O.T. Why do you love your Oly

[gb hill]

A year or so ago I won a 2x multiplier for my Canon AE-1p. Out of all honesty the seller said he didn't know for sure what kind of camera it fit but someone told him it was a Canon fd mount. Well when I got it, I could tell right off it was too small for a Canon and the cap said Olympus on it. A camera store said I could trade it in for a Canon model but I decided to keep it (it was real cheap anyway) saying to myself....I might buy an Olympus someday. Good excuse isn't it! Well all of you guys seem to swear by OM cameras, and I would like to know what is it that you love about them. From what I can tell there is not alot of visual difference between the Olys and Canons...maybe thats why I'm being drawn toward them. I don't intend this thread to be a Oly is better than Canon thread, If I ever do decide to get an Oly then which one. I was kind of leaning toward a 1 or a 10 but haven't checked out the differences between the two. All I can say is I want it to be a fully manuel slr.


Merry Christmas to all Oly lovers😀

Greg

 

[back alley]

When you buy used, the most risky of the three is the OM2...

reason please?

 

[back alley]

that's new info for me, had not heard it before.

my om2n is out there in delivery land.
i will not be getting it before christmas but i hope it shows next week so i can play with both the om 1 and 2 along with as many lenses as i can squeeze into some shooting time.

 

[back alley]

rollie, i used to have the 1 & 2 before, many years ago. i liked them both and on lazy days the 2 even more.

i hope to shoot some them this week or so, i even bought some xp2 so i don't have to depend on me for processing...😉
and nice shots, btw.
joe

 

[gb hill]

Merry Christmas to youn too Ferder...WOW those picts blew me away! Where is that first one of the castle, and were those Lions just asleep.

 

[Igor.Burshteyn]

Single-digit OMs are compact (for slr). Decent optic. Shutter speed ring around lens mount on a body - you can hold camera with one hand and reach for apperture ring/focus ring/shutter ring with another - very quick operation. Get it? Compact, good ergonomics, quick operation... Sounds like camera you want to take everywhere 🙂 That's it. And fair prices as last but not the least 🙂 Some glamour appeal that calls for GAS - beware.

 

[gb hill]

Lions just eaten...LOL...Lucky for you!😀

 

[sejanus]

I really like the floodlit castle, Ferider.

Myself, I've been having a lot of fun with another Olympus classic, the E-20. All right, it's digital but it has so many features that only Olympus would have thought of: f2 zoom lens, no viewfinder blackout despite being a true SLR (thanks to a surprisingly bright prismatic viewing system) and great handling.

Of course, only having 5MP, most people don't want it, so I got it dirt cheap. 😀

 

[Trius]

At least a few of the OM2 bodies listed as "locked up shutter" simply have a dead battery, the shutter has been fired at > 1/60, and the owner doesn't know how to clear the lock-up.

Other than that, the shutter circuit could go bad, but I don't think it's a situation where it can't be fixed.

 

[Trius]

Oh, and why I like Olympus cameras ... I see you did not limit this to the OM series, which is good for a rangefinder site! 😀

Actually, others have pretty much covered what I like ... size, balance very good to great optics, etc. For the most part, however, it is the ergonomics that is the tipping point. The controls are correctly placed (at least for me), they are sized properly even though the bodies themselves are small.

As noted in another thread, the macro system is, if not the best, one of the best ever.

The meters are very good. Getting used to the OM-1 meter takes some practice, but that is the only anomaly.

The lenses are compact, improving handling and handholdability.

A wide range of focusing screens is often overlooked; it's seemingly a small thing, but is very helpful.

And that's just the OMs.... The RFs seem to follow the same pattern .... good size/balance, fits the hand well, intuitive controls, good metering. Very good to great glass. Try a 35SP. Major GAS induciton.

Earl

 

[shadowfox]

One more big reason: Mr. Maitani.

gb hill: Read articles about him on google, if you're like me, you'd be hard press *not* to like classic Olympus cameras for the person behind them and what he stood for.

if you still need another reason, just look at these cuties 😛:

 

[bgb]

"All of the little piggies are equal but some are more equal that others"
Zuiko lenses are really works of art small sharp and just beautiful to use
Some of the OM bodies are ok some not so wonderful, the biggest bit*h is the battery sucking OM40 and i hear the OM2SP is a bit like that too. SR44s help as does removing the batteries at the end of the day.
I would choose the OM1n and if your happy with manual only ... it might make you happy, if you like Auto the OM2n has lots of fans. The OM4 has it's followers but it's a bit price here so go for it if you can find one at the right price.
The XA is a little gem if you decide to get a FR Oly
Enjoy 🙂

 

[oscroft]

I was kind of leaning toward a 1 or a 10 but haven't checked out the differences between the two. All I can say is I want it to be a fully manuel slr.

The basic different between the OM1 to OM4 range and the OM10 to OM40 range is that the former are more solid, heavy, all-metal "professional" models and the latter are cheaper, lighter models made more for the mass market.

If you want a fully manual model, that pretty much rules out the OM10 - unless you fit the optional manual adapter it's aperture-priority auto only (and with the adapter it's clumsy - you have to read the metered speed in the viewfinder then take the camera away from your eye and set it on the adapter).

My favourite OM is the OM2n - it has a fully manual mode (which works like the OM1, and which I use a lot) and also an aperture-priority auto mode (I've bought three of these - my two and one for a friend - and the shutters all work perfectly). If you want one without auto, the OM1n is the one to go for (I have one of those too and really like it), but you'd have to do something about the mercury battery it takes (I had mine adapted to take SR44/LR44 batteries, the same as the OM2 takes)

 

[Trius]

Shadow: Just saw your post ... what a nice shot. I was never enamoured of the colour XA-2s, but whoa, that is a beauty, especially with that strap!

And the Pen D next to it ... yikes, I never realized they were THAT small! A friend had a Pen FT years ago, and I knew it was small, but it looks like the original Pen series was even smaller. Now I have to have one... AAAARGH!

 

[shadowfox]

Shadow: Just saw your post ... what a nice shot. I was never enamoured of the colour XA-2s, but whoa, that is a beauty, especially with that strap!

And the Pen D next to it ... yikes, I never realized they were THAT small! A friend had a Pen FT years ago, and I knew it was small, but it looks like the original Pen series was even smaller. Now I have to have one... AAAARGH!

Thx, Trius! that picture always put a smile on my face 🙂
I'm on a quest to find a blue XA2 (which is apparently even rarer than the red) then I can create a 3-D-glass-effect picture 😀

The Pen D2 is too cool to describe when you hold it, it's hard to believe that you can load a film in it. I got lucky finding it because it's misspelled (2D instead of D2) on eBoy. Bad thing is, the shutter stops working (so it's now in Clint Rumbo's care), good thing is the seller gave me a discount because of it.

 

[freeranger]

One more big reason: Mr. Maitani.

gb hill: Read articles about him on google, if you're like me, you'd be hard press *not* to like classic Olympus cameras for the person behind them and what he stood for.

I'm with you on Mr Maitani. A genius with passion and tenacity. I recently read an interview where he talks about developing the 40mm F2:

"The company was against selling this lens but I forcibly made it because I wanted to use one myself"

would that ever happen again?

 

[Trius]

I did not create my "custom user title" just by random ...