What is Olympus OM-1 about??
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MattKing
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There is a time limit - you need to be quick!
Within a few minutes wasn't quick enough ?!
hmmm, I seem to have discovered that I can edit a post (this one) on my desktop PC, but my laptop isn't showing me a 'Save' button to post the changes! Both using Internet Explorer...IE9 on Desktop, IE11 on laptop. Chrome works fine on the laptop, while IE11 on the laptop doesn't?!
Last edited by a moderator:
I think it's a bit inconsistent. You do have to be quick but sometimes it seems you have more time than other times.
Some action:
[video=youtube_share;ZkNOBJAT1Z4]http://youtu.be/ZkNOBJAT1Z4[/video]
[video=youtube_share;ZkNOBJAT1Z4]http://youtu.be/ZkNOBJAT1Z4[/video]
Some fun:
[video=youtube_share;T0zLstF0Xww]http://youtu.be/T0zLstF0Xww[/video]
[video=youtube_share;T0zLstF0Xww]http://youtu.be/T0zLstF0Xww[/video]
About OM-1 batteries:
Don't sweat, but also don't get the wrong one.
Without being modified, the best is a Weincell 625. It is the closest to the original mercury battery. Alternatively, use a 675ZA hearing aid battery, but have replacements handy. They don't last long, but are cheap for a pack of 6.
With the camera modified for 1.55V, the best and only one to get is a Silver SR44. Don't use an alkaline LR44 as it drops voltage with use and gets meter readings wrong.
My only grip with the OM-1 is the meter switch on the top plate. I am now learning not to use it so often.
The OM-1 is all about simplicity and being small and light.
The OM-2 is all that the OM-1 is, but adds electronics and the world's first OTF meter both for ambient as well as full OTF TTL flash meter.
It also adds the convenience of using SR44 batteries. And in daylight you don't even need to turn the camera on, It works in full aperture priority even with the switch on OFF, down to a shutter speed of 1/30th, i.e. hand held speeds. The OM10 and 20 can be used down to 2 sec with the meter switched off.
The OM-2N meter will work perfectly well down to 120 sec. The earlier -2 only to 60 seconds in Auto mode.
Don't sweat, but also don't get the wrong one.
Without being modified, the best is a Weincell 625. It is the closest to the original mercury battery. Alternatively, use a 675ZA hearing aid battery, but have replacements handy. They don't last long, but are cheap for a pack of 6.
With the camera modified for 1.55V, the best and only one to get is a Silver SR44. Don't use an alkaline LR44 as it drops voltage with use and gets meter readings wrong.
My only grip with the OM-1 is the meter switch on the top plate. I am now learning not to use it so often.
The OM-1 is all about simplicity and being small and light.
The OM-2 is all that the OM-1 is, but adds electronics and the world's first OTF meter both for ambient as well as full OTF TTL flash meter.
It also adds the convenience of using SR44 batteries. And in daylight you don't even need to turn the camera on, It works in full aperture priority even with the switch on OFF, down to a shutter speed of 1/30th, i.e. hand held speeds. The OM10 and 20 can be used down to 2 sec with the meter switched off.
The OM-2N meter will work perfectly well down to 120 sec. The earlier -2 only to 60 seconds in Auto mode.
I have both OM1 and OM2 (somehow I have ended up with 5 of them - all CLAd except 1 beater). I prefer the OM1 for reasons I cannot really define, because they both handle pretty much the same. The viewfinder separation is almost certainly the foam rotting the silvering. You will probably find the mirror bumpers sticky along with the door light seals. If it hasn't been converted getting batteries for the meter is a PITA.
If you want to continue using it I recommend Mike Spencer here in the UK @ http://www.camerarepairs-r-us.co.uk/ who will do the foams, convert the battery, and most likely for a few ££ swap that prism for a replacement - its the same unit as the OM10 so there are lots around (He may even have a replacement top cover - I had him replace a bent rewind knob on my last CLA). Mike is old-school, approachable on the phone, and has a quick turn-around. ~£50 ish and you have a camera that should last a very long time.
In my experience Zuiko lenses are great. I haven't invested in any of the rarities or the ones that for some reason seem to have mega-inflated prices. The slightly slower lenses are excellent as well, and generally are in the £10-£50 bracket, with the 28mm and 35mm at the dearer end. The 50mm, 135mm go for peanuts, as do the mid-range zooms which are FAR better than most people suggest. I often use both the 35-70 f4 and the 75-150, and have no complaints about either. The 28mm and 35mm f2.8's are really excellent in my opinion.
Olympus is a great system, and good lenses are very accessible (although creeping up as the 4/3 shooters discover how good they are to use with converters)
If you want to continue using it I recommend Mike Spencer here in the UK @ http://www.camerarepairs-r-us.co.uk/ who will do the foams, convert the battery, and most likely for a few ££ swap that prism for a replacement - its the same unit as the OM10 so there are lots around (He may even have a replacement top cover - I had him replace a bent rewind knob on my last CLA). Mike is old-school, approachable on the phone, and has a quick turn-around. ~£50 ish and you have a camera that should last a very long time.
In my experience Zuiko lenses are great. I haven't invested in any of the rarities or the ones that for some reason seem to have mega-inflated prices. The slightly slower lenses are excellent as well, and generally are in the £10-£50 bracket, with the 28mm and 35mm at the dearer end. The 50mm, 135mm go for peanuts, as do the mid-range zooms which are FAR better than most people suggest. I often use both the 35-70 f4 and the 75-150, and have no complaints about either. The 28mm and 35mm f2.8's are really excellent in my opinion.
Olympus is a great system, and good lenses are very accessible (although creeping up as the 4/3 shooters discover how good they are to use with converters)
OP
OP
Hi, also from The Netherlands !
I have had the Zuiko 40/2 on it for so many years - I am not sure if it will come off. Beautiful, small combination. A friend repairman modified my last OM1 (drilled a hole) to accept the small grip for the OM4Ti (and OM3Ti), which makes a lot of difference.
If I were you, I would invest in a well treated OM1 body, have it serviced and modified to current batteries. It will still be way cheaper than anything modern with comparable quality and you will have a classic to work with.
Hi Hilo,
The Zuiko 40/2 sounds nice. I like 40 on 135 cameras. Do you know a good OM repair man in Holland?
Thanks, Bert
The 40mm is like hens teeth low volume and was expensive even in 1990. Try before you buy.
The M1, OM1, OM1 MD & OM1n MD are all mechanical cept for meter - a hearing aid battery and o ring simple. Cover up a few holes for longer life.
The MD may be missing depending on market place.
Or solder in Shockety diode and use a SR44 like Ricardo. or swap two resistors and use SR44.
My OM1 from '78 used is still ok never been serviced the prism needs cleaning and putting back it will still work - an OM10 prism won't always fit and is not as bright.
The quirk is don't test meter in low light as the galvonometer rotates for ISO, and aperture etc. and will be on end stop. The user manual says this but is even more abstract!
You can get multi coated or single coated lenses for most lengths and apertures.
Early lenses have chrome fronts are are collectible 'silver nose'. M lenses don't ask...
The M1, OM1, OM1 MD & OM1n MD are all mechanical cept for meter - a hearing aid battery and o ring simple. Cover up a few holes for longer life.
The MD may be missing depending on market place.
Or solder in Shockety diode and use a SR44 like Ricardo. or swap two resistors and use SR44.
My OM1 from '78 used is still ok never been serviced the prism needs cleaning and putting back it will still work - an OM10 prism won't always fit and is not as bright.
The quirk is don't test meter in low light as the galvonometer rotates for ISO, and aperture etc. and will be on end stop. The user manual says this but is even more abstract!
You can get multi coated or single coated lenses for most lengths and apertures.
Early lenses have chrome fronts are are collectible 'silver nose'. M lenses don't ask...
I've been packing Olympus full size slr's since the FTL, the precursor model to the OM-1. Many either don't know Oly made these, or have forgotten them. I miss mine, as it enabled me to borrow lenses from friends to use (m42 mount). My pals in the camera club all used the same type lens mount cameras, and we all shared glass. Then somebody just had to go out and buy a Canon F-1, I bought an OM-1, but drooled over the F-1 until I tried one and realized it was too fiddley for me. Oly's are intuitive and simple to use, and unbelievable little work horses. I wore my first one out, have had several others, still have one along with an OM-2 and OM-4. My OM-1 is sitting on the desk beside me while the others reside on a shelf, for no other reason than it's what I am used to. The 2 and 4 are wonderful machines and I enjoy using them, but for quick and easy, it's always my OM-1.
Not forgotten but probably ignored as it wasn't an original Maitani Yoshihisa design.
This is an interesting read -> Maitani Yoshihisa lecture
Maybe it was because of the aperture ring being toward the front on the lenses? Or maybe it was because of the depth of field preview button being on each lens-- I have a vague memory of that being said in a magazine.
Thanks! I remember it because in 1982 I bought my first 35mm camera a Canon AV-1. I was going on vacation to Knoxville, TN for the 1982 Worlds Fair and then down to Florida to see the ocean for the first time. My boss sold me the AV-1 which was a discontinued display for a price I couldn't pass up.
After using the camera I found that I really enjoyed photography. The camera was aperture preferred only with no manual control of the shutter so I decided to upgrade. I bought Modern Photography and Popular Photography magazines every month and researched every 35mm camera and their lens lines. I remember reading that about Olympus.
Oh, I ended up getting a great deal on a new Contax 139 with 50mm f/1.7 Zeiss lens and TLA 20 flash. I loved that camera!
Magazines were way down on the OM-1 in those days.
There were always subtle words in the text engineered to dissuade people from going to Olympus. Magazines were the single source of product information and it's funny that people are still influenced by some junk they read 40 years ago.
Perhaps Olympus didn't pay the requested 'good review fees' that we always suspected magazines of demanding (auto, photo, electronics...) ? Those who paid always got great reviews and accolades. I suspect BMW has paid plenty over the years.
Until the internet came along I thought I was the only Olympus OM fan.
I bought my first OM-1md in 1975 because I liked the size and quality and it was simply the most beautiful camera available at the time. It still is.
There were always subtle words in the text engineered to dissuade people from going to Olympus. Magazines were the single source of product information and it's funny that people are still influenced by some junk they read 40 years ago.
Perhaps Olympus didn't pay the requested 'good review fees' that we always suspected magazines of demanding (auto, photo, electronics...) ? Those who paid always got great reviews and accolades. I suspect BMW has paid plenty over the years.
Until the internet came along I thought I was the only Olympus OM fan.
I bought my first OM-1md in 1975 because I liked the size and quality and it was simply the most beautiful camera available at the time. It still is.
...and still will be...
That's true. We saw those writers in the magazines as experts.
We were also influenced by misinformation given by salesmen in the camera stores. Years ago a salesman in the local pro shop told me that the Contax filters they sold were actually made by Heliopan. I believed that until recently.
In the UK the OM-1 was well received, thanks in part due to adverts and endorsement by David Bailey.
The OM-1 was also the favourite camera for Jane Brown: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/10/jane-bown.html
The OM-1 was also the favourite camera for Jane Brown: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/10/jane-bown.html
David Bailey was cool when swinging London was the hippest place on the planet. Olympus was wise choosing him as a spokesperson.
MattKing
Moderator
Actually, Jane Bown (no "r")
I regularly made the same mistake until recently, when I went to see this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3103564/
A really interesting film, by the way. Especially for us who really like the Zuiko 85mm f/2.
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Exactly.
Thanks! Was mistaken her for June Brown.
It's Better. A Leica can't even do 20% of what an OM-1 can do.
Rangefinders are fun but there are many reasons why they got overrun by SLR's 40 years ago.
Rangefinders are fun but there are many reasons why they got overrun by SLR's 40 years ago.
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