OM2S Question... About Meter...

[DRabbit]

My father passed away in 2001 and just tonight my brother finally gave me his camera. I put new batteries in it and loaded it with film and it seems to be working okay.

However, the meter that is supposed to be in the viewfinder is no where to be seen...

Am I doing something wrong or is this a common issue with old OM2S cameras?

Thanks!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

On the OM-2S it is on the left side of the finder, running up the side of the focusing screen. It is an LCD that is illuminated by light entering the thin white frosted window on the front of the camera. You cannot see it in dim light, which is most indoor lighting. There is a button on the right side of the mirror housing near the top. Its a plain black button with no label....push it in This lights the finder up for a short time. Also remember that on the OM cameras that do not have an on/off switch (like yours) you have to push the shutter button slightly to activate the meter before it will come on and before you push the illuminator button. The display stays on 15 seconds after you take your finger off the shutter button, if I remember right.

 

[plummerl]

This forum seems to be rapidly approaching a tipping point (zuikoholics unite!). A pretty good place to start, for information on the OM-2SP, is:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/om2sp/index.htm

 

[DRabbit]

Thanks for the info everyone...

Chris... yes, I started to figure it out as I was handling the camera more, got new batteries into it and loaded it with film. I pulled up the manual online and discovered the viewfinder illuminator button and that helped for sure. The whole meter area though is very faded and hard to see, even with it lit up.

JSU - thanks for the info. Good thing I bought two 6 packs of batteries then! LOL! I've heard that putting the camera on B helps to minimize battery drain. Any confirmation?

And yes, it feels special just to hold it, and I know I will get a lot of personal enjoyment out of it for the sheer fact it was my dad's. It only makes me wish he was still alive since I wasn't into photography nearly as much when he was.

Thanks for the link Plummer!


BTW, I've wanted to get my hands on my dad's camera for years, but it's the type of thing my brother and I both kept forgetting about. Funny though, I didn't realize it was an Olympus... for some reason I thought it was a Pentax. I also didn't realize he had other lenses... in the bag was a 28mm and a 135mm. On the camera is the 50mm f/1.8. There was also a 50mm macro in the bag, but that one appears to have a pretty significant fungus problem. Everything else looks very good though... all the other lenses are nice and clear.

I've popped a roll of Arista EDU Ultra 200 into it, so hopefully I'll have some results to share in the not-to-distant future 🙂

BTW... it's my first split prism SLR... and actually my first ever film SLR. I don't expect it will change my love for rangefinders though 😉

 

[nikku]

Thanks for the info everyone...


BTW... it's my first split prism SLR... and actually my first ever film SLR. I don't expect it will change my love for rangefinders though 😉

It will not change your love for rangefinders, but you will find yourself surprised by how much you end up using it.

 

[John Hermanson]

LCD panels can fade out, I see a lot of OM-4 like that. Even 4T/Ti are needing new displays now. Sorry to say, new LCDs for the 2S are not available. One would have to be taken out of a good parts body. John