Compact 35mm camera with exposure compensation dial?

[geostog]

For the last few years I've been using my OM-10 as my main 35mm camera. I mainly used it in manual mode and occasionally in auto. The exposure compensation dial is useless, too much of a trouble to turn it so I never used it.

Lately I've put my Canon Eos-10 in use. I'm not loving it (too big and heavy for me) but I quite enjoyed the hold exposure button which sped up the whole process.

Now I'm on the hunt for a replacement for my OM-10. I'm considering an OM-2(n) as I can use the lenses I already have (50mm and 135mm) and I really love the OM series aesthetics and size. I've briefly owned an OM-2n before but I barely took any photos with it but I guess the separate exposure compensation dial would be of great use.

Would there be any other camera that would fit my needs? I'd be willing to change systems as I only have two lenses and I'm not planning on using more than these (heck, even one the 50mm as I mainly use this focal length).

 

[darkosaric]

Contax TVS is small, compact, excellent build, and has compensation +/- 5 full stops.
On wide end 28mm lens is f3.5, is that is enough for you --> I recommend this camera. I use it on wide end almost exclusively, because on the tele end it is pretty dark.

 

[Paul Howell]

Have you thought of just adjusting the ISO/ASA setting, in most cases a lot easier than fussing with exposure compensation dials that are menu driven. In terms of another system, the Minolta 600SI, the compensation dial is very convenient, on the left, no fussing to set it. Lens are easy to find and most are inexpensive. The 50 1.7 is quite good, a 135mm in AF is somewhat rare, but there are few really good zooms including the 70 to 200 F4 beercan zoom.

 

[geostog]

@darkosaric
The Contax seems lovely to use, sadly it's price is out of my range. Otherwise I think it'd be ideal.

@Paul Howell
In the OM-10 the exposure compensation dial is the same as the ISO setting dial. Basically you change the ISO when you want to under/over-expose. The tough part is that on the OM-10 that dial will not rotate, but you have to lift and rotate, something difficult to do if you consider the size and the position of the dial.
I wouldn't mind switching to the Minolta system, the 600si with a 50mm 1.7 sounds fine to me.

 

[darkosaric]

Contax TVS is around 200$, much cheaper in comparison with T2. But cheap it is not.

 

[removed account4]

hi geostog
I use a Pentax me super..
doesn't have contax lenses but works pretty well..
it has exp comp, is tiny they don't cost much when you get them used.

 

[abruzzi]

hi geostog
I use a Pentax me super..
doesn't have contax lenses but works pretty well..
it has exp comp, is tiny they don't cost much when you get them used.

the Pentax SuperProgram (or Super-A in some markets) is also pretty tiny. Pentax really took the “tiny SLR” ball from Olympus and ran with it. They made some great, small cameras and lenses.

 

[MattKing]

Try an OM-G/OM-20 - I think that you will find that the implementation of exposure compensation will be better for your needs.

 

[Paul Howell]

In the US you can get a Minolta 600si for less than $50.00, don't what they run in Germany. Attached is an picture of the 600 with a 50mm lens, you can the large compensation dial on the left.

 

[darkosaric]

price is out of my range

What is your budget?
If you are low on budget - do you consider simple point and shoot, without any manual controls?
If yes - I can send you some, free, you pay only shipping. Here in Germany I find many point and shoots for next to nothing (last week got 3 cameras for 7€), I buy, play, and then give away...

 

[blockend]

Any camera with a viewfinder meter will do the job. Centre the needle, green light, or whatever system the camera uses to indicate correct exposure, then click however many stops of over or under exposure you prefer. Of course this means there must be a manual exposure mode.

 

[geostog]

@jnantz @abruzzi
It looks great! From the measurements I see it's nearly the same size as my OM-10, which is quite small for an SLR camera.

@darkosaric
I don't have a hard budget but I guess I could spend up to 150€. I have considered cameras other than slr, like the Yashica Electro, Yashica Lynx, Olympus XA, Olympus mju but I think I'd be better off having easier controls and focusing and giving up some size and weight for them.

@blockend
The metering isn't my problem. It's just that I could do it faster by using the auto metering and a compensation dial. Is my scene balanced? auto exposure will do fine. Do I have my subject in shade or in bright light? auto metering will probably mess it up and I'll have to take things at hand. Of course I can watch the metering and over/under expose of what is suggested by the camera but I find it way faster to just have it in auto and just turn a dial to balance the metering.

 

[blockend]

The metering isn't my problem. It's just that I could do it faster by using the auto metering and a compensation dial. Is my scene balanced? auto exposure will do fine. Do I have my subject in shade or in bright light? auto metering will probably mess it up and I'll have to take things at hand. Of course I can watch the metering and over/under expose of what is suggested by the camera but I find it way faster to just have it in auto and just turn a dial to balance the metering.

Centre weighted, spot or matrix will offer different readings, even with compensation applied. If you're fussy about exposure, manual or spot metering are the most reliable methods. Generally speaking, film compacts did not prioritise user overrides except by ASA setting, my Olympus XA3 for example. The few that did will probably have 20+ year old electronics of uncertain reliability.

 

[Autonerd]

Always best to stick with the system you have if you know it and like it, that's what I think.

But if you want to switch... I think the only thing that can really compare to the OMs on small size and wight are the Pentax M-series cameras. ME, MV, MV1 and MG are aperture-priority automatics. I think only the ME has an exposure compensation dial, while the instruction manual for the others directs you to change the ISO setting for exposure compensation. Which is pretty much what the EC dial does anyway...) I had an MG back in The Day (hoping I can find it!) and it was a wonderful little camera, very light and very robust.

ME Super has an EC dial and also allows full manual control. I just got one and so far it's my favorite of the three Ms I've used (MX, MG, ME Super).

MX is all-manual and probably not what you are looking for.

Nikon FG is pretty small and light, if not quite as compact as the Pentax Ms. Someone gave me one and it doesn't work, and I understand that's not uncommon with MGs. I haven't decided whether or not to repair it. Nikon lenses are nice but they get pretty expensive.

Good luck!
Aaron

 

[mohmad khatab]

 

[Huss]

Pentax ME is tiny and very nice w/ exp comp dial. Heads up - many cameras including this Pentax - do not have any indication in the VF that you have set exp compensation. Even my Nikon F3 doesn't.

 

[Arthurwg]

I used a Contax TVS for extensive travel back in the day. Very great pictures and easy as pie. Almost always shot with auto focus and program mode. Camera eventually went haywire. It's around the house somewhere but I see these cameras are virtually impossible to service or repair. Thinking of getting another one--- from Japan.

 

[GarageBoy]

Contax 139 and other contaxes were pretty much designed to be used with AE and exposure comp - reliability of most contax cameras is always questionable (139 and my FX-D were pretty reliable for the most part)

 

[John Bragg]

For the last few years I've been using my OM-10 as my main 35mm camera. I mainly used it in manual mode and occasionally in auto. The exposure compensation dial is useless, too much of a trouble to turn it so I never used it.

Lately I've put my Canon Eos-10 in use. I'm not loving it (too big and heavy for me) but I quite enjoyed the hold exposure button which sped up the whole process.

Now I'm on the hunt for a replacement for my OM-10. I'm considering an OM-2(n) as I can use the lenses I already have (50mm and 135mm) and I really love the OM series aesthetics and size. I've briefly owned an OM-2n before but I barely took any photos with it but I guess the separate exposure compensation dial would be of great use.

Would there be any other camera that would fit my needs? I'd be willing to change systems as I only have two lenses and I'm not planning on using more than these (heck, even one the 50mm as I mainly use this focal length).

OM1n is a joy to use and fully manual and mechanical. Forget exposure compensation dial. Just get one that has been CLA'd including removal of nasty deteriorating prism foam.

 

[Les Sarile]

The metering isn't my problem. It's just that I could do it faster by using the auto metering and a compensation dial. Is my scene balanced? auto exposure will do fine. Do I have my subject in shade or in bright light? auto metering will probably mess it up and I'll have to take things at hand. Of course I can watch the metering and over/under expose of what is suggested by the camera but I find it way faster to just have it in auto and just turn a dial to balance the metering.

That's why I have always preferred spot metering. The OM3&4 do offer this as well as has spot metering - multi spot even, memory hold, shadow and highlight in a perfectly compact body. Unfortunately they might be priced out of your range too. I don't have the OM2S which I understand also has spot and probably priced better, but I don't know if it has all the other features.

 

[cjbecker]

Any camera with a viewfinder meter will do the job. Centre the needle, green light, or whatever system the camera uses to indicate correct exposure, then click however many stops of over or under exposure you prefer. Of course this means there must be a manual exposure mode.

Thats the way I prefer, but if you have a camera that has auto and a exposure lock button. I meter the scene in different spots, get a understanding about what the different levels are, and lock the exposure where I want it.

The nikon f3 is very easy to do that with. It reads out the shutter speed for the correct exposure for the scene and you can move the meter around and see the difference by the shutter speed read out. Very easy to see how many stops of a difference there is.

 

[geostog]

@John Bragg I'm a big fan of the OM line. However, I've had bad experience with the deteriorated foam. Bought two OM2n cameras, none of them were described to suffer from it, returned the first and tried to replace the prism from an OM10 on the second. I succeeded but broke a ribbon cable along the way, sold it as parts later (still functional but had no metering). Luckily now ebay sellers are mentioning this way more often but it's really hard to find one with clean prism (are there any at all at this age?) or one that has been serviced. Buying one and getting it CLA'd would be way too expensive for me sadly. Otherwise I'd go for one of them in a heartbeat.

@Les Sarile OM3/4 are out of my budget, but I'd love to get one. I have set my eye on the OM2 spot, it seems that I would like it and fit my needs. But the OM2 Spot doesn't seem to get much love from the community, why is that so? Is it because it has the program mode? It doesn't suffer from prism deterioration, it goes up to 3200 ISO, it has a cool looking black body, it has led indications in the viewfinder and most importantly it has spot metering. It seems that the OM2n is getting all the attention and love.

@cjbecker I do this with my EOS-10 and I loved it! I have it in aperture priority, point it at the part of the image (roughly) I want to be properly exposed and then hold the exposure lock button, then frame and take the picture. But the camera is big and bulky and I'm looking for an alternative to it. i understand that not many film cameras have AE lock button and that's why I'd compromise with the exposure compensation instead.

 

[Les Sarile]

@Les Sarile OM3/4 are out of my budget, but I'd love to get one. I have set my eye on the OM2 spot, it seems that I would like it and fit my needs. But the OM2 Spot doesn't seem to get much love from the community, why is that so? Is it because it has the program mode? It doesn't suffer from prism deterioration, it goes up to 3200 ISO, it has a cool looking black body, it has led indications in the viewfinder and most importantly it has spot metering. It seems that the OM2n is getting all the attention and love.

There's a writeup about the OM2SP on http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/om2sp/index.htm if you've not seen it.
I was fortunate to have acquired my OM's at a price I wanted to pay. Typical of old gear, previous owners may no longer want them but would be pleased if someone else would so keep an eye out.

 

[reddesert]

MattKing already gave a solid answer in post #8, which is that the OM-G/OM-20 (or the OM-PC/OM-40) have a superior and more straightforward manual mode and exposure compensation compared to the OM-10. On the OM-G and OM-PC, the shutter speed ring is around the lens (like all OMs except the OM-10), the auto/manual switch is under the rewind knob, and the ISO and exposure compensation dials are by the shutter release (where the speed dial is on most other SLRs). And you don't have to lift-and-turn to set the exposure compensation.

The OM-G and OM-PC are still pretty inexpensive compared to the single digit OM bodies, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one and use the lenses you already have. Of course, even the single digit bodies are a relative bargain compared to what they used to sell for, if you get one in good condition.

 

[John Bragg]

@John Bragg I'm a big fan of the OM line. However, I've had bad experience with the deteriorated foam. Bought two OM2n cameras, none of them were described to suffer from it, returned the first and tried to replace the prism from an OM10 on the second. I succeeded but broke a ribbon cable along the way, sold it as parts later (still functional but had no metering). Luckily now ebay sellers are mentioning this way more often but it's really hard to find one with clean prism (are there any at all at this age?) or one that has been serviced. Buying one and getting it CLA'd would be way too expensive for me sadly. Otherwise I'd go for one of them in a heartbeat.

@Les Sarile OM3/4 are out of my budget, but I'd love to get one. I have set my eye on the OM2 spot, it seems that I would like it and fit my needs. But the OM2 Spot doesn't seem to get much love from the community, why is that so? Is it because it has the program mode? It doesn't suffer from prism deterioration, it goes up to 3200 ISO, it has a cool looking black body, it has led indications in the viewfinder and most importantly it has spot metering. It seems that the OM2n is getting all the attention and love.

@cjbecker I do this with my EOS-10 and I loved it! I have it in aperture priority, point it at the part of the image (roughly) I want to be properly exposed and then hold the exposure lock button, then frame and take the picture. But the camera is big and bulky and I'm looking for an alternative to it. i understand that not many film cameras have AE lock button and that's why I'd compromise with the exposure compensation instead.

OM2sp has a high incidence of battery drain issues. That is why it has limited appeal. You may still be lucky though and get a good one, or hold out for an OM2n that has been properly CLA'd and has no foam. One that has been serviced by John Hermanson would fit the bill.

John Hermanson (Camtech) - his website is zuiko.com - his email is omtech1@zoho.com