Om-1? FM2N? Other? I can't decide!

It's hard to go wrong with any of these choices. I would try to handle and shoot a bit with good examples of each of these cameras. The shutter speed selector ring around the lens mount is indeed a very handy feature on the Olympus. (I love this feature on my old Nikkormat.) But the higher shutter speeds of the FM2n are incrediblely useful to have, too. There are possibly more lenses out there available in the Nikon mount than the Olympus or Pentax mounts- but the Olympus or Pentax mount lenses might be cheaper, generally speaking. Another toss up.

Bottom line is that a good, solidly built, small SLR is perhaps the most versatile and ultimately the most useful 35mm camera available. ( I can feel the flames from here!) I'd take a look at the availability of lenses you might want or need in the future, find a good deal, and pull the trigger. If later on down the road you decide to really need to change systems for any reason, you should be able to sell what you have and buy the other system without losing much money. I wouldn't worry about it. Online forums will yield thousands of conflicting opinions, and little definitive answers, so just pick one that seems to make sense, and shoot with it. Less time here and more time shooting, processing, and printing will be the best thing for you- and probably all of the rest us, too.
 
fdigital said:
There's one thing in particular that really really bugs me about the fm2n that doesn't seem to affect anyone else for some reason, and that's the shutter lock on the advance lever. When you go to take a picture the advance lever must be 'clicked' out from the body about a centimeter, and this unlocks the shutter and allows you to shoot. It noticeably sticks out from the camera body, and when go to turn the camera vertically to shoot in portrait orientation, the advance lever sticks into my forehead or eyebrow, and I can't see into the viewfinder properly without tilting the camera in relation to my head, which is just stupid. So far I seem to be the only one that this happens to - no idea why - I don't have a super prominent forehead or brow or anything
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I find it annoying also ... it's not a deal breaker for me with my FM3A but I still think they could have done better with that design.

Ergonomically the OM is near faultless by comparison.
 
Definitely an OM1 would be ideal! Small, compact and lightweight, plus with a really nice VF. How can the shutter ring on the body be a problem, that's the best thing abt it! You never have to take your eyes off the VF to adjust your shutter speeds, its so intuitive, i love that feature!
 
Keith said:
I find it annoying also ... it's not a deal breaker for me with my FM3A but I still think they could have done better with that design.

Ergonomically the OM is near faultless by comparison.
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So glad someone else has found this to be an issue Keith, was beginning to think my head is abnormally shaped or something!
 
Keith said:
I find it annoying also ... it's not a deal breaker for me with my FM3A but I still think they could have done better with that design.
Ergonomically the OM is near faultless by comparison.
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Same here for the shutter lock on the FM3A; I missed some pictures because of it, but I don't know if other Nikons have this "feature" also.
The OM-1 and OM-2 are near faultless "tout court", and I keep being amazed about their elegance and size. The OM-1 is the Leica M3 of SLR-world (but with build-in lightmeter and the best shutter speed control).

Stefan.
 
Me too!! Why is this designed this way? I love the sturdiness of my Fm2n, but definitely I am choosing my OM1 over it, and this is a big reason. It annoys me every time.

fdigital said:
There's one thing in particular that really really bugs me about the fm2n that doesn't seem to affect anyone else for some reason, and that's the shutter lock on the advance lever. When you go to take a picture the advance lever must be 'clicked' out from the body about a centimeter, and this unlocks the shutter and allows you to shoot. It noticeably sticks out from the camera body, and when go to turn the camera vertically to shoot in portrait orientation, the advance lever sticks into my forehead or eyebrow, and I can't see into the viewfinder properly without tilting the camera in relation to my head, which is just stupid. So far I seem to be the only one that this happens to - no idea why - I don't have a super prominent forehead or brow or anything...
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ishpop said:
Me too!! Why is this designed this way? I love the sturdiness of my Fm2n, but definitely I am choosing my OM1 over it, and this is a big reason. It annoys me every time.
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When I first got the Nikon I considered cosmetic surgery to overcome the problem ... now I'm not so sure! 😛
 
Ever since last week's revelation that most of us humans (in fact all the non-African descendants) are part Neanderthal, I too have noticed the discomfort of Nikon winding levers. Except the FG that is, as it sits snugly in place until you need it.
 
Okay, I seem to be leaning towards the OM, but as stated by drewbarb, it's probably best to just grab something and get shooting. Whatever deal comes up I'll have to jump on.

I will be a Mechanical Engineering student next fall so photography will not be my main school focus, but I would love to get a lot done. I may be confirming my acceptance to McGill University moving to Montreal so I'm sure I could find some great street photography potential in the city.

Thanks everyone for the speedy help, this is a great forum!

EDIT: I did just spot a Minolta SRT 101 with 58/1.4, 135/2.8, Vivitar 90/2.8 macro, Panagor 28/2.5, a zoom and a case for $150 on the local CL. Any thoughts on that?
 
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mgeary said:
Okay, I seem to be leaning towards the OM, but as stated by drewbarb, it's probably best to just grab something and get shooting. Whatever deal comes up I'll have to jump on.
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I would stay with the most popular brands, as in time, it will be easier to find more lenses, etc ... Changes are you will want more sooner or later, and then you'll be glad you didn't buy into a system for which it might be hard to find extras.

STefan.
 
Oh ... I meant to mention:

If a certain person jumps into this thread and tries to sell you on the qualities of Fujicas, ignore him!

He's a zealot! 😀
 
I think that both suggested cameras are great pieces that deliver. I'm a Nikon guy my self on SLR side so that's my preference. Altho I would most likely choose either full F2 or even F3 or go smaller and pick up FG (or FG-20 on cheaper side). But I know people have different preferences, I used to carry FG-20 everywhere and only pick up the big dog (F2) when really needed, like when I got some monster lens to use.
 
In my mind, the Nikon FM2 is the best camera ever made. Period.

That having said, I never used an OM-1...

You can also get a 'plain' FM for little mony. You'll only miss out on the super-duper shutter on the FM2, but you will gain the capability to use (old, cheap) non-Ai lenses. An FM is a great camera in its own right.
 
Try them out in a store and get whichever you like better. Failing that, get whatever's cheaper for you and spend the difference on film.

They're both great cameras and will do their part in making the image; neither will do anything for you that the other one won't. The differences between the two in operation are relatively small in the scheme of things and come down to minor personal preferences.

Personally, as much as I loved my old OM4, I'd probably get the Nikon, just for the fact that it's part of a much larger family of cameras and the lenses can be used on a DSLR.


MD
 
A lot of sound advice here.

My .02 is go for the Olympus as a system you can stay with.
Meaning afford to buy, outfit and carry, without breaking your wallet or your back.

FWIW - I have six Nikons sitting in the cabinet, but I've "come back" to Olys.
 
Working meter is key...

Working meter is key...

If you're new to this, make sure that you get one that has an accurate meter. You might be able to work around it and guess, but I'm guessing that using a film camera is relatively new to you (from the question).

Almost any of the higher-end OMs (OM-1, 2, etc) and Nikons (FM/FE/FA series) of that age are great. Any of them might have issues, but the metering could throw you off - and the early OM-1s used a different battery than is commonly available now. So try and check the meter to see if accurate. I think most of the others mentioned use newer-type batteries and are fine.

Frankly most of the other brand's cameras are more than respectable too - Konica, Minolta, Pentax, etc. If a nice, cheap package comes up in good condition, I wouldn't worry so much about the brand.

Don't spend too much on the first one of this era you buy, don't buy a lot of extras and lock yourself in until you get a sense for what you like and are comfortable with, and get comfortable by taking a lot of pictures and making a lot of mistakes (and hopefully learning from them).

I've used Nikons for ages, Minoltas before that, and currently dallying with the OMs. No serious complaints about any, just minor preferences in some areas.
 
Why not the Olympus OM-2 or Om-2n? The big advantage of the OM-2 over the OM-1 is the change to a SR-44 battery which is widely available.

I bought an OM-2n for $50 and a 28mm/3.5 Oly lens for $30. A 50/1.8 will be dirt cheap as well.

The size is another advantege of the OM. Attached is a photo that compares the OM to a Leica M3.
 

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Well today seems to be going great so far, I jumped on an OM-1 with a 50/1.8. I think I would like a f/1.4 eventually, but the f/1.8 will do fine. It wasn't the cheapest find ever, but at $67, I think it's a decent deal for the kit.

Later on this morning I got an e-mail from my camera collector grandpa. He's sending me a like new Nikon FM in the mail this week.

I didn't expect it, but now I'll have both like Keith suggested without spending too much. I can't wait to get shooting, I sure feel like I lucked out here.
 
If you ever decide to go for Zuiko lenses in wholesale quantity, and I know you gonna do this, always search for mint one. Even today, when shooting only MF I regret selling my OM system, but it was too beautiful to use.
 
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