Canon Eos 500N or Olympus Om 10

[haze]

Hello there,
first of all. I have very low experiences in photography but I decided to buy a good film camera because I really love the results of them.
Now I want to know which camera would be better the Canon EOS 500N or the Olympus OM 10? Can you recommend lenses for them?
Thank you.

 

[Selidor]

Welcome to the forum!

Those cameras are quite different actually, Can you tell us why you're thinking of those two in particular?
If you have a Canon digital SLR, then I would recommend the Canon 500n simply because then you can easily share lenses and flashes between them.

If not, then perhaps the Olympus system is a better option at first because the lenses are very good and much cheaper; generally speaking the lens you put on a camera is more important than the actual camera body.

Having said that, the bodies you've mentioned are vastly different - the Canon is a modern typical 90's consumer camera with lots of electronics and automation, while the OM10 is a typical 70's consumer camera, and has far fewer features. It wont stop you from getting good photographs, but try to get the manual adapter for it too, otherwise you wont be able to control both shutter speed and aperture on it.
If you know you need a particular feature, then its much more likely the 500n will have it.

Actually if you are able to get other models, then I'd recommend the Olympus OM20/ Canon EOS 50 (Elan II in the USA I think) as similar but better than the OM10/500n respectively. There are of course far better film cameras made by both companies - the professional models are very affordable these days. If you're just starting out though, buy a cheaper one that does 80% of the same things and invest the savings on lenses.

Oh and lenses, For Olympus: a 50mm non-zoom is extremely useful. Fantastic image quality and quite able to shoot in low light. Get the 50mm f1.4 if you can afford it, if not a 50mm f1.8 is still great. From there try "doubling up" - a 24mm (wide angle), a 100mm, and 200mm if you'd like to capture more distant things. Vivitar make some pretty decent 70-210mm zoom lenses too.

For Canon - a 50mm f1.8 is still extremely useful . Other than that i think zoom lenses are your best option, taking into account price vs performance vs practicality. I only know about the wide angle zooms because thats whats most useful to me - Canon 20-35mm f3.5 and the Tokina 19-35mm are comparable; a Canon 22-55mm f4 is also there is cost is the overriding factor.

Hopefully this was in some way useful

 

[mopar_guy]

The OM-10 was a consumer grade or entry level camera from the late 1970's. If you are interested in Olympus, you would be much better off with one of the single digit OM's such as the OM-1N or the OM-2N. The single digit OM cameras were built for the rigors of professional use and you have the native ability to change shutter speed in manual mode. Also the single digit OM cameras have interchangeable focusing screens and the OM-10 has a fixed focusing screen. You could probably find an OM-2N for very little money and you would be better off in my opinion. Olympus lenses are great. If you want to get any older OM camera, you should budget money to have the camera overhauled.

 

[BrianL]

You do not mention the features you want. I generally agree with the assessment of the OM-10 but know little of the Canon. The Olympus lens set for the OM is generally top notch and as good as Canon or even Nikon from that time. If looking for a mannual camera with mechanical shutter might I suggest looking at a Yashica FX-3 or FX-3 Super. Simple mechanical camera very basic that is inexpensive and yet quite robust in use. The late Yashica lenses were derived from the Contax formulations as they manufacturered the Contax line of cameras, considered top notch at the time. The mount for the Contax lenses is the same as Yashica so you can economize on the body and put the dollars into top of the line lenses.

If you want a bargain, look for a Bronica ETRS system and add the 35mm back. With the speedgrip and AEII or III finder it has the feel of a 35mm SLR but more versitile than most as it has replacable backs so you can switch films midroll, replacable screen, use it as a 6x4.5 format, flash sync at any speed, leaf shutter in each lens, waist level and rotary finder options and many accessories. A wide assortment of lenses that are 1st rate, extension tubes, several zooms and even a shift lens. These can be had for many time less than a mid-level 35mm camera and lenses are a bargain. Weight with body, AEII finder, 35mm back and speedgrip is about the same as most totl 35mm slrs. Oh, an interesting accessory is the 35mm panaramic back for landscapes.

 

[Morinaka]

I own/owned both of these cameras and they are rather different, the OM-10 is a low end aperture priority manual focus camera and the 500N is much more modern auto-everything camera.

If i could only get one i'd get the 500N with the 28-80mm Canon kit lens it came with at the time, i use that combo to shoot Velvia and get excellent exposures with it, it's super light and even using the crappy Canon branded neck strap you don't feel it. If you decide you want to upgrade to a better body then go for a EOS-5/Elan A2E.

If you really want to go down the Olympus road then i would recommend you go for the OM-40, it's cheap, solid, comfortable to hold, has a shutter ring for manual manual exposures, also has a much better meter than the OM10/20/30/1/1n/2/2n, and it's black as standard.

 

[Rick A]

I've been shooting Olympus cameras since the late 60's and love them. I have also owned two OM-10's and both were junk. I still shoot OM-1's and swear by them, well built and reliable, great lenses (Zuiko). I would recommend an OM-G as an entry level camera, but for nearly the dsame price you can get OM-1 or OM-2's. If you want a super metering system, OM-4 or OM-4ti.

 

[wblynch]

Actually the OM10 is more a 1980s camera coming out in late 1979. It's pretty rugged and you can get them for a low cost. The good thing is if you decide to take your Olympus ownership farther the lenses are all the same and of the same quality. So carry your lens collection to the next body. The Olympus Zuiko lenses are metal construction with metal flanges.

Many of the 1990s Canon, Nikon and Minolta consumer grade cameras also came with consumer grade lenses. Those lenses were often made of plastic even with plastic mounting flanges. Some of those lenses even have plastic optical elements.

I have had a dozen OM10s and have given away 4 to friends and family. They are great and rugged, as long as you don't try to rip the film advance.

You don't need interchangeable focusing screens and I'll bet most OM1-4 owners have never swapped theirs. The OM10 also gets less dust in the viewfinder because of that.