Olympus OM-3

CMoore

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Any of you guys own an OM-3.?
Good Heavens, they are worth their weight.
I keep hoping to find one, at a garage sale, in its box, almost unused, for 15 dollars.
I have never even seen one, other than a picture in a magazine.
 

Poisson Du Jour

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CMoore said:
Any of you guys own an OM-3.?
Good Heavens, they are worth their weight.
I keep hoping to find one, at a garage sale, in its box, almost unused, for 15 dollars.
I have never even seen one, other than a picture in a magazine.
Click to expand...


$15!?
I don't think so.
$500+ given their rare collector status (finished in 1986 I think while the OM1N was still being made).
You could have the other OM camera (1N) which does the same thing but without the multispot highlight/shadow of the OM 3 (the equivalent of using a handheld multispot meter to sweep the scene and control exposure entirely manually).
 

thuggins

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I did find one unused, in its box. But it was a lot more than $15.

It is argueably the most collectable of the OM's due to a combination of quirkiness and rarety. But with thousands of frames shot thru OMs 1, 2, 4, and 4T, I don't recall having ever used the 3.
 

ciniframe

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A nice clean OM-1n is far more camera for the money. Save the extra, at $5 a roll for B&W you will need it for film.
 

Les Sarile

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Got lucky to find an affordable OM-3 on KEH listed AS-IS, PARTS ONLY, Does not work. It worked perfectly - meter and all . . .



Even though it was listed as not working, it was still nowhere near $15 but I am ok with it.
 

MattKing

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I'd like one .

The combination of manual operation without batteries, multi-spot metering with batteries, modern batteries, and built-in hot shoe makes it very attractive.

I wouldn't pay what they command on the market though. I'll just use one of my OM-2s, OM-2n and new (to me) OM-4T.
 
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CMoore

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What for.?.......for it to come up at a garage sale, in almost new condition, for 15 bux.
I realize, along with a Nikon F2-SB, it is one of our most expensive 35mm SLR from that golden age.
 

Poisson Du Jour

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CMoore said:
What for.?.......for it to come up at a garage sale, in almost new condition, for 15 bux.
I realize, along with a Nikon F2-SB, it is one of our most expensive 35mm SLR from that golden age.
Click to expand...


Tell him he's dreamin'....
 

MattKing

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You are dreaming .

When they were current, they were both rare and (relatively speaking) expensive. And they were unlikely to be purchased by someone who was buying it as a status symbol rather than a camera to be used.

So they are unlikely to be found at a garage sale.
 

benjiboy

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There was one in good condition for sale in a local camera store recently it was about £550 ,but I'm a Canon guy.
 

Christiaan Phleger

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I was an Olympus shooter at the start of my photojournalist career and shot with the 3, 4, 4T and 2SP; all with motors (the fast one) running Ni-cad's.
The OM-3 was everything it was designed to be and did it very well. I used mine hard, all of them but the 3 the hardest.
The meter was superlative; and absolute charm to use quickly in challenging light. I always *always* amazed my fellow PJ at the paper with consistently perfect chromes and I fully attribute that to the fact I shot with the OM-3 and 4 whereas they shot with Nikon FE2 and F3's; I figured out that the Nikon's more general centerweighted metering was hard to shoot with the slide film's exposure narrow latitude in the tough light we shot in.
Mine died in my hands when the observer boat i was shooting from took an 6 foot wave over the gunwale after i told the "captain" not to sit sideways to the swells. I finished the roll, watching the lovely meter die in the viewfinder, and told the "captain" take me the f$%k back in.
After the insurance smoke cleared since it was listed as discontinued I was only able to get a OM-4t as a replacement. I think I still have the salt encrusted body someplace....
OM-3 was a truly awesome 35mm film camera and I've used nearly them all; Nikon Leica Canon Pentax Minolta Olympus. There was not anything quite like it with its mechanical shutter (same top speed as the F-3) and precision metering; the Pentax LX was very close but the shutter had a different design and everyone I shot with failed and usually fairly soon. The Canon F-1n again was close but much larger and heavier as well as an exceptionally slow and fussy process to switch metering (um anyone want to switch focussing screens in the rain?).
 
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CMoore

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Beauty Is In The Eye...Horses For Courses...Baskin Makes 31 Flavors...etc etc.
For the money involved, i would much rather have the Olympus OM-3 than a Nikon F6.
If i won a thousand bux in the lottery, i would love to buy an OM-3.
But that's life.....
I am in No Way envious of you back stabbing, no-good, physically unattractive, crappy photographers that, accidentally, happened to buy one at the right time.
 

Svenedin

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The OM4-Ti is a lot cheaper. I've had mine from new in 1990 and I am still using it all the time. It has never gone wrong. The OM4-Ti has multi-spot metering, highlight/shadow and without batteries it can do 1/60s shutter speed so you can still take pictures with Sunny 16 if the batteries go flat. I used that feature on Mount Kenya. The batteries weren't flat but it was so cold they stopped working. In fact, I like my OM4-Ti so much that I bought another one a few years ago.
 
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benjiboy

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You can't have everything instead of lusting after more and more cameras you should learn to make better pictures with the equipment you have. Photography Isn't a problem to be solved by throwing money at it.
 
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CMoore

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benjiboy said:
You can't have everything instead of lusting after more and more cameras you should learn to make better pictures with the equipment you have. Photography Isn't a problem to be solved by throwing money at it.
Click to expand...
We are talking about two different things.
People that own Lots Of:
Guitars
Guns
Cars
Cameras
Fishing Poles
Knives
etc etc
Do not do so because they think it will make them "better" at XYZ.
They do it because they love the hobby and enjoy the quality and differences in the products available.
 

EdSawyer

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Just get an OM-4T(i), it's as good if not better, and way cheaper.
 

Poisson Du Jour

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benjiboy said:
You can't have everything instead of lusting after more and more cameras you should learn to make better pictures with the equipment you have. Photography Isn't a problem to be solved by throwing money at it.
Click to expand...

Oh, do tell.
 

Les Sarile

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benjiboy said:
You can't have everything instead of lusting after more and more cameras you should learn to make better pictures with the equipment you have. Photography Isn't a problem to be solved by throwing money at it.
Click to expand...

There is no reason to get an L lens either . . .


EdSawyer said:
Just get an OM-4T(i), it's as good if not better, and way cheaper.
Click to expand...

If it's cheaper, can it even be as good - let alone better?

Really they are all different and an argument can easily be made for one over the other. That is if you need to justify their acquisition . . .

 

Bill Burk

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I wanted an OM-3 not long after it appeared on the market, but already had an OM-4 and OM-1.

Lately I am more appreciative of manual shutter speeds, so have a stronger desire for it again.

But then, last weekend, to shoot an Eagle Scout court of honor, given the choice among all my cameras, I picked a Spotmatic F with 50mm f/1.4 and a spotmeter. I took one spotmeter reading before it started then put it away for the night. Shot two rolls at 1/60 f/1.4.

The batteries in both OM-4's were dead, one was loaded with a mystery film anyway... The Spotmatic was already loaded with TMAX 400 which is what I wanted to shoot anyway...
 
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CMoore

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I realize the light meter, but.....Does the OM-4 need batteries for manual mode.?
Thanks
 

Bill Burk

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OM-4 has a mechanical 60 (which, literally would have worked for me last weekend but how was I to know?) and B.
But relies on battery for all manual speeds. That's fine, they're all crystal or otherwise electronically controlled which keeps them accurate.

But the OM-3 boasts mechanical shutter all the time. And I suppose its tighter tolerances means those speeds are relatively more accurate than the consumer-grade OM-1.
 

Bill Burk

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So my assessment: The OM-4 or OM-4T would be a better camera - so long as you have spare batteries in hand.

The OM-3 would be nice to have - so long as you are sure you don't want automatic shutter operation.

I went out for a weekend earlier this year with the OM-4 and sweat was breaking out on my brow because I was with a group... no local stores had MS-76 batteries... and as far as I could tell... I had no spares. I did find a couple thermometers with cheap-o alkaline 76's but when I swapped them into the camera it would not function.

The set in the camera was fresh, but without spares I was very nervous. I slept with the camera to keep it from getting cold and the batteries did last the whole trip. I just developed the film last Sunday and the shots came out fine.

Only after I got home did I find the spare MS-76's were in my first-aid kit all the time.
 
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