Olympus bargain.

trevorbray

trevorbray

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Trevor
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You may remember that Charlotte @mothdust alerted us to a Gumtree bargain recently.
It was for an Olympus OM1 with 50mm 1.8, 35-70 3.6 zoom, Flash gun and all in a bag.
I bought it.
I've just received it back from Michael Spencer after a CLA.
The camera now works perfectly, on purchase the meter was dead and I could not open the back because it was glued shut by sticky light seals.
Michael had to replace the bottom plate because the battery cover was impossible to remove.(I've got it but yep, still stuck) So it now sports an incorrect serial number. No big deal.
Meter fixed, battery mod done. Shutter speeds corrected.
The 35-70 zoom had very stiff zoom and focus rings, a ding in the filter thread and marked front element.
Sadly it's too far gone to resurrect.
The 50mm is perfect, the flash untested. The bag might be useful,

So I've ended up with a camera good for decades of use.
Cost of ownership. £80 excluding postage.
Not quite the bargain it once seemed. But not extravagant either, I'm happy enough.
 
Trevor not bad though for an Ikonic camera, looking forward to seeing some shots from it.
 
Hardly extravagant, especially given that it has been serviced and battery converted. The savings from not buying Wein cells alone would save a fair bit!
 
Still looking for a fully working OM2n body with hot shoe 4 for about £20, keep your eyes open folks..thanks
 
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I can't help but wonder if I'm missing out by not trying out an OM... I'm a happy Nikon FE2 and F3 shooter, so I'd probably be interested in trying an OM2 for a similar experience. Anyone shoot both systems and can comment on how similar/different they are?
 
As you know I've got F2AS and F2A. Now got 3 OM's. One of which is OM2sp

Never shot the sp yet. Build quality is superb on the OM1's and of course the Nikons. The Olys are significantly smaller, something which endears me to them. Quite different to use mainly because of the shutter speed dial being fitted immediately behind the lens. Metering on the Olys comes closest to the F2A with match needle. OM1's, like the F2's have mirror lock up. I like that too.
I tend to use only 28, 35 and 50mm primes. I have these in both mounts and have 24,85 and 200 in Nikon mount. But I very rarely use them and could easily live without them.
The day is approaching when I will choose between systems. One day I'm keeping the Nikons...next day...well, we all know what happens..
 
After 20+ years of shooting Nikon I picked up an OM2 SP earlier in the year. It was one of three cameras that I considered getting new back in 1986, the others being a Canon T90 & a Nikon FA. I went with the FA in the end but still wondered what the OM2 SP was like so finally got one from ebay that was at a good price. Adding other bits off of ebay all in for £70 I have put together a small outfit of the body, 3 Zuiko lenses & a T20 flash.

Nikon wise as well as the FA, I have the F3 & FE2 as well as a few others. How does the OM2 SP compare? Not good in some areas. My favourite shooting mode is AP & the OM2 SP doesn't have the aperture set displayed in the viewfinder like the F3 & FE2. I do like the way that it displays shutter speeds though. The 1/1000th top shutter speed is a bit of a let down & the flash only syncs at 1/60th. Not much of a deal compared to an F3 but way worse than the FE2. The shutter speed dial being around the lens mount seems in a strange place after using a Nikon. Also the lenses turn to focus in the opposite direction to Nikon lenses.

The last two just need getting used to. The shutter speeds are more of a pain. The OM2 SP is a nice camera to shoot though. Nice & light & the 3 lenses are very nice optically. The meter seems very accurate as well with the spot function being quite handy.
 
@trevorbray @DNH

Thanks gents for your informative replies - Trevor - the size thing is interesting, although my FE2 is quite a bit smaller than the F2A/AS. As for the shutter speed, that doesn't bother me so much because I'd never touch it with aperture-priority.

David - no display of aperture is a big downside for me. I like having aperture and shutter speed both easily visible in the viewfinder. Additionally, I originally upgraded to the FE2 because my FE couldn't give me a shutter speed faster than 1/1000s when I needed it (I had completely forgotten about this until recently). So looks like it might be Nikon for now!
 
I've got two OM2ns, an Fm and an FE2. The OM2ns look good, feel nice and are noticably smaller than the Nikons, which is useful sometimes. But the Nikons (and the Nikkor lenses) are significantly more substantial and better built. Both of the OM2ns have had to have their meters recalibrated and have slightly loose film winders, whereas the Nikons are functioning as new - I've only had to put in some new light seals.

The Olympuses are cheaper, and they are nice, and I'm glad I've got both brands, but I would keep the Nikons if I had to chose.
 
freecom2 said:
I can't help but wonder if I'm missing out by not trying out an OM... I'm a happy Nikon FE2 and F3 shooter, so I'd probably be interested in trying an OM2 for a similar experience. Anyone shoot both systems and can comment on how similar/different they are?
Click to expand...

Want to borrow one with a 50mm 1.8 lens?
 
DNH said:
After 20+ years of shooting Nikon I picked up an OM2 SP earlier in the year. It was one of three cameras that I considered getting new back in 1986, the others being a Canon T90 & a Nikon FA. I went with the FA in the end but still wondered what the OM2 SP was like so finally got one from ebay that was at a good price. Adding other bits off of ebay all in for £70 I have put together a small outfit of the body, 3 Zuiko lenses & a T20 flash.

Nikon wise as well as the FA, I have the F3 & FE2 as well as a few others. How does the OM2 SP compare? Not good in some areas. My favourite shooting mode is AP & the OM2 SP doesn't have the aperture set displayed in the viewfinder like the F3 & FE2.
Click to expand...

Maybe not but it's just over the horizon on the top of the lens. Try this - as you raise the camera to your eye, have a peep at the aperture setting on the top of the lens then count the stops as you adjust the aperture in good old manual fashion. This is, after all, a camera you can shoot without a battery.

DNH said:
I do like the way that it displays shutter speeds though. The 1/1000th top shutter speed is a bit of a let down & the flash only syncs at 1/60th. Not much of a deal compared to an F3 but way worse than the FE2. The shutter speed dial being around the lens mount seems in a strange place after using a Nikon. Also the lenses turn to focus in the opposite direction to Nikon lenses.

The last two just need getting used to. The shutter speeds are more of a pain. The OM2 SP is a nice camera to shoot though. Nice & light & the 3 lenses are very nice optically. The meter seems very accurate as well with the spot function being quite handy.
Click to expand...

You want 1/2000? Goto OM4.
 
trevorbray said:
Michael had to replace the bottom plate because the battery cover was impossible to remove.(I've got it but yep, still stuck) So it now sports an incorrect serial number. No big deal.
/I quote]

Update. Got the cover off. Serial number now correct.
Click to expand...
 
Good to see you today and looking forward to running a roll through the OM1.
The weather looks pants for tomorrow, so I'll take her for a spin on Sunday.
Just a quick pic of her taken with my new Tammy lens as a tester @ 3200 2.8 1/100

OM1 by happygolucky on Talk Photography

Cheers bro I'll let you know when I'v finished with it, you never know I might fall in love with it and end up buying it from you :olympus:
 
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