OM, I've become a Zuikoholic!

[EthanFrank]

Keith, I'd love to have that lens, but my M6 is still what I reach for every time after dark. The photo budget is pretty tight, so unfortunately I can only afford the fast lenses for one platform.

How much does the 50 typically go for, nowadays?

 

[tedwhite]

FOR FREE: A friend just gave me the following manuals:

1. Olympus OM-2. Instructions
2. Olympus OM-2. Instructions at a Glance
3. Olympus OM System - Electronic Flash T20, Operating Instructions
4. Olympus OM System - Manual for Zuiko Interchangeable Lens Group

I'll mail then to whoever wants them if you'll simply reimburse me for the postage.
Shouldn't be much.

In terms of SLR cameras, I've been a Pentax guy all my life. However, after looking through #4 perhaps it isn't too late to switch. What a remarkable array of lenses.
For example, in the Macro lens department: 20/3.5, 38/3.5, 50/3.5, 80/4 (1:1)!

Ted

 

[Keith]

Keith, I'd love to have that lens, but my M6 is still what I reach for every time after dark. The photo budget is pretty tight, so unfortunately I can only afford the fast lenses for one platform.

How much does the 50 typically go for, nowadays?

I paid $500.00 for mine after a heads up from Roland (ferider) who knew I was after one. It was a one owner and virtually as new and came with a story from the seller. He bought it new to photograph his daughter's birth, tucked it away and then used it twenty something years later to photograph her wedding ... then sold it! 😀

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Keith, I like to look at it this way (because it makes the pill easier to swallow); A CLA is a running cost not an aquisition cost. Having to do it early on is not really saving any money, it just brings the service you would have eventually done - forward. It has an added benefit of giving you peace of mind that your meter is accurate and overall the camera is more pleasant use from an earlier date so you're not putting up with any niusances waiting for a severe problem to warrant a CLA.

P.S: I found a good technician in Melbourne that I send my cameras to now because I have not been able to find any in Sydney that were good and didn't try to have their way with you! (found him referred to in another thread here on RFF) Considerably cheaper than sending them abroad and he is very good. http://nagamicamera.com.au/

It always makes me chew my lip when I read about someone getting an OM-1 and lens for this price. ^ Being somewhat naive I paid $140.00 for a black OM-1 with a motorwind and 50mm f1.8 from an ebay seller a few years ago. The motorwind never worked and the advance mechanism went south along with the meter shortly after getting the camera. I spent $200.00 getting camtech to bring that camera back to order so now have an OM-1 that owes me around $350.00. Luckily I love the thing to bits and although I regret buying it from eBay for obvious reasons I have no regrets about the actual money I spent getting it up to scratch. It's a joy to use!

 

[Keith]

Keith, I like to look at it this way (because it makes the pill easier to swallow); A CLA is a running cost not an aquisition cost. Having to do it early on is not really saving any money, it just brings the service you would have eventually done - forward. It has an added benefit of giving you peace of mind that your meter is accurate and overall the camera is more pleasant use from an earlier date so you're not putting up with any niusances waiting for a severe problem to warrant a CLA.

P.S: I found a good technician in Melbourne that I send my cameras to now because I have not been able to find any in Sydney that were good and didn't try to have their way with you! (found him referred to in another thread here on RFF) Considerably cheaper than sending them abroad and he is very good. http://nagamicamera.com.au/

Thanks for that info Paulo. John at camtech did a wonderful job on the camera which included replacing the prism but the freight to and from the US added a fair chunk to the overall cost.

Money well spent though I agree and the way the camera felt when I got it back made the pill far easier to swallow! 😀

 

[Paolo Bonello]

No probs, just a good back-up if you don't want to shell out for international couriers. Have heard really good things about Camtech too. I'm sending my OM2n to Yoshi Nagami in the next few days. I noticed the meter was misbehaving recently by giving slower speed reading than actual. I get a little emotionally attached to my 'special' cameras. I have very low resistance to spending money on a CLA's for the special ones.

 

[Keith]

No probs, just a good back-up if you don't want to shell out for international couriers. Have heard really good things about Camtech too. I'm sending my OM2n to Yoshi Nagami in the next few days. I noticed the meter was misbehaving recently by giving slower speed reading than actual. I get a little emotionally attached to my 'special' cameras. I have very low resistance to spending money on a CLA's for the special ones.

Keep in mind that what your meter is telling you isn't necessarily what the cameras ultimate exposure will be in AE Paolo. The OM-2 meters directly off the film surface in AE from memory. The meter reading you are seeing from the needle is taken from the matrix pattern on the first curtain and as that opens and exposes the film the camera makes an adjustment to the final shutter speed based on a secondary reading from the light hitting the film's surface. Amazingly sophisticated for it's time!

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Keep in mind that what your meter is telling you isn't necessarily what the cameras ultimate exposure will be in AE Paolo. The OM-2 meters directly off the film surface in AE from memory. The meter reading you are seeing from the needle is taken from the matrix pattern on the first curtain and as that opens and exposes the film the camera makes an adjustment to the final shutter speed based on a secondary reading from the light hitting the film's surface. Amazingly sophisticated for it's time!

Thanks Keith I forget that fact sometimes. Had read it in some of the literature. The sophisticated metering system is something which drew me to the OM2n for it's AE ability. I like to keep it in AE around the street often and utilize the compensation dial. But I am getting more used to using this camera in manual mode. In fact, it's almost on a par now for how often I will use each mode.

But in manual mode, if I trused the +- meter display it could lead me up the garden path if the meter was off - right? cause it's measuring off the matrix pattern and the speed setting is absolute once I have chosen it??? I don't normally carry a light meter around except for the iPhone App which is how I confirmed the problem initially. So I have to feel like I can trust the meter. Mostly I will start in AE mode and get a feel for my surroundings then I might switch over to manual mode once I'm warmed up and more focussed on what I'm doing.

 

[Keith]

My OM-2 seemed a bit off in manual mode for a while (2/3 of a stop out) but a change to silver oxide batteries bought it back to normal.

Sounds like you're ready for an OM-1 to me! 😀

 

[Paolo Bonello]

My OM-2 seemed a bit off in manual mode for a while (2/3 of a stop out) but a change to silver oxide batteries bought it back to normal.

Sounds like you're ready for an OM-1 to me! 😀

Haha,
Did you say OM-3?

 

[Keith]

Haha,
Did you say OM-3?

I have mixed feelings about the OM-3. It seems like a lot of money for a camera that doesn't really cut it against an OM-2 and has little over an OM-1 aside from spot metering and an extra shutter speed!

I'm not saying I wouldn't have one though but the money they go for is a little crazy ... especially if they're mint!

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Yeah I'd have to agree. OM 3 is nice but not enough out there to keep the prices in the range we are used to. I guess its all relative. You have to admit, OM 1 and 2 bodies are on the whole very reasonably priced due to the sheer amount that must have been sold and still in working order. We have been spoiled! So I Got the OM 2s recently. I'm rarely in the high end of the speed range. Wanted a visible meter to iso3200 which made that aquisition an easy one considering it's price.

 

[tedwhite]

The Olympus manuals are spoken for.

Ted

 

[shadowfox]

The above image came straight out of the scanner (well, I added the label and borders). The film is Agfa Variopan XL. Because the film has a green (as in deep-green lens filter) base, it translates into that nice, velvety red tint when scanned in RGB mode.

The lens used is the cheapest 35-70mm Zuiko lens (even back when it's new), it bears the name Zuiko albeit Cosina-made (per John Hermanson) which interestingly focuses down to 40cm, making it the closest-focusing 35-70mm in the OM lineup.

The camera is OM-2000 (also Cosina made).

... enough purist-feather-ruffling for a day, me thinks 😀

 

[Ade-oh]

I have mixed feelings about the OM-3. It seems like a lot of money for a camera that doesn't really cut it against an OM-2 and has little over an OM-1 aside from spot metering and an extra shutter speed!

I'm not saying I wouldn't have one though but the money they go for is a little crazy ... especially if they're mint!

I had an OM-3 and found that a. I rarely used the spot-meter because it was too fiddly to do it regularly, and b. it had the notorious OM-3/OM-4 battery drain issues, which meant new batteries every six weeks or so. I've found my OM-4ti's to be much more user-friendly.

 

[antonandreas]

My focus is a bit off and there is some hefty flare, but I really like the feel of the image:


Untitled-Scanned-31 by antonandreas, on Flickr

I love the 35mm f/2.8 (silver nose) as a street shooter.

 

[ferider]

Forgive the cross-post from my Alaska thread. I figured they might be of interest, since some of the photos below were taken with the "lowly" 35/2 🙂. The tele is the 180/2.8. On a freshly CLA'ed OM2 (thanks, John), and Kodak Ektar:

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[Aurelius]

GreatGreat pics indeed!!

 

[xayraa33]

Forgive the cross-post from my Alaska thread. I figured they might be of interest, since some of the photos below were taken with the "lowly" 35/2 🙂. The tele is the 180/2.8. On a freshly CLA'ed OM2 (thanks, John), and Kodak Ektar:

Cheers,
Roland.

Wow, those photographs are truly beautiful Roland.
I really like the one with the tree line reflecting in the lake.

 

[FTography]

Forgive the cross-post from my Alaska thread. I figured they might be of interest, since some of the photos below were taken with the "lowly" 35/2 🙂. The tele is the 180/2.8. On a freshly CLA'ed OM2 (thanks, John), and Kodak Ektar:

...

Cheers,

Roland.

Wonderful images, Roland. I wish I took 'em. 😉