Hello everyone, I have been monitoring the posting on this site for about
two weeks and have been amazed at the amount of mail that I receive. It is
certainly interesting to know that there are people like me who are
fanatical about the OM system as I. I had been unable to contribute simply
because I had too many other things to do and there were simply too many
postings to read, but now my two cents worth.
I would like to add to what Gary commented about Denton's unloading of his
equipment among other things. I had considered this road in the past but
considered it too pricy for my blood. Here is what i think...
Gary Schloss wrote:
> Denton Taylor and Stephen Kudlacek wrote:
>
> DT> OK, everyone, I'm going to unload a lot of my Olympus
> DT> collection to move to Contax, who is still demonstrating a
> DT> commitment to making quality manual focus cameras and lenses.
>
> SK> I made the same decision a couple of months ago. I didn't want
> SK> to invest my hard earned money into a dying system. Contax's
> SK> cameras are solid, their lenses great.
>
> Frankly, should I seriously consider dumping my OM gear, Contax
> would not be my first choice as a replacement. Sure, Carl Zeiss
> lenses are first rate, and the Contax moniker still carries lots
> of "snob appeal".
>
> However, I believe that to an ex-Olympian/Zuik, the design and
> ergonomics of most Contax bodies must feel odd (I could elaborate
> if there's much interest). Moreover, the current Zeiss lens lineup
> lacks the breadth and depth of the Zuiko or other pro-level camera
> makers' (N*k*n, C*n*n). Same is true of the other Contax system
> components.
Yes it is true that we don't know what will happen to our beloved OM
since olympus has not been forthcoming with any new equipment, lenses or
cameras and we have simply been speculating based on what has been printed
on their brochures. Then there is this dreaded price increase that we are
expecting in april. More speculation on what the real tactic of olympus
is. Has this anything to do with the popularity of the new OM2000? Do
they think that with the popularity of the OM2000, more people will be
interested in purchasing the "better" lenses in the system other than what
is offered with the OM2000? Even if these designs are more than 20 years
old? Really, more speculation. But if you look at the line up of cameras
and systems available on the market, what other manufacturer still sells
manual focus cameras and lenses brand new that can be considered a real
system? I will omit the third party manufacturer for lenses because I,
for one, am not interested in their lenses unless my system does not
provide it or i can't what my system offers. In which case i will just
tighten my belt and bite the bullet when I can. That leaves you with
N*k*n(why do people write the names of other manufacturers this way? i
just had to follow suite) P*nt*x, M*n*lt* and C*nt*x. We can discard
M*n*lt* because their lens offering is shallow and the camera that they
have will not compete with the F3/FM2, OM3&4 and RX, RTSIII, ST, S2. The
same goes for the K1000 which I have heard has already been discontinued.
Now among the three contenders which can be considered full system manual
focus cameras, let us look at their metering systems. Which can provide,
spot metering? C*nt*x and Olympus. Now which can provide multispot
metering ( which to me, if you know your zone system well, is the best
thing that one can learn to really improve yor photographic skills and
putcomes)? Only Olympus. Remember, there are only two other makers that
provide this system incorporated into their bodies, namely hassy with
their FE203(correct me if i am mistaken) and Rollei with their 6008(which
has continually been sited as one of the best cameras availble) Now let us
look at the lenses. All three provide a very wide selection of lenses and
one may have the edge over the other, but if we were to look at two
aspects, price and size we will see the difference. In terms of price,
Zuikos and N*kk*rs are priced almost the same( these are the AIS lenses
not the AF or D lenses) I have an aversion to systems that state "CALL" on
the price column because one, I know it will certainly be expensive, two,
they are not readily available and three, the salesperson has you by the
balls by the time you say "can i inquire about the price of..." Look at
the B&H catalog and this is what C*nt*x has on their listing. So in terms
of price, olympus and Nikon ( i am getting tired of hitting the shift and
* key). Now let us look at the size of the lenses. I don't have the lens
chart for the Nikkors but i do have the one for Zeiss and in every
category that Zuiko has a counterpart lens, the Zuikos was significantly
more compact (lengthwise Zeiss18/4.0, 51.5mm; Zuiko 18/3.5, 43mm; Zeiss
25/2.8, 56mm, Zuiko 24/2.8, 31mm; Zeiss 100/2.0, 84mm; Zuiko 100/2.0,72mm)
Now let's not even talk about weight but if you insist (same lens in same
order, 350 gms vs 250 gms; 360 gms vs. 185 gms and 670gms vs 500gms) Hey,
I'm not a big guy and am definitely not into body building but if I were,
Contax seems to be a perfect additon to the workout. Besides, i want to
carry my equipment around and if the the size and weight get in the way of
this then I don't get to take the photograph I want. A lens belongs
attached to the camera that the photographer is using to take a shot, not
at home in the case because it was too burdensome to carry around. Then
comes the second hand market, both Nikon and Olympus are readily
available, don't think Contax is. I can only second the motion, that the
increase in prices of Olympus equipment will also reflect on the equipment
that we now own. Their value also increases but the sad part is that I
can't buy that 90/2.0 brand new anymore. And of course, in terms of image
quality, let me quote from Photo techniques when the editors gave their
opinions of the best cameras available, "Chosen carefully, an Olympus
Zuiko lens set can offer the highest possible optical quality for what
are, comparitively, very sensible prices." I just wish that we could have
the assurance from Olympus that they will continue to support this great
system(which i forgot to mention is the best macro/micro system available
in 35mm) so that people like DT will not continue to abandon us. Enough
said. I just wish I had known that Denton was in NY because i would have
dropped him a line and possibly inspect the equipment myself. And no
Denton, we will not crucify you, just make sure you thinkof us when you
decide to unload more Olympus stuff to buy from that "CALL" column on the
catalogs!!! By the way, what is your #? I'm in Manhattan. Thanks.
Francis Dayrit
>
>
> Add to this the body-building expenses (Contax/Zeiss gear is HEAVY),
> scarcity of aftermarket alternatives/accessories, a very limited
> second-hand market (at least, in the US), etc. And then, there's
> the sticker shock...
>
> DT> Wall Street Camera had a used RTSIII that I really loved. Since
> DT> I also bought a 35 1.4 and a 85 1.4 I got a pretty good deal.
>
> Again, with all due respect (and I really like DT, though we never
> met), the RTSIII makes even Miss Piggy look svelte. Indeed, at
> 2 lbs 13 oz (approx. 1,250g) -- body only!, the RTSIII is heavier
> than either the Nikon F4s or the Canon EOS-1n with(!) their
> respective power boosters/grips. Add to this the fact that the
> RTSIII costs some 50-75 percent more than the other two bodies,
> while providing far fewer useful features, and you end up with
> something that only Kermit could lust after. :-) :-)
>
> Of course, Contax ownership has its rewards. For instance,
> Kyocera West Coast bestows on its Contax customers the priviledge
> of paying $150 for CLA of a Contax body (RTSIII must be even more)
> vs only $75 for a Yashica.
>
> DT> I think the new Aria matched with the 45, 50, or 35-70 will
> DT> make a great walking-around counterpoint to the RTSIII.
>
> I peeked at the Aria specs. They look almost identical to the
> current 167MT, with slightly upgraded electronics in a considerably
> lighter body -- 460g in Aria vs 700g in 167MT, and the 167MT already
> had a plastic top plate! Can you guess the trend? (I wonder, how
> does one spell "Cosina" in German? Kosina??? :-) )
>
> SK> BTW, if you are interested, we have a Yashica/Contax mailing list.
>
> Yup, I subscribe to the digest. I used to contribute when the list
> was still Yashica-only. Compared to the OLY list, the atmosphere
> there is positively... uhmmmm, more Teutonic? :-)
>
> Needless to say, all of the above is strictly IMHO. Fortunately, on
> this list we don't execute deserters, or do we? :-) Oh well, as
> long as they sell cheaply(!) their OM/Zuiko goodies to US...
>
> Cheers,
>
> /Gary Schloss.
> Studio City, CA
> schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
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