Do you know your camera?

[marcr1230]

I'm traveling w 2 bodies this weekend

Recently acquired Nikon FM2n and Olymous E-M1

The FM2n is easy to use, nice finder, decent ergonomics
Easy enough to pick up and shoot.
A couple of quirks or differences between it an my beloved OM film cameras
1st, the winder lever has to be out to turn the camera on. As a left eyed shooter I often push the lever in as a habit. I missed a couple shots because I kept forgetting to pull it out. Next , the aperture ring and shutter speed dial. The Nikon the aperture ring is near the mount and the shutter dial on the top plate. Especially important on a manual camera, it's a little different and less natural than the OMfilm setup. On the OM, the aperture ring is on the nose of the lens and the shutter control is around the mount, just seems easier to use without taking your eyes off the finder
The FM2n and lens (50/1.4 Planar) are hefty too, but a well balanced combo.
I didn't bring the Nikon winder MD-12 , it is nice and removes the wind lever issue.

Maybe it's all a matter of getting used to the differences

Now the E-M1, each time I use this camera, I feel like I need to reread the manual
Today it took a while for me to decided that face recognition is kind of useless in chaotic situations an a simple center focus point is better
I also have to disable the finder display of just taken shots as it really disrupts your ability to track action through the EVF
I think this all got reset in a recent firmware update
The other weakness is battery usage- I went though 2 batteries to shoot 15o pictures

All told I got some good shots, but knowing your camera is more important than which one you use.
That my mini-review, what are your experiences?

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

On the OM, the aperture ring is on the nose of the lens and the shutter control is around the mount, just seems easier to use without taking your eyes off the finder

I always wondered why this arrangement wasn't more common. Seems much more intuitive than aperture/focus on the lens and shutter on the top plate.

Now the E-M1, each time I use this camera, I feel like I need to reread the manual

Yep... Olympus bodies are often lauded for their huge range of customisable options, but it definitely means there's a learning curve to setting one up in a way that makes sense to you.

The other weakness is battery usage- I went though 2 batteries to shoot 15o pictures

?!?

This doesn't sound right. t know mirrorless bodies don't have great battery life but I easily get 350-400 shots per charge on my EM5... What kind of shooting were you doing?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

If I cut film leader too short it takes extra time to load my M4-2. This is the only one thing I have to keep in mind.

 

[michaelwj]

I always wondered why this arrangement wasn't more common. Seems much more intuitive than aperture/focus on the lens and shutter on the top plate.

Because the shutter is on the body, not the lens 😀. There's less to couple through the mount and less shutter speed dials to make. It makes quite a lot of sense in terms of simplicity and mechanical reliability, maybe less so ergonomically for some, but I actually find it really hard to get used to a shutter on the lens arrangement - most likely years of using them on the top of the body.

 

[Roger Hicks]

. .. All told I got some good shots, but knowing your camera is more important than which one you use. . . .

Indisputably true. You can even get used to Exaktas. I never have, but some do.

Two things militate against getting to know a camera. One is constantly buying new cameras, which is normally done by amateurs who think there are "magic bullets". The other is digital, where there are so many options that it's hard to comprehend them all, especially when you're working from a very thick, poorly written instruction book written by a computer nerd, as with my Nikon Df.

By ignoring every option you don't need, you can slowly get to know a digital camera, but there are still problems such as the wandering focus point, the inadvertent switching off of the autofocus, and the fact that photographers and computer programmers often think about the world (and simple logic) in different ways.

Cheers,

R.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Add to that the fact that the sale brochure will be written in English by an English speaker who is used to handling cameras and the instruction brochure will have been badly translated from some foreign language by someone who did it at school many years ago and was written as an aide memoire by a computer geek and you've problems...

Mostly I wonder if the sales brochure and manual are about the same camera.

Regards, David

 

[ForestCap]

Hi,

Add to that the fact that the sale brochure will be written in English by an English speaker who is used to handling cameras and the instruction brochure will have been badly translated from some foreign language by someone who did it at school many years ago and was written as an aide memoire by a computer geek and you've problems...

Mostly I wonder if the sales brochure and manual are about the same camera.

Regards, David

FEDed Zorki-6 brochure.

 

[ronnies]

Because the shutter is on the body, not the lens 😀. There's less to couple through the mount and less shutter speed dials to make. It makes quite a lot of sense in terms of simplicity and mechanical reliability, maybe less so ergonomically for some, but I actually find it really hard to get used to a shutter on the lens arrangement - most likely years of using them on the top of the body.

The OM shutter dial was round the mount on the body and not actually on the lens itself so no extra coupling required ond only one dial per camera. 🙂

The Nikkormat had exactly the same arrangement.

Ronnie

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Because the shutter is on the body, not the lens 😀. There's less to couple through the mount and less shutter speed dials to make. It makes quite a lot of sense in terms of simplicity and mechanical reliability, maybe less so ergonomically for some, but I actually find it really hard to get used to a shutter on the lens arrangement - most likely years of using them on the top of the body.

I meant around the lens mount, not the lens itself. Isn't this how it's done on the OM bodies (I haven't used them myself)?

 

[ronnies]

I meant around the lens mount, not the lens itself. Isn't this how it's done on the OM bodies (I haven't used them myself)?

Yes it is. And the Nikkormats and possibly the Mamiya NC1000s.

Ronnie

 

[robert blu]

One difference between old styled analog cameras and the today's digital is that once if you knew a little about photography you could use any camera just a few minutes after you had it in your hands, insert film, set iso, select aperture and shutter time, focus and voilà! done.

Now if you have in your hands a camera you do not know it's not so easy...and accidental press of a key or a point in the menu can give a terrible headache at least...

robert

 

[Roger Hicks]

One difference between old styled analog cameras and the today's digital is that once if you knew a little about photography you could use any camera just a few minutes after you had it in your hands, insert film, set iso, select aperture and shutter time, focus and voilà! done.

Now if you have in your hands a camera you do not know it's not so easy...and accidental press of a key or a point in there menu can give a terrible headache at least...

robert

Dear Robert,

First para: except perhaps a Werra, once you wanted to wind on.

Second para: worse still if you accidentally press two buttons simultaneously, or in the wrong sequence. You ca end up in twilight high saturation auto-bracket mode without even realizing it.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sevo]

By ignoring every option you don't need, you can slowly get to know a digital camera, but there are still problems such as the wandering focus point,

Amen to that. If there was a firmware update to freeze that thing eternally in the centre, I'd apply it. Every AF camera I've had since the F4 has had less predictable AF.

 

[peterm1]

Getting to know a digital camera can be quite a trial. Firstly some (Olympus is particularly bad) have terribly confusing menu structures. And of course there is also the ever present problem of understanding the particular capabilities of a specific sensor / lens / camera firmware combination in any given lighting situation. And if you are like me and have too many cameras then that just compounds the issue.

It reminds me that when I was in my 20s I used to target shoot with rifles as a sport. The old timers had a saying - "Beware the shooter who only has one gun". Meaning this is a guy who more than likely knows that gun and how it shoots inside out and is likely to be good if he is serious about it.

And you know what? It was true.

 

[michaelwj]

The OM shutter dial was round the mount on the body and not actually on the lens itself so no extra coupling required ond only one dial per camera. 🙂

The Nikkormat had exactly the same arrangement.

Ronnie

La la la, somewhere I knew that :bang:

 

[Brian Atherton]

In answer to marcr1230’s question; depends.

Every film camera I’ve owned – yes: every digital – no.

With digital I only learn what I need, and since I use my Nikon D90 infrequently, I have to refresh myself every time I pick it up. Probably I use perhaps a tenth of its menu settings.

I was schooled in mechanical cameras with dials that had one function; digitals with their ever increasing multi-function buttons puts me right off, and I can’t be bothered.

I would love to be able to ‘archive’ the bits of the menu I don’t need, making the menu simpler and more streamlined. My compromise is to have the ‘My Menu’ set with the adjustments I use most, and even these I forget.

I find that my iPhone 6 is far easier to use as a digital camera though I guess it doesn’t count as a real camera, but it’s the iPhone I find myself using more and more for colour photography, simply because it’s idiot-proof and results are good enough for my needs.

 

[gavinlg]

I helped my dad choose an olympus E-M5II for an all purpose weather sealed camera recently, and the poor man has nearly torn his hair out on a number of occasions with settings or modes being changed whilst he's using it and not being able to figure out exactly what changed. I spent some time customising the controls and presetting everything to be as simple as possible in the menus for him (and it took a long ass time for a young/software savvy person to do) and it did seem to help, but he has since given up on it.

I used it for a bit out of curiosity, and it's quite nice if you strip away all the crap olympus pack into it and use it as a manual camera, but good ****ing lord it's a complex little ******* getting to that point.

I know the canon 5d MK1 on a deep level, and I also know the fuji X series cameras pretty well too. All simple machines that get out of the way of shooting.

 

[Livesteamer]

Remember the old quote. "Beware the man who has only one gun; he will know how to use it". Joe

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Why do they design them so that there's a mystery button and put it just where you'd touch it as you pick it up?

Then you get some new and weird icon on the screen and find there's no index to the instruction manual and if there was, icons aren't in it...

In the end you play safe by picking them up by the lens barrel. ;-) And I'm only half joking.

Regards, David

 

[marcr1230]

Relearned the EVF Review feature on the E-M1 - Wrench--> recview --> off

With film cameras the main thing for me - check the rewind knob that the film is loaded properly, and check the iso setting that it matches film

For my x100 - check the exp comp that it is not pulled off zero mistakenly

The one gun quote kind of mimics the "one camera, one lens, one year" movement