Changing shutter speed with one finger

[E. von Hoegh]

I suggest that if it bothers you so much you take it to a camera repair shop, and ask them to service it for you..

The trouble is in the electronics. Do you really think they will have a new board for a 30 year old camera? Or that I would risk a brand-new-in-thebox OM-3 that way?

 

[Chan Tran]

Is that considered a high battery drain? My phone needs charging every day unless I barely use it. The rechargeable battery in my Nikon D5000 is dead every four weeks whether I use the camera or not. In fact the cost of recharging all the devices myself and my family flatten on a daily or weekly basis is something I try hard not to think about. Is spending about £2 / $2 every four months on a pair of 357 watch batteries what all the fuss has been about for over 30 years? Where I live that doesn't even buy you a decent coffee.

Apologies to OP for taking it o/t. On cameras with a top-mounted shutter-speed dial, I find it's best to assess the scene and set the anticipated shutter speed before even bringing the camera to my eye, so all I then have to worry about is aperture and focus.

That is excessive for a camera like the OM-3. Even with moderate use like a roll a month the batteries should last at least a year. You were talking about rechargeable batteries which have much higher self discharge rate than disposable batteries.
I believe the OP camera is defective but I don't think it uses significantly more batteries when on. So the best bet is to remove the batteries when not in use. Unlike a digital camera, removing the batteries doesn't cause it to lose any settings.

 

[Chan Tran]

The trouble is in the electronics. Do you really think they will have a new board for a 30 year old camera? Or that I would risk a brand-new-in-thebox OM-3 that way?

I agree! If I were the OP I would simply remove the batteries when I don't use the camera. At least when I put it away for more than a few days. Besides since the camera drains the batteries and if the OP forget for say a year with the camera putting away the batteries may leak.

 

[dynachrome]

You can change shutter speeds with your index finger on Minolta X700/X370/X570 cameras and similar models if you take them off of the A or P settings. This works better with the X500/X570 because a blinking LED in the finder will show which speed you have set.

 

[dynachrome]

The Olympus OMG will also allow you to change shutter speeds with one finger.

 

[Svenedin]

That's my understanding. Don't get me wrong, I rather like the Olympi. But I like stuff that works without constantly thinking about carrying spare cells more.
The -3 would be ideal, I'm going to make a switched battery compartment cover a la Brian VS's idea.

On the subject of the OM cameras and shutter speed dial there is another rather handy design feature. Not only are the aperture rings and shutter speed rings both around the lens but if moved the same number of stops in the same direction the exposure stays constant. That is to say, if you were (for example) at 1/60s at f11 then moving both dials to the left 3 clicks would give 1/500 at f4.

 

[John Koehrer]

As an off the wall, maybe sorta kinda jury rigged alternative, would adding height to the SS dial help?
Another SS dial with rubberized surface attached to a original dial. just thinkin.

 

[Chan Tran]

As an off the wall, maybe sorta kinda jury rigged alternative, would adding height to the SS dial help?
Another SS dial with rubberized surface attached to a original dial. just thinkin.

No John. The F2 with meter finder has the SS dial very high and this make it's impossible to turn with only 1 finger. The F3 is possible but is still difficult and I use thumb and index finger for that.
On my Canon A1 the SS dial can only be turned with 1 finger. There is no room for 2 fingers.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

Shutter speed can be changed with the thumb (only) on the Canon AE-1P and Canon FX.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

the technique you are aiming for is rather error -prone to begin with and maybe the FM is forcing you to do it right?

 

[Chan Tran]

If you are really into 1 finger and into right hand only shooting then get a modern SLR. I hate them.

 

[cooltouch]

No need to get a modern SLR. There were a few made that I'm aware of -- all back in the 1970s -- in which the shutter speed dial was set just a bit proud of the edge of the body so that the index finger could get a firm grip on it and move it easily. I know of three cameras off-hand that have this feature -- the Minolta XD-11 (XD-7 and XD in other parts of the world), the Canon AE-1, and the Canon EF.

 

[mshchem]

I have Nikon FM and I love it! is light, feels sturdy and looks great. The only problem that I have with it is that while my eye is in the viewfinder, I can't change the shutter speed with one finger. I need to use two fingers, resulting many times in losing focus or even the whole picture.
What camera do you recommend me that can be easy to change with one finger and is completely mechanical? Is the FM2, FE2, FM3a any better? Could I make the dial a little bit more "loose"?

I know you can do it with leicas... I always dream about getting a M6, maybe voigtlander? However I would rather stay with Nikon, so I would actually have money to buy film and develop rather than having a Leica in the shelf and no money for film...

PS: I also own a F100 that can do that, it's also great but different, but I'm looking for a more mechanical feeling.

Get one of the "rubber thumb" thingys that people use to sort through pages of documents. Plus you will really look COOL! Nikon F5, fits my giant clumsy paw.
It really is a good question why no one put a thumb wheel for shutter speeds?? Before the battery powered super cameras?

 

[Alan Gales]

Just buy a later camera with Program mode. Ken Rockwell says that "P" stands for Professional!

I remember when the Canon AE-1 Program came out. I was selling cameras at a Venture store (similar to Target today). We sold the hell out of those cameras. Everyone wanted that Program mode. The film camera that later eclipsed it was the Minolta Maxxum with autofocus. I preferred the Minolta X700 over the AE-1 Program but everyone wanted Canon. When the Maxxum came out they all seemed to forget about Canon. Awwwww the masses!

I've never cared for program mode myself. I have this love/hate relationship with autofocus, the same as I do with zoom lenses. Of course that's me.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

Need to correct the above post: the AE-1P shutter speed can be changed with the index finger, not the thumb.

 

[cooltouch]

I've never cared for program mode myself. I have this love/hate relationship with autofocus, the same as I do with zoom lenses. Of course that's me.

Aww, just admit it. You're a Luddite!

But I reckon you're in the perfect place.

 

[summicron1]

I have Nikon FM and I love it! is light, feels sturdy and looks great. The only problem that I have with it is that while my eye is in the viewfinder, I can't change the shutter speed with one finger. I need to use two fingers, resulting many times in losing focus or even the whole picture.
What camera do you recommend me that can be easy to change with one finger and is completely mechanical? Is the FM2, FE2, FM3a any better? Could I make the dial a little bit more "loose"?

I know you can do it with leicas... I always dream about getting a M6, maybe voigtlander? However I would rather stay with Nikon, so I would actually have money to buy film and develop rather than having a Leica in the shelf and no money for film...

PS: I also own a F100 that can do that, it's also great but different, but I'm looking for a more mechanical feeling.

Leica CL allows this -- the shutter speed dial is right in front of the shutter button and is on the face of the camera, not on top, so you just rotate it left and right -- and the viewfinder has a shutter speed indicator.

Quick and accurate metering is the result.

 

[Alan Gales]

Aww, just admit it. You're a Luddite!

But I reckon you're in the perfect place.

If so then I was a Luddite in my twenties.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Just buy a later camera with Program mode. Ken Rockwell says that "P" stands for Professional!

I remember when the Canon AE-1 Program came out. I was selling cameras at a Venture store (similar to Target today). We sold the hell out of those cameras. Everyone wanted that Program mode. The film camera that later eclipsed it was the Minolta Maxxum with autofocus. I preferred the Minolta X700 over the AE-1 Program but everyone wanted Canon. When the Maxxum came out they all seemed to forget about Canon. Awwwww the masses!

I've never cared for program mode myself. I have this love/hate relationship with autofocus, the same as I do with zoom lenses. Of course that's me.

I liked the Canon AE1;built like a tank; strong enough to pound nails into the wall for picture hanging, They don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

[Alan Gales]

I liked the Canon AE1;built like a tank; strong enough to pound nails into the wall for picture hanging, They don't make 'em like that anymore.

The AE-1 and AE-1 program were both great reliable cameras. It was rare that we had any returns on them. Even rarer that someone complained about a defect. We sold a ton of them too. At Christmas time we would just have stacks of them sitting on the floor behind the camera counter. We sold so many that we didn't have time to unlock the case to get one out every time someone wanted one. We also didn't have the room under the counter either. We would have cases of them in our stockroom to top off the stacks on the floor behind the counter when they got low.

I preferred the Minolta X-700 myself because I preferred aperture priority over shutter priority. I shot a Contax 139 back then. Customers would occasionally ask which camera I owned. When I replied Contax they would always say that they never heard of it. We sold Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus and Nikon. We sold none of the pro models and no Contax or Leica equipment. Too pricey for the clientele.

 

[Chan Tran]

I liked the Canon AE1;built like a tank; strong enough to pound nails into the wall for picture hanging, They don't make 'em like that anymore.

I am surprised that you think that way. I think the AE-1 was one of the most fragile camera in its time. Compared to the Pentax K, Minolta SRT, even Olympus OM the AE-1 I don't think is as strong a camera. Compare it to the Nikkormat.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Best camera I know of for changing shutter speeds with one finger is the Canon FTb. Soft, smooth, positive.

 

[John Koehrer]

No John. The F2 with meter finder has the SS dial very high and this make it's impossible to turn with only 1 finger. The F3 is possible but is still difficult and I use thumb and index finger for that.
On my Canon A1 the SS dial can only be turned with 1 finger. There is no room for 2 fingers.

Been a while. The OP has an FM

 

[darinwc]

Don't forget the Nikon 4004..
You can change the shutter speed work your index finger or the aperture with your thumb.

 

[narsuitus]

Here are the mechanical 35mm cameras I use that allow me to rotate the shutter speed dial with only one finger:

Nikon F2 with non-metered finder (the shutter speeds get longer as the dial is rotated clockwise)

Pentax Spotmatic (the shutter speeds get longer as the dial is rotated clockwise)

Fuji ST705 (the shutter speeds get longer as the dial is rotated clockwise)

Leica M6 (the shutter speeds get shorter as the dial is rotated clockwise)