At 10:03 PM 1/15/1999 +1100, Frank you wrote in part the following good
points about the OM-2S:
>
>1. Light, fast and smooth wind-on action, just like the OM-1.
Agreed, although I understand the mechanism is quite a bit different from
the OM-1's. Mine winds more "compactly" than my OM-1's, as though geared
higher (lower? -- fewer teeth to the sprocket is what I mean).
>2. Same compact, light body size, shape and balance.
>3. Electronic shutter accuracy and TTL flash (OM-2N has these
>too).
>4. All modes in interface are controlled by a single switch on the top
>plate, and there are only three of them anyway.
>5. Easy-to-read (for me, YMMV!!) display. Even easier than the swing
>needle, and marked in 1/3 stops.
All agreed. Having gotten used to switching back and forth between a manual
averaging meter and an auto (in a different maker's system), it took me a
while to warm up to manual mode which was also spot meter only. When I want
the output of the averaging meter but want to shoot in manual, the process
is actually easy and I find that a benefit is an increased awareness of
differences between the auto and manual/spot readings. I've used this
method a lot in shooting with the sun in the frame, where I am fairly sure
of the results when taking an auto reading but need to shoot the actual
shot in manual because the sun in the frame will skew the exposure too dark.
>6. The spot meter. No more waving the camera at a mid-tone
>and hoping. The camera's major feature.
No argument with that. Also, the display in manual/spot is in easy-to-use
full stop increments -- perfect for using the spot meter for Zone
placements ranging from III to VII.
>7. Fixed hotshoe, no need to keep a supply of not-yet-cracked ones
>on hand or to carry one in a film canister.
If yours is solid, take care of it. Mine is a little wobbly. I tend to
use a flash bracket to minimize wear and tear. As a result, I miss the
removeable shoe. Seems more desirable in the long run to have a disposable
sacrificial element. Better yet if the permanent one were a little more
substantial.
>8. TTL socket, no need to carry a TTL adaptor.
>9. Mechanical 1/60 backup speed, unlike the OM-2.
>10. Viewfinder illumination button. Daylight window well-positioned
>to the side.
>11. Motor and battery caps the same, fixing a longstanding inanity of
>the OM-1 and OM-2. And mere mortals can get the motor cap on again.
>12. Flashing OVER indicator.
Good features, agreed.
>13. Attachment for RH grip. I'll be getting one of those.
What is this?
>14. Rewind control can't be knocked when working the lens; it's
>now a button on the top plate.
I only have one OM-1 which really stays "knocked" anyway. I have to hold
the others down while rewinding. The OM-2S button is a great improvement,
plus makes double exposures or flashing a lot easier as a result.
>15. Self-timer beeps and blinks in the modern way, which people
>in group portraits expect.
Just don't forget to turn it off before your next handheld shot. :)
>16. Everything the camera knows about your exposure is in the
>mechanical memory of the shutter/aperture rings and mode button.
>No calamity if the viewfinder dims.
>17. Mirror lock-up happens at the start of the self-timer interval,
>as a substitute for the OM-1's mirror lock-up. (OM-2N doesn't
>do that.)
This is useful for a few of the circumstances in which the OM-1's mirror
lockup is "required," but it is no true substitute. Still, the OM-2S is a
lot better than the OM-2 in this respect.
>18. Viewfinder looks like 97%, as with the OM-1 and OM-2N. Can
>see almost all of an unmounted trannie.
>
>Some minor blemishes
>
>1. Black body. Burns your eyebrow on 38 C days like today.
(Some of us are longing for such a problem.) Yeah, I'd love a chrome OM-2S.
>2. No off switch... lens cap mandatory.
However, you can switch to one of the mechanical shutter speeds for an
effective "off" position. Hey, you need a lens cap anyway.
>3. Only +1 compensation with Kodachrome 25 (but would I want
>more with TTL flash?) [OM-4 fixes this]
>4. Expense of circular polarizers (BTW, my new Hoyas have
>flimsy rings. The Arrows were better.).
>5. Only goes to 1/1000 [OM-4 1/2000]
>
>Could be improved by a faster flash synch and faster top
>speed, of course.
>
I haven't felt any limitation from either the synch or top speeds. A
faster synch speed would give me greater versality in playing with ambient
light. That's the only reason I'd really desire it, and then probably only
when shooting 400 ASA film. Don't use flash much with this film anyway.
>Someone (Ken Norton?) wrote that the beeper annoyed them.
>Mine turns off by rotating the self-timer lever clockwise.
>
Yup. Mine also doesn't work that way however. It would be nice is there
were two self-time speeds, one relatively short as the functional
equivalent of mirror lockup.
>I think this camera had a bad rap because of the program
>mode. You can turn it off and it goes away, and, who
>knows, I might want to lend the camera to a tyro some day.
I've never shot in program mode yet. So I don't find it to be a problem at
all!
>Parts are said to be a problem.
>
This used to bother me. But I figure if your OM-2S is working OK right now,
it had a good burn in. The failures have all departed by now. Fingers
crossed.
-snip-
>Like the OM-2N, but unlike the OM-1, it lacks a mirror
>lock-up. I couldn't yet say whether it's necessary; IME it
>isn't on the OM-2N for the 2:1 field macros I take
>at the vibration-prone 1/8 and 1/15 speeds. You could
>use the self-timer, but outdoors you want to wait for
>the wind to die down, and the beeping probably disturbs
>the fauna.
>
Lack of true mirror lockup is the primary defect (not a terrible one, I
suppose), which is why the OM-1 is still indispensible to me.
Thanks for an excellent post, Frank.
Cheers,
Joel
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