OM, I've become a Zuikoholic!

Welcome OMboy - OMs are often described (on this forum at any rate) as "Honorary Rangefinders" so don't fret about joing a RF forum to talk about SLRs :)
 
OMboy said:
My name is OMboy and I'm a Zuikoholic :D

I found this thread while searching for some info and ended up joining the RFF forum just so I could chat with all you lovely OMophiles.
I have read the whole 34 pages before posting - that took me a while...!

I had a very cheap rangefinder as a first camera when I was about 13 which taught me a lot.
My first SLR was an OM10 and 50 1.8 - a birthday present some years ago.

I got a digi Canon P&S about five years ago for holidays and snaps but I always knew I would try film again at some point.

In the last six weeks I have picked up an OM1n chrome, OM2 chrome, OM2n black (X2) and still have my OM10. This is getting out of hand and I feel I need help...!
I love the feel of the OM range and feel a bit guilty joining a rangefinder forum to find like-minded SLR users - do you think my membership is doomed...?

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and say how much I am enjoying (most of) the banter.
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Welcome to the forum. :)

I'm not sure what impressed me more ... your instant OM collection or the fact that you read all thirty four pages of this thread! :D
 
So I've read through this whole thread and I'm sold but I've got a few questions first:

-Any OM users listening have arthritis/hand issues? How do you get on with this system?

-How well does the Highlight/Shadow Zone Systemey metering work on the OM4?

Jim
 
50 /1.4...OM1
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I have been shooting with OM for about four to five years now and it's become my default kit of choice for hiking and when I want to throw a body and two lenses in my briefcase.

Nice, I have three OM bodies, chrome OM-1MD, black OM-1n (traded my early OM-1 to my brother for this) and a OM-2n. Lens wise as of today I have the Zuiko 38 f3.5, 35 f2.8, a couple of 50 f1.8s, a chrome nose 50 f1.4, 135 f3.5 telephoto and a 75-150 F4 zoom (got a new found respect for this lens). I would like to get a 24 f2.8, 35 f2 and a 100 f2.8 at some point along with a late period OM-4Ti.
 
willy_icon said:
That sounds like a good option. The lens is mechanically perfect, back element is clear, the other inner elements look good too. With a CLA and possibly a new front element, it could surely be like new.

Thanks for the tip!
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No problem, he's a great guy to deal with and very helpful if you have any questions.
 
jmooney said:
So I've read through this whole thread and I'm sold but I've got a few questions first:

-Any OM users listening have arthritis/hand issues? How do you get on with this system?

-How well does the Highlight/Shadow Zone Systemey metering work on the OM4?

Jim
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I have extremely small hands and my joints hurt constantly. I find the OM-4T with the little grip to be extremely comfortable for me to hold. I have a Leica M4 and I love it for candid work (much less shutter lag than an SLR and I can focus it faster) but it hurts my hands to hold and I am not able to hold it as steady as I can my OMs. Really big 35mm cameras, like the Nikon F4, are just horridly heavy and big to me.

Inever use the highlight/shadow controls, though I do use the spotmeter for 100% of my photos. I never, ever use the centerweight meter. The reason I do not use the highlight/shadow controls is that I never use autoexposure either. The HL/SH controls are really made for use with auto mode...spotmeter a white you want to retain detail in, hit HIGHLIGHT and you're set. It works very well if you use autoexposure.

In manual mode you don't need the HL/SH buttons, because the finder display is a very good zone-like display. In the center of the LCD display, which stretches the length of the image under the finder, is the null position, which is zone V. There are tick marks at the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 stop over and under positions, so you can spotmeter a tone and set your exposure under the correct tick mark depending on what zone you wanna place it on. Even better, the reading is saved and a second cursor appears so you can then point the spot at other areas to quick-check them for zone placement!

If you do use the HL/SH buttons, the actual exposure biasing is like this: THe highlight button gives 2 stops more exposure, so you get zone VII. The shadow one gives 2 and 2/3 stops under exposure, so zone II-1/3. That's too low for negative films. It would have been better to work at zone III. Another reason I prefer to just do the zone placements in manual mode.

Since I like manual mode, the OM-3 or 3Ti would have been better for me than the 4T. I have three OM-4T bodies that alltogether cost me less than one OM-3 or 3Ti. I'm not well off financially, and I bought my three bodies over an 18 yr period, not all at once. I simply cannot afford an OM-3/3Ti and the 4T works perfect, just leave it in manual and the operation's identical to the 3/3Ti (these are manual only with mechanical shutters...you lose metering if batts die, but shutter works at all speeds).
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Since I like manual mode, the OM-3 or 3Ti would have been better for me than the 4T. I have three OM-4T bodies that alltogether cost me less than one OM-3 or 3Ti.
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Chris I hope you're not confusing prices of the -3T and the regular 3. The -3 is actually reasonably priced, IMO. The last one on ebay described as perfectly working with just a few normal cosmetic blemishes had a BIN of $549 and only sold for $331. I too, sold an as new OM-3 in the $500 price range. The 3Tis are out of this world.
 
George S. said:
Chris I hope you're not confusing prices of the -3T and the regular 3. The -3 is actually reasonably priced, IMO. The last one on ebay described as perfectly working with just a few normal cosmetic blemishes had a BIN of $549 and only sold for $331. I too, sold an as new OM-3 in the $500 price range. The 3Tis are out of this world.
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Wow, the 3 has come way down then. Last time I looked at them they were going for $700-$1000. That was a couple yrs ago though. I could afford one for $330! Oh well, I have three 4T bodies I don't need another OM.
 
George S. said:
Need? What's need got to do with it? ;)
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Nothing if you have the money, but I don't. I have not had a job in a decade, because where I live having an art degree makes you unemployable. Even McD's won't hire art school grads! I live off the sale of my prints and stock licensing and a little money a patron in santa fe sends me every week. A $500 camera is a lot of money to me. I did recently buy a Leica and a couple lenses, spent WAY more than I should have, but I had made a big sale and had always wanted it, and we had plenty of money that month. Now I'm broke! Well not quite, I have enough to live on if I don't buy anything I don't need :angel:
 
I like to use the Highlight/Shadow modes on the OM-4Ti.

We recently had a lot of snow, and of course I was out taking pictures of it, since it's rare here to get a lot of snow.

The shots that I took without using the Highlight button have the snow being too white. When I spot focused on a bright patch of snow and used the Highlight button, the snow came out great. That was with color print film.
 
Helen thank you very much, i adore all of your photos.

There wasnt any filter involved, just make-up, delta 400 stand developed and two beautiful eyes.

oh, and my balls are still were they're supposed to be :)
 
Originally Posted by jmooney
"So I've read through this whole thread and I'm sold but I've got a few questions first:

-Any OM users listening have arthritis/hand issues? How do you get on with this system?

-How well does the Highlight/Shadow Zone Systemey metering work on the OM4?"

Jim

Chris answered this nicely,but I thought I should add - having
just come in from taking a few shots in our 40MPH winds and
32 degree temperature - don't know what the wind chill was -
but I was reminded of how well OM's work even with gloves on.

No tiny dials or buttons to fiddle with.
 
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sreed2006 said:
I like to use the Highlight/Shadow modes on the OM-4Ti.

We recently had a lot of snow, and of course I was out taking pictures of it, since it's rare here to get a lot of snow.

The shots that I took without using the Highlight button have the snow being too white. When I spot focused on a bright patch of snow and used the Highlight button, the snow came out great. That was with color print film.
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This got me puzzled (I'm reading with a lot of interest because I just bought a OM4 and am waiting for it to arrive): when not using the Highlight button, and hence using "normal" metering, imho the snow would come out being too dark, not too white, since the meter in that case would try to attain a 18% gray.
As I understood the working of the Highlight button, you tell the meter that the part you are pointing at should be "overexposed" 1.5 or 2 stops, so that it would come out as a highlight, hence lighter then 18% gray.

Am I missing something ?

Thanks,
Stefan.
 
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