On Sat, 09 Jan 1999 10:30:08 +1100, Frank Ernens
<fgernens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>"Be careful what you wish for; it might come true."
>
>I have been looking for another OM body for some months now.
>Yesterday I snared an OM-4 in good condition, with a new
>OM4-Ti circuit installed, for a very good price. Lucky me!
>
>Or not so lucky. After just a few hours with this body I
>have come to loathe it. The problem is the ergonomics
>(or "handling", as photo types call it.) Although it seems
>OK when you first pick it up, a collection of small things
>add up to a camera which is very unpleasant to use.
>
>Here they are:
>
>1. You can't see the shutter speed looking down at the
>camera, because the prism housing obscures it. Since the
>aperture is not shown in the viewfinder, you can never see
>shutter speed and aperture together. This is especially
>bad when the camera is mounted on a tripod for macro work.
This makes sense, and it is the only of your long list of problems
which I can agree with. But you should have seen this immediately in
the camera shop: it is the first thing to see when you hold the camera
and take a few shots with it. I have got used to it.
>
>2. In manual mode, an LCD number line is shown in the
>viewfinder, but it is *backwards* from mathematical convention.
>+ is to the left, and - to the right! Since I am in the
>minority of people who hold a camera vertically with the
>shutter release at the bottom, it's OK in vertical format.
>On the OM-1 and OM-2N, this scale is at the left of the
>viewfinder with + to the top, and therefore correct for
>me in either format.
>
It is completely in agreement with the mathematical convention. These
numbers are denominators of fractions, so the largest number (the
longest exposure) is on the righthand side.
You must be a mathematical nitwit, to say this!
And when shooting vertically you hold the camera in a way you can't do
any good focusing with it, without enforcing a carpal tunnel
syndrome...
>3. The exposure compensation dial is likewise backwards
>from expected, with + proceeding anticlockwise. Even worse,
>the *scale* rotates around the *dial*. When setting the
>film speed, you have to perform a mental triple-negative.
Which is only workable for the mentally healthy...
>
>4. An LCD bar graph is much harder to use than an
>analogue swing needle. There have been scientific studies
>done in the avionics industry to prove this. If the
>reading is between two values on the LCD scale, the last
>block blinks in a very distracting way. The LCD is just
>a cost-saving by the manufacturer - on what was supposed
>to be the top of the range model.
>
This makes clear that you didn't do your homework before buying the
camera, but only after you had got it. If this is so essential for
you, you simply shouldn't have bought it.
>4. There is no spot metering manual mode. You have to
>start in centre-weighted manual mode and push the "spot"
>button. Then you centre the bar graph (drawn, per (2),
>backwards, from right to left). Meanwhile, a second
>moving diamond - the next spot reading, which the
>camera is not using - is blinking away, distracting you.
>There has to be a SPOT button in order for multi-spot
>to work, but I'm only interested in a single spot reading.
>In this respect the OM2000 and OM-2SP are both much
>better cameras.
>
Trade?
>
>5. The camera gets sick of you after 120 seconds and
>unilaterally throws away all your work. If you are using
>the spot meter manually, it also changes the mode back
>to centre-weighted, with very little in the viewfinder
>to warn you. There should be a three-way switch
>OFF-CENTRE-SPOT and another one MANUAL-AUTO. The second
>would be left in one position by many people.
>
If I were the camera, I would have become sick of you much sooner than
in 120 seconds...
>6. You have to read the instruction book from cover to
>cover to figure out how to stop the camera from beeping.
>Beeps are *always* evidence of poor interface design. When
>you do switch it off, you find out why it was there: the
>viewfinder doesn't indicate how many spot measurements have
>the one value.
>
Quote from your words above: 'but I'm only interested in a single spot
reading'......
Beeps are warnings, to emphasize what might not always be visible or
not be visible to everyone. All 'scientific studies
done in the avionics industry' have not resulted in getting rid of
warning beeps from airplane instruments. Beeps are part of the
interface.
>7. The highlight and shadow buttons are pointless features,
>since there's already a compensation dial. I don't happen
>to agree with 2 2/3 stops for shadow with the film I use,
>but that's a moot point, since I can't actually push the
>button with my fat finger. I have already suggested in (4)
>that the SPOT button is a bad idea too.
>
The highlight and shadow buttons are specially made for people having
trouble with the compensation dial, like you. What a waste...
>8. The TTL socket is exactly where I like to rest a finger.
>When a cord is attached to it, it tends to drift into the
>field of view for macro work.
>
Maybe perhaps you could possibly keep your finger ON that cord. It
would certainly help to keep it from drifting away...
>9. The MEMO mode looks deadly. If you should accidentally
>bump this switch, *every* exposure from then on will be wrong.
>I am so afraid of doing this I have taken to pressing CLEAR
>(which cancels MEMO) every time I pick up the camera and
>between every frame. More mental overhead.
>
This shows clear evidence of you talking not only complete nonsense,
but also trying deliberately to mislead people reading your remarks.
In the beginning of your story you were all new to this camera, and
now you speak of habits you have developed in long use of it.
You must be a moaner.
>10. The instruction manual actually says to remove the
>batteries between sessions. They have to be joking.
>
You deliberately misquote (another sign of moaning by the querulous).
The manual says to remove the batteries before putting the camera away
'if you are not likely to use the camera for a long period of time'.
This makes sense for protection of both the camera (leaking) and the
batteries (longer use).
>11. I spent quite a while centreing the dioptric adjustment,
>even though I wear contacts and don't need it. This knob
>doesn't lock securely enough to prevent it being moved
>in use. Even after this, the viewfinder is not as clear
>as that of the OM-1 and OM-2N, although mercifully smaller.
>
Next time don't wear contacts before adjusting ;-)
If the lock of the know isn't secure enough, it must be defective. I
have several 4T(i) bodies and never inadvertantly turned the dioptric
adjustment knob.
The viewfinder is slightly less clear than with the 1 and 2, as a
result of the not 100% reflective mirror. Olympus has made special
focusing screens for the 3 and 4-models to compensate for this.
>There may be more problems. (1) and (2) are the killers,
>and (4) is right up there. Fortunately the shop that sold
>this camera has a return policy.
I hope for you that their return policy includes the consequences of
impulsive buying.
>
>I know now that it wasn't lack of marketing or keen pricing
>which lost Olympus the SLR market. They no longer *have* a
>product worth marketing. I would not buy this camera new at
>any price.
So wouldn't I, but only for econical reasons. I still think of the 4T
as a good camera, keeping in mind that the camera was designed in the
early 80's.
But even if I thought differently and if I were disappointed by an
impulsive buy which turned out bad for me, I wouldn't have moaned in
the deliberately patronizing way you have above. It doesn't serve any
positive purpose, and it shows a vindictive, querulous and inimical
disposition.
Frank van Lindert
Utrecht NL
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