giving Olympus OM a try

congrats Frank for nice find, and thx Christopher for explanation for various models. am Nikon user myself, but now have to think a second time if I see somewhere good user OM-2 with reasonable price :)
 
chippy said:
thats interesting news to me, i didnt know they did a OM-4Ti black&gold, love to see it! some people tend to call the champagne (silver) model gold(en) though

I know they did a special gold editions of the OM-1n and 2n though
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I never knew they made gold versions of any OM. Would love to see some photos if anyone here actually owns one of these gold ones! I've seen Gold Nikons, Leicas, and Pentaxes, but never an Olympus.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
OM-4T Upgraded OM-4 that eliminated battery drain and added titanium bottom and top plates. Originally offered in silver, then later in black. Called the OM-4Ti outside the USA, later USA models also took on the Ti name. First camera to ever offer the now-common (on modern D-SLRs) high-speed flash sync to 1/2000 of a second if you used the special F-280 flash.
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I got an OM-4T that had the battery drain issue (chewed up a brand new pair of SR-44's in less than 48 hours, so I returned it), is it just less common with the T or did I get one that might have had the electronics swapped with an OM-4? I'd like to try another one someday.
 
ethics_gradient said:
I got an OM-4T that had the battery drain issue (chewed up a brand new pair of SR-44's in less than 48 hours, so I returned it), is it just less common with the T or did I get one that might have had the electronics swapped with an OM-4? I'd like to try another one someday.
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The ones that drained batteries didn't kill them THAT fast I don't think. I think it was like a couple weeks, where batteries in an OM-4 should last 6-12 months depending on how much use you give the camera. You probably got one that just had a bad circuit...manufacturing defect on that individual camera rather than the common battery drain problem that was a design defect on the OM-4.
 
I am at the second phase in zuikoholism, actually trying out my first OM-1 MD with a 50/1.4 silvernose. Really fun little camera!

At the moment I am still faffing about, trying to find my way around the controls. Not sure how to hold it in a good way and I don't feel secure with the meter yet in the same way I do with the Nikon F2.
 
Most mechanical parts in OM-4 are the same in 4T / Ti, same goes for OM-3 and 3Ti. For that matter, lots of mechanical parts are interchangeable between the 3 and 4. OM-4 is almost as serviceable as 4T/Ti unless it comes to replacing the circuit board(s). You can buy a 4T board and adapt it, but parts could run around $300. John
 
John Hermanson said:
Most mechanical parts in OM-4 are the same in 4T / Ti, same goes for OM-3 and 3Ti. For that matter, lots of mechanical parts are interchangeable between the 3 and 4. OM-4 is almost as serviceable as 4T/Ti unless it comes to replacing the circuit board(s). You can buy a 4T board and adapt it, but parts could run around $300. John
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True, but the OM-4/4T are pretty reliable mechanically...isn't it usually the circuits that need replaced rather than mechanical parts? Since the two models are so similar, why does a CLA on the 4T cost so much more than on the plain 4?
 
About theh OM4, isn't multi-spot reading a bit fiddley? Do you actually bother? You'd have to be be pretty super fussy about exposure which is just a best approximation anyway - no such thing as perfect exposure, and there's wiggle room for deviation with neg film. Multi-spot readings to me seem a bit like over-kill in a 35mm format. Maybe shooting 8x10 and larger you need to be fussy about it.
 
FrankS said:
About theh OM4, isn't multi-spot reading a bit fiddley? Do you actually bother? You'd have to be be pretty super fussy about exposure which is just a best approximation anyway - no such thing as perfect exposure, and there's wiggle room for deviation with neg film. Multi-spot readings to me seem a bit like over-kill in a 35mm format. Maybe shooting 8x10 and larger you need to be fussy about it.
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Its no bother. I don't usually take multiple readings. When you push the spot button on the OM-4, it takes a reading and locks it in, then when you point the camera at different things, a moving second pointer shows the value of the things you're reading, makes taking a shadow reading and checking to be sure the highlights are ok quite fast. I've been using this system for 15 yrs now, its second nature.

I totally disagree that precise exposure is impossible or doesn't matter except for extremely large format. I carry a handheld spot meter for my medium format work, and honestly it shows in the quality of my work.
 
I have said it here before - if I had to sell all my camera gear but one body/lens set, I would keep my OM-1. I have had it since 1974 or 1975. It went to Camtech at least 10 years ago for new seals and a diode fix to use new batteries. Since then I have swapped out the 50/1.4 it came with for a 50/1.2 and added the 35/2, 85/2 and 40/2. The covering started to pull up at the edges and I replaced it - thanks Cameraleather. This is a very hard camera to "improve" upon, but the one thing I did that really made a difference - after trying a couple of different Olympus screens I put in a Beattie intenscreen. Really helped in low-light situations.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
The OM-4T is an incredible camera, my everyday use 35mm system is a couple of these bodies and a collection of Zuiko lenses. I'm jealous of the 35 shift, always wanted one of those! I have the 35/2.8 non-shift and the 35/2 from Olympus and both are great lenses for normal use. Isn't the shift hard to use for non-shift work? I thought it didn't have an auto-diaphragm?
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The main thing that actually bothers me when I want to use it for non-shift work is just how big the lens is! Whenever I shoot film it's usually because I want to be compact (among other reasons, but that's definitely a big one) and that lens is much larger than any of the other little primes I put on OM bodies. Also, it's friggen hard to focus the TS, especially once you've really started moving it around. I'm about to get back my first roll from it and I have a feeling about 6 of 36 shots will be in focus. Still, it's a pretty neat thing to use, if it weren't for the OM-4 with the TS I'd have to dish out nearly $2,000 to try one on my D700.....
 
Jesse mentioned, "If you don't like the screen, there are alternatives - 13. Screen 1 -13 is my favourite."

In fact, one of the series II screens will considerably brighten your already great view. Like the Beatty screens, they tend to 'knock your eye out.' The down side is that the meter needs to readjusted to match the brighter screen. Take a look at John Hermanson's site.
 
Keith said:
I'm starting to sway towards my OM-2 over my OM-1... the meter is brilliant. In AE with an understanding of how to use exposure compensation to suit the camera's meter it's near fool proof!

I usually avoid using AE but the OM-2 is seriously good in this department!
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Preachin' to the choir, brutha, but Amen, Amen! I got my black OM-2 back from John, which probably means you have your black OM-1 back too, eh? I have not had time to stuff some film in it, but will do so this weekend. Hallelujah, brother! :D

newspaperguy said:
Jesse mentioned, "If you don't like the screen, there are alternatives - 13. Screen 1 -13 is my favourite."

In fact, one of the series II screens will considerably brighten your already great view. Like the Beatty screens, they tend to 'knock your eye out.' The down side is that the meter needs to readjusted to match the brighter screen. Take a look at John Hermanson's site.
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I'm thinking about a 2-series screen for an OM-1n when I send it to John. I'd REALLY like the 1-14 screen layout in a 2-series, but it doesn't exist. The 1-14 screen is like the 1-13 (split image with microprism surround), except that the split image is on the diagonal ... that is DA BOMB, and those suckers do a bomb explosion on your wallet, too. They're scarce.
 
Woohoo ... I've received notification that my black OM-1 is on it's way back to me from John Hermanson at Zuiko.com.

Full CLA, a new prism, the advance mechanism repaired and the battery conversion done.

Probably more money than I ever thought I would spend on a camera that cost me so little in the first place ... but what the hell, it is a black OM-1 after all! :)

I might mention that John's service has been impecable ... the repair was within the estimated time frame and the cost was very reasonable ... thanks John if you're reading!
 
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