Let's talk Olympus OM2

[freecom2]

Any OM2 owners on F&C? I haven't had much chance to shoot recently, so the obvious thing to do is to think about gear in the mean time

I'm primarily an aperture-priority shooter, and my go-to 35mm SLR is a Nikon FE2. I am a big fan of the simple, compact SLR - I also own a Pentax MX, and I like the design of a small SLR.

Worth giving an OM2 a try? Let me know what your thoughts are on the camera. I've ruled out the other OM models either for lack of aperture priority, or rarity/price.

 

[AJQS]

Any OM2 owners on F&C? I haven't had much chance to shoot recently, so the obvious thing to do is to think about gear in the mean time

I'm primarily an aperture-priority shooter, and my go-to 35mm SLR is a Nikon FE2. I am a big fan of the simple, compact SLR - I also own a Pentax MX, and I like the design of a small SLR.

Worth giving an OM2 a try? Let me know what your thoughts are on the camera. I've ruled out the other OM models either for lack of aperture priority, or rarity/price.

All OMs except OM1 offer Aperture priority shooting, and with the exception of the OM3/Ti are not rare

I loved my OM2 Spot/Program, best manual mode camera I ever had thanks to the spot meter. In Auto it was good too, having ridiculous low light sensitivity, even good for IR metered through the filter. In the end I kept my OM4Ti, though it's more awkward to use the spot meter on it, it does offer more features and keeps hold of it's value better. If only I could lay my hands on an OM3Ti...

 

[AJQS]

Oh and I have ran mine alongside Pentax MX, LX, ME and Super A and preferred the Pentaxes for colour and the OIys for B&W. Oly offers a much cooler, slightly green tone to colour images with lest contrast in comparison. There's naff all in it for IQ of the lenses though.

 

[chuckles]

Once I left the Russian options, I ran Nikon for years. My only ever venture away from Nikon was with a OM2sp, Inwasnt disappointed, ever. It served me well. Olympus dumped me with nothing after the SP so I went back to Nikon.... That was 25 years ago. Good kit though

 

[simonblue]

Never used the OM-2,but used the OM-4ti and the OM-1,you can pick up OM-4 for not a to bad price

 

[excalibur2]

Well Olympus are not my favourite cameras mainly because the shutter speed ring annoys me, but thousands of other photographers don't mind so only you can decide if you like the OM2 and I would advise buy it as they are cheap enough.

 

[steveo_mcg]

I've got a selection of OM's they are all good cameras, I think the 2 is the only one I'd definitely not rationalise. I don't use the 1 much at all, it was an impulse buy that doesn't really fill a gap but I keep it in case of zombie apocalypse. My 10 has sentimental value. The 30 has focus assistance lights which I have found handy for the rare occasions I've shot sports. I should really rationalise them though, I hardly used them.

 

[stevelmx5]

I've got an OM2n and it's my only 35mm kit. I tend to buy other 35mm cameras because they're so cheap but then remember that I don't really like shooting it because I'm used to 120 but the OM2n is an excellent camera. Metering is spot on and the size/weight is perfect for me. The lenses are also excellent and I use them on my Nex digital too.

 

[freecom2]

Oh and I have ran mine alongside Pentax MX, LX, ME and Super A and preferred the Pentaxes for colour and the OIys for B&W. Oly offers a much cooler, slightly green tone to colour images with lest contrast in comparison. There's naff all in it for IQ of the lenses though.

Interesting comment. I tend to just shoot colour and B&W through the Nikons (plural - I also have an F2, F3 etc.). Heard good things about the lenses but in truth, all the different 35mm SLR lens designers knew what they were doing.

Once I left the Russian options, I ran Nikon for years. My only ever venture away from Nikon was with a OM2sp, Inwasnt disappointed, ever. It served me well. Olympus dumped me with nothing after the SP so I went back to Nikon.... That was 25 years ago. Good kit though

Good to know, thanks!

Never used the OM-2,but used the OM-4ti and the OM-1,you can pick up OM-4 for not a to bad price

OM-2s seem to be very good value for money, and I don't really need any of the extra features that the 4 provides.

Well Olympus are not my favourite cameras mainly because the shutter speed ring annoys me, but thousands of other photographers don't mind so only you can decide if you like the OM2 and I would advise buy it as they are cheap enough.

Since I only use aperture-priority (and only use shutter speed for exposure compensation) it's not an issue.

I've got a selection of OM's they are all good cameras, I think the 2 is the only one I'd definitely not rationalise.

People do seem to have a soft spot for them!

I've got an OM2n and it's my only 35mm kit. I tend to buy other 35mm cameras because they're so cheap but then remember that I don't really like shooting it because I'm used to 120 but the OM2n is an excellent camera. Metering is spot on and the size/weight is perfect for me. The lenses are also excellent and I use them on my Nex digital too.

I like medium format immensely, but sometimes I do prefer the ease of 35mm. Medium format is more methodical, and the speed is definitely slower compared to 35mm, so it encourages a different way of operating for me.

 

[excalibur2]

Since I only use aperture-priority (and only use shutter speed for exposure compensation) it's not an issue.

Well if you want a simple cheap aperture priority camera then there is the Canon AV1...and if you want other lenses then FD\FDn lenses are cheaper and easier to find than Olympus and the other bonus is the M42 adapter to use old screw lenses...but you would have to make sure you buy one without the "Canon cough".....anyway the OM2 is a superior camera for what it can do but worth mentionioning the Canon in case you wanted to get a range of lenses and save money.

 

[freecom2]

Well if you want a simple cheap aperture priority camera then there is the Canon AV1...and if you want other lenses then FD\FDn lenses are cheaper and easier to find than Olympus and the other bonus is the M42 adapter to use old screw lenses...but you would have to make sure you buy one without the "Canon cough".....anyway the OM2 is a superior camera for what it can do but worth mentionioning the Canon in case you wanted to get a range of lenses and save money.

Thanks Brian. I've done the Canon FD thing before - I owned a lovely Canon AE-1 Program, which handled nicely and had no Canon cough. Unfortunately, I wasn't so keen on the shutter speed priority of that camera, and I was never really fond of the other Canon cameras. I don't plan on having a new set of lenses, just the standard 50mm and maybe a 28mm, so that's also not too much of an issue.

This really is just curiosity potential purchase than anything else; I have a full Nikon film set up so I'm in no rush to have a whole new system.

 

[DNH]

Owning both an OM2 SP & a Nikon FE2, things that may disappoint you going from the FE2 to an OM2 are the shutter speed. The OM2 only goes up to 1/1000 which can be a pain on sunny days if you want to shoot wide open, especially if you have been spoilt by being able to go up to 1/4000 with the FE2. The flash sync is way worse too, 1/60 compared to 1/250. You also lose the aperture readout display in the viewfinder.

Admittedly, if you have never had these you won't know what you are missing, but I came to the OM2 in a similar manner to how you might. Used to shooting Nikon's with faster shutter speeds & I found it a let down.

Don't get me wrong. I like my OM2 SP & have taken some great photographs with it but for me the only plus it has over the FE2 is the spot meter, which is very handy. From a shooting point of view, I much prefer the FE2.

Please don't put my down as anti Olympus. After getting the OM2 SP I got an OM1 to keep it company. Zuiko make some very nice lenses & they are cheaper than Nikkor's used. On ebay I picked up 28mm F3.5 & 135mm F3.5 Zuiko's & had change from £30. Try that with Nikkor's

 

[freecom2]

I hadn't considered the shutter speed difference actually, so thanks for pointing that out, and your post was extremely helpful. Part of the reason why I went from Nikon FE to FE2 was because of the high shutter speed improvement (amongst other things).

 

[excalibur2]

Well if anyone wants spare parts for the OM2 i have a non repairable one but the exposure meter is spot on and also the bottom plate is missing the cover for the motor drive...what I do with non working cameras is take them apart for spare screws and to see how they work.....some of the older ones use bits of string\cord

 

[droj]

All the iterations of the OM series embodied the prettiness of the OM-1, with its big, bright view through its top-plate hugging prism. The electronics and battery-dependency of the following models, though, made them possibly more fragile elements in one's armoury.

Ergonomically, I'd prefer a Pentax or a Nikon ...

 

[magicolor1]

Ergonomically, I'd prefer a Pentax or a Nikon ...

I could never get used to the lens mount on Nikons turning (what I consider to be) the wrong way!

I really like the OM-1 or 2 with the hotshoe removed - makes a small camera even sleeker.