Hello all,
I should also introduce myself having posted on another thread without doing so - poor etiquette I guess!
I have just recently got a hold of a nice clean OM-4 and a Soligor 28-80mm 3.5-4.5 lens after a hiatus of more than 10 years in digital. I have spent some time familiarising myself with the body again (having used an OM-3 and a huge variety of lenses in the past), and was very pleasantly surprised to find that my new OM-4 has the 2-13 screen fitted - onbviously a modification made by a previous owner. It is heartening to know that I could probably realise what I spent on the camera and body by selling the screen if I didn't want to keep it, so it's already an investment, on paper anyway. The body is the older circuit, but with 357 cells so cheap and seemingly available a few spare cells wont trouble me, and I know I can reduce the drain a little by leaving the camera on red 60/b or removing the batteries entirely. The body is very clean, well looked after, chrome MD and battery hatch covers, newish looking seals, and all seems to be working as it should although I've not yet had time to run some film through it.
I have no doubts at all that digital photography is very conveneient and a modern digital compact is an amazingly effective tool for the task. Whats brought me back is the startling difference in quality of images when printed. I have enlargements from slides on various walls in the house that when I look at them again, I am blown away by the sharpness of the imgae, and I can't afford the kind of outlay that would deliver digital images of the same calibre.
I am going to concentrate on B+W for a while, something I didn't concentrate on in the past preferring kodachrome and then velvia for landscapes, but the beauty of the analogue system is its versitality.
Its good to see that there is a thriving fanalogue community, and my local city seems to be quite a good place to be workig with older folm based cameras, with a renowned repair facility, darkroom cleasses, workshops and community spaces, and plenty to phptograph!
Its good to be back!
Dave