What's the best Olympus OM?

[John Hermanson]

Any 2-digit model is a much cheaper variant. Personally, I'd stick with the 1, 2, 3 or 4 (the last goes for very high prices, in the UK at least).

Double digit models like OM-10, 20 (G), 30 (F), and 40 (PC) had no involvement by OM designer Maitani. They also feature lots of plastic and shortcuts to keep price down. I suggest OM-1N/2N, 4T/Ti, 3Ti. John

 

[rodt16s]

I have OM1's (4), an OM3 and OM4Ti's (2).. Have had an OM4 sold it, never owned any OM2.
The OM4ti my favourite by far

 

[David Hughes]

Any 2-digit model is a much cheaper variant. Personally, I'd stick with the 1, 2, 3 or 4 (the last goes for very high prices, in the UK at least).

Double digit models like OM-10, 20 (G), 30 (F), and 40 (PC) had no involvement by OM designer Maitani. They also feature lots of plastic and shortcuts to keep price down. I suggest OM-1N/2N, 4T/Ti, 3Ti. John

Interesting, thanks John: I'd assumed he had a hand in the OM10 as the exposure system (the random printed shutter "blinds") has the edge over a lot of automatic exposure systems I've used. Not quite unbeatable but pretty good.

Anyway, it's a good cheap way of dipping your toe in the water and getting a Zuiko OM lens for dirt cheap.

Regards, David

 

[kuzano]

Not meant to rile, but a "GENTLE" suggestion

Not meant to rile, but a "GENTLE" suggestion

I have OM-1, OM-3, OM-4 and OM-10, I had OM-2 and tried the Om-4Ti.

As already said the one digit models are the good ones and I think they were all very good when they come out. Now, a few decades later some of them might have old electronic's problems.

Briefly. The OM-1 is all mechanical and is the only model to have mirror lock-up, the meter however is not very precise and they use discontinued batteries.

The Om-2 has aperture priority and the same "usual" meter but they use LR44 batteries.

The Om-3 is mechanical but has a highly sofisticated meter with spot, highlight and shadow mesurement. They use rather old electronics and many of them dry the batteries in a few weeks, mine included. Even keeping the shutter speed to B till the last minute doesn't help much so for me it is battery in just before using and battery out once it goes back into the bag. Apparently The Ti version (very rare and expensive) has sorted this out but cannot comment since I never had one for any extended period of time.

The OM-4 has the same meter as the OM-3 but sports and electronic shutter. Apparently it also suffer from batteries problems but mine (old beaten up and bought second hand) doesn't which leads me to think that maybe there are also OM-3 without this problem out there. The Ti version should be better. Since for all of them when electronic if gone is probably very hard to repair (but you can find the main board and many spare at high price on specialized sites)

I would go for a mechanical model: OM-1 or OM-3 and since of the two the one with the best meter is the OM-3 I would go for it, also since the Ti version is better I think that if your question is really "which is the best" I would say the OM-3Ti, but that's expensive.

On the other hand any other model should produce beautiful pictures, so if you find one at the right price go for it.

The OM-3 and Om-4 have also a usual hotshoe if you use it, OM-1 and Om-2 had a funny accessory shoes (OM was supposed to be a completely modular system) which breaks easily and is har to find.

The OM-10 which I have works perfectly but it is only aperture priority unless you buy another strange accessory (or you build it yourself if you are into those things). Mine resisted a fall from some 50 feets during a mountain trip (but falled on grass) with no problems, so the build is not bad...

GLF

Excuse me please giellaleafapmu, and I don't consider myself the "grammar police" of RFF, but......

I, quite literally could not concentrate on reading your post, as I was spending more time trying to say on the right line as I read it.

It turns out there was quite a bit of good information, which I was not able to dig out, and I quit reading in frustration 3-4 times. I thought it might be the white print on dark background (which is one of the things I hate most about the RFF forum). So I copied and pasted your post into Word, and that did not help in the reading. I put in some liberal "returns" and easily read my way through your post.

BTW, thank you for the quite good information. I am glad I persisted.

Now I realize I may be way off base here, as it is quite possible the "Enter Key" on your keyboard is broken or missing.😉

And, I hope you take this as merely a suggestion, as I would like to gather the good information you bring to the forum.

Thanks for reading my suggestion. Ball is in your court.

Honestly, I never did complete reading your post as it was typed into the forum.

 

[Texsport]

Have an OM-4 and OM-4T.

The battery drain on the T is a pain (wish I owned one with the corrected circuit), but that camera is the greatest.

Texsport

 

[Keith]

I always heard that switching the camera to B setting when not in use stops the batteries draining. I noticed when I got my OM3 it burned the first set of batteries fairly quickly but since leaving it on B when not in use it seems fine.

 

[John Hermanson]

Do both the early 3 and/or 4 (pre T) suffer from the battery drain issue? Is this only caused by the battery check not canceling after 30 seconds? Is there a serial number cutoff to watch for? Is there a fix, DIY or perhaps at zuiko.com for the drain?

Thanks in advance![/quote]

All original OM-3 have battery drain that would kill batteries in a few months. An updated circuit was never made for the 3. Ditto for the original 4 but then they introduced lower drain circuit boards. The only time these were installed (by Olympus factory service) was when customer complained about battery drain. It is easily a 3 hour repair job. To test your 4 to see if it has a low drain board: turn battery check on and leave it. If body has a low drain board battery check beep and LED will turn off automatically in approx. 30 seconds. Of course ALL 4T and 4Ti have the low drain boards.

Sorry, setting to B/60 does not turn the drain off. John

 

[Keith]

You destroyed that myth for me then John! 😀

 

[John Hermanson]

Also, there is no need for a "corrected" circuit for the 4T/Ti, that's as good as it gets and drain is about 1/6th that of the original 4. I would recommend the 3Ti but a clean body will easily cost you over $1000. Answering another post: No, Maitani had NO involvement in the 10, he was embarrassed by it. Plastic top and bottom, plastic shutter curtain shafts that would melt if you could run the 5 fps motor drive. National geographic did this test, removing the diode built into the OM-10 motor drive switch (which blocks MD1 and 2 use). Within 36 frames, the shutter curtain shafts melted, ruining the shutter. John

 

[Texsport]

Do both the early 3 and/or 4 (pre T) suffer from the battery drain issue? Is this only caused by the battery check not canceling after 30 seconds? Is there a serial number cutoff to watch for? Is there a fix, DIY or perhaps at zuiko.com for the drain?

Thanks in advance!

All original OM-3 have battery drain that would kill batteries in a few months. An updated circuit was never made for the 3. Ditto for the original 4 but then they introduced lower drain circuit boards. The only time these were installed (by Olympus factory service) was when customer complained about battery drain. It is easily a 3 hour repair job. To test your 4 to see if it has a low drain board: turn battery check on and leave it. If body has a low drain board battery check beep and LED will turn off automatically in approx. 30 seconds. Of course ALL 4T and 4Ti have the low drain boards.

Sorry, setting to B/60 does not turn the drain off. John[/quote]



I can confirm that the B setting doesn't stop battery drain.

Texsport

 

[David Hughes]

... Answering another post: No, Maitani had NO involvement in the 10, he was embarrassed by it. Plastic top and bottom, plastic shutter curtain shafts that would melt if you could run the 5 fps motor drive. National geographic did this test, removing the diode built into the OM-10 motor drive switch (which blocks MD1 and 2 use). Within 36 frames, the shutter curtain shafts melted, ruining the shutter. John

Thanks John, very interesting. It suggests something like a silicone lubricant is needed when working on them. I wonder how many use it. (This is a sore point with me; years and years ago I used to deal - moonlighting - with the technical enquiries for my family's firm. A standard rant was about the specialised lubricants for plastics not working on metals, despite a lot of warning labels etc.)

Having said that I'll stand by my comments about the OM10 as most people's usage these days will/should be well within its capabilities.

Another point, does the circuitry of the OM-1 mean a mercury battery is needed or is it a balanced (is that the word? my memory is poor on that subject) circuit that mean a spacer and hearing aid battery or even the LR44 would work?

Regards, David

 

[Dektol Dan]

Battery Drain Myth

Battery Drain Myth

The OM4 battery drain from a stored camera is a myth started from the first few cameras in production. Most are just fine, An OM3 and OM4ti can bring $1500 and a good old OM4 can be had for $150, If 6 ounces of weight and a 'modern' flash timing are issues pony up. Consider updating earlier for later circuit boards an impractical impossibility. My OM4 batteries last about 6 months.

 

[redisburning]

Another point, does the circuitry of the OM-1 mean a mercury battery is needed or is it a balanced (is that the word? my memory is poor on that subject) circuit that mean a spacer and hearing aid battery or even the LR44 would work?

Regards, David

no it has to be adjusted to work perfectly with modern batteries.

actually FWIW I have a spare mercury battery that fits the OM-1. I got it as part of a package deal just stored away in some inner pocket of the case, I bet the guy who sent it to me probably broke a law or two inadvertently!

 

[geotrupede]

The OM4 battery drain from a stored camera is a myth started from the first few cameras in production. Most are just fine, An OM3 and OM4ti can bring $1500 and a good old OM4 can be had for $150, If 6 ounces of weight and a 'modern' flash timing are issues pony up. Consider updating earlier for later circuit boards an impractical impossibility. My OM4 batteries last about 6 months.

Dan, I am not sure is a myth or not, but I have one and the battery life is very bad. The question is how many cameras have the issue. Not sure, but definitely is not impossible to find one with the issue...
The problem is solved by removing batteries when the camera is not in use. Even B does not help.
G

 

[Gid]

I have an OM4 that has the later circuit - all the benefits of the 4Ti but with real brassing and much less expensive 😎

 

[bgb]

I haven't tried them all but from the ones I have owned I would say a refurbished OM-2. Or any 1,2,3 or 4 series camera that had be overhauled/refurbished by http://www.zuiko.com/

Same for any brand I guess even the ones starting with L ;]

 

[jcb4718]

Well, what a correspondence! Glad to hear all you OM guys are still alive and kicking! To return to the question: you will not go far wrong with any of them. I have a couple of OM 1n cameras. I like the simplest possible camera that does the job and they don't come simpler than the OM 1n. Fantastic viewfinder! I prefer setting a camera manually because I often photograph landscapes. The problem is often bright sky which can fool a camera in auto mode (e.g. like the OM 2 in auto mode). With the OM 1n I point the camera at the ground to get the setting then I raise the camera up -the setting does not change of course- and take the photo. I pretty much do this all the time: it couldn't be simpler. For high contrast scenes e.g people in bright sunlight I found I could not always balance ambient and flash with the 1/60 flash synchronisation speed -it was not quite fast enough. I therefore bough an OM2000 which has a flash synchronisation speed of 1/125. It did make a difference. Also, when using the self-timer, the aperture and mirror of the OM2000 pre-fire, which is better than the OM 1n which 'only' has mirror lock up (I've never noticed that this makes a difference in a real photo however!). The OM2000 is similar to the OM 1n in that they both have mechanical shutters; the OM2000 however has spot metering but it's noisier, the mirror return is quite noisy. Not a true OM, but if you just focus on features, not bad...but the OM 1n is an absolute classic.

 

[shadowfox]

All original OM-3 have battery drain that would kill batteries in a few months. An updated circuit was never made for the 3.
Sorry, setting to B/60 does not turn the drain off. John

Never been a big deal for me.
Take the battery after shooting.
Problem solved.

 

[wblynch]

I just got back from a trip up north on which I took an OM-2n and OM-3.

I took the OM-3 to see if I could invoke envy. (yeah... didn't happen...)

When I was in the back country I pulled out the OM-3 only to find I had left the batteries out and at home. No worries, I just shot using "sunny 16" and all was well.

The Best OM?

An all mechanical one.

 

[kanzlr]

An OM3 and OM4ti can bring $1500 and a good old OM4 can be had for $150

ähm, no.
an OM-3Ti MAYBE, but I've sold my 4Ti for € 300,-- bundled with a lens (and I did not make much of a loss either)...