Returned from the Dead: OM1 Revived
After months of sitting on the shelf with a dead shutter, my OM1 returned from the dead last week. While aimlessly fiddling with it, the self-timer became unstuck, thereby freeing the stuck shutter. The first roll through it turned out fine, so the self-timer seems to have been the extent of the problem.
I’m glad to have it back, as I’d forgotten how enjoyable this camera is to use. As much as I like my rangefinders, a good SLR can be a joy to use. I wish that more modern SLRs were more like the OM1.
Heh, I’ve just been idly browsing these online the past couple of days. I have more cameras than I know what to do with, but I’m still curious. The OM-1 sure is a pretty little thing.
What got me back into shooting film, really, was when I bought a used FTb on ebay (the Canon FTb was my first real camera). It reminded me that I had always wanted a rangefinder back then. The first thing that struck me about the FTb as opposed to my Canon 10D was the beautiful viewfinder. It felt like I could see EVERYTHING. When I got my rangefinder, I loved that I could see outside the frame lines. The advantages of that were as advertised. And, the fact that I could successfully hand-hold at slower speeds.
I own a Canon film camera manufactured in the mid-90’s (the model number escapes me now) that uses the modern auto-focus lenses, and while it is certainly a very nice camera (auto film advance, stuff like that) its noisier than heck and awfully big.
And while I really enjoy working with the rangefinder (I find focussing to be very easy and accurate, the viewfinder as mentioned above, the quality of the lenses, the weight) I agree with you that a film SLR can be very nice. But, for me, only with the right focussing screen.
I’m wondering what about the OM-1 (I never shot one) is particularly attractive to you?
There plenty of other great all manual cameras out there. The OM-1 is just particularly cheap, and its lenses draw more like the rf lenses that I like than most SLR lenses do.
Ah. I know lots of people swear by Olympus lenses. Never shot one myself. Funny that you should mention that because the single thing that drove me towards purchasing the Zeiss lens and the rangefinder after re-discovering the FTb was dissatisfaction with the old FD lenses.
Chris,
If you think the FTb’s viewfinder is good you’ll be blown away by the OM1’s. As Matt said, not only are they good value - I just picked up an OM2 with 35mm lens and case, serviced earlier this year, for £43 on Ebay - but they’re beautifully made with great ergonomics and are just the right size for me. The funny thing is that most Zuiko lenses for the OM series don’t score particularly highly in lens testing - they tend to be good rather than stellar - but they do have a look that’s all their own.
Another cracking mechanical and fully manual camera is the Pentax MX. If you have big hands it’ll be too small for you but fit a winder and it’s perfect. And the viewfinder is even better than the OM’s.
I wrote a post on my blog about film camera viewfinders that you might find interesting: http://pentaxk10dblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-switched-on-lights.html
Apologies Matt if I’ve hi-jacked your comments - I’m just pretty enthusiastic about OMs. And I wont hold a grudge if you want to delete me!