olympus om-2n

peters8

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Hi!is the olympus om-2n a silent camera?...problems with vibration with shutter or not?
thanks regards
 

mr rusty

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Not silent but pretty quiet as SLRs go. Air damped mirror mechanism helps. Certainly no problems with vibration.
 

BMbikerider

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Silent - no but no niosier than similar cameras from that era. Vibration again the same as the silent question, however on most SLR's the vibratory period is AFTER the shutter has fired and the mirror coming down to collide with the base is what you feel as 'vibration'. It is insignificant and does not affect the image at all.
 

Nick Merritt

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The OMs are along with the Leicaflexes probably the quietest of the manual wind SLRs. (The Canon Elan 7 is quite quiet -- really very impressive.) In the case of the OMs it's the damping described above, in conjunction with a cloth shutter. Definitely not silent, however.
 

MikeTime

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Silent. Quiet. Noisy. ?

Depends on the circumstances of course. A church during a quiet moment is never suitable for an slr, though a big heavy Contax RTSIII is relatively quiet. Good shutter damping and mass count for something. It's the quietest slr I know.
 

wblynch

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If you want really quiet, shoot an OM-1 with its mirror locked up.

Many times I shot an OM-1 this way with a 28mm, scale focused. Shoot from the hip. Point and pray - crop later. Great for museums.

Also using a leather half-case helps a lot.
 
OP
OP

peters8

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wblynch said:
If you want really quiet, shoot an OM-1 with its mirror locked up.

Many times I shot an OM-1 this way with a 28mm, scale focused. Shoot from the hip. Point and pray - crop later. Great for museums.

Also using a leather half-case helps a lot.
Click to expand...


Thanks!...is the OM-1 more "silenter" than the OM-2 ?
Really?
ciao
 

Ulrich Drolshagen

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peters8 said:
Thanks!...is the OM-1 more "silenter" than the OM-2 ?
Really?
ciao
Click to expand...
as "silent" in English seems to mean "being without any noise" this can not be. But, as far as I can hear, both 1 and 2 are at about the same noise level.

Ulrich
 
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dsmccrac

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Ya, my OM 1 and 2 have about the same amount of 'silencieness' (since we are making up words).

I think it is a relatively quiet slr - louder than rangefinders, but near-silent when compared with the Pentax 67 I get to play with - but I sounds like you are reloading a canon when it goes off.
 

wblynch

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Yes, but the OM-2 does not have the mirror lock-up feature.

An OM-2 with lock-up could be very useful.
 

RH Designs

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The OM-2 does have lock-up in a sense - if you use the self-timer the mirror locks up as soon as you press the shutter release, the shutter then opens after the delay. So it's almost as good as a dedicated mirror lock-up function.
 

baachitraka

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OM-(x), x=1,2,3 and 4 is not quiet no matter whether you use with ML or Self-timer.

Worst is OM-2sp, which sounds like rubbing metal and glass together.
 

mr rusty

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The OM-2 does have lock-up in a sense - if you use the self-timer the mirror locks up as soon as you press the shutter release, the shutter then opens after the delay. So it's almost as good as a dedicated mirror lock-up function.
Click to expand...

I just tried this on my OM2n. It doesn't? If you press the shutter with timer set, the shutter fires as normal.With timer it fires the shutter just as normal after the time.
 

jajong

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That is normal for an om2. An om4 (maybe only the ti) lifts the mirror seconds before firing the shutter when using the selftimer.
 

Chan Tran

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Camera shutter noise never bothers me but if for some reason I have to use a quiet camera I certainly would not use an SLR. No SLR I ever known I would classify as a quiet camera.
 

Allan Swindles

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I agree with Chan Tran, when I used to photograph weddings I used a Rollei TLR. The OM is less noisy than most other SLR's though as long as the damping and seals have been replaced. They're getting on a bit now and do deteriorate with age.
 

Stephanie Brim

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I would shoot a TLR (and do) or a rangefinder if I wanted quiet. Generally, though, I just don't care. It isn't like I'm photographing during a church service.
 

PentaxBronica

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Bear in mind that film transport noise will be different depending on how the last owner stored the camera, how heavily it was used, whether it has had a CLA, etc.

Shutters are likely to be much the same across different examples, providing that their speeds are accurate.

Those soundproof "blimp" arrangements were available for Pentax as well, I've seen a photo of one for an MX and heard that they existed for the ME and possibly earlier models too. Very rare now, and usually mistaken for an unusual ever-ready case.
 

RH Designs

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RH Designs said:
The OM-2 does have lock-up in a sense - if you use the self-timer the mirror locks up as soon as you press the shutter release, the shutter then opens after the delay. So it's almost as good as a dedicated mirror lock-up function.
Click to expand...

My mistake, sorry. I was thinking of the OM-2SP which like the OM-4 and 4Ti does lift the mirror when the release is pressed, then releases the shutter after the delay.
 

thuggins

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The OM's had a reputation for being the most quiet and vibration free of any 35mm SLR, and my experience with them bears this out. But they certainly don't compare to the tinny click of a rangefinder or viewfinder shutter. But as for vibration, I find them much less vibration prone than my rangefinders. The shutter release is very smooth and consistent; I regularly handhold my OM's with a 28-35mm lens at 1/15, 1/8 and even 1/4 with very good results. By the time you fight the stiff shutter release, trap the meter and set the exposure on a RF, you're lucky if 1/60 - 1/120 doesn't show some camera shake.
 
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