
The most iconic objects in the Taipei MRT, beyond the yellow triangle exit signs, have to be these handrails. How are they always this clean?
Olympus Pen F Zuiko 60mm f1.5 (1/60, f1.5)

 

That's the full roll — Olympus Pen-FT with Kodak Vision3 200T/5213, remjet removed. Long live film. Thanks for reading.