I have noticed that OM equipment prices on new equipment have skyroketed
in the 1990's. So I started looking for used bargains and found many
around 1993 and 1994. I even became an OM dealer to buy certain piecess
of equipment that I could not otherwise find.
In the early ninties I had a contract to shoot microprocessors (packaged
& off wafers). My system consisted of all OM stuff built around a OM4
with an OM2s as backup. Lighting was done with the T-10 Ring. The main
lens was a 38mm macro. The reason I got this job was that I under bid
a studio who was using a very expesive Zeiss system. The OM system was
a relative bargain. In fact OM products were always less expensive than
there Nikon & Ziess counterparts. This made me an OM fan from the
beginning. However, now I've notice that the relative price advantage
of OM is all but gone.
I also know that OM probably built much more macro stuff than all of the
other companies combined. It seems like the used market is drying up
and not too much new stuff is in demand. It will be interesting to see
if we are getting to the end of a film based technology. I recently
shot some high magnification with a Sony 3 chip 800 line video head
coupled to a video micro scope (10x) lens. I captured it to digital and
I must admit the quality was outstanding. Still no match for 35mm slide
film and a good slide scanner. However we have built a large format
high magnifation camera around a Rodenstock macro lens and a disgarded
Nikon microscope large format film back. This thing is outrageous
quality but a real bitch to use. No automation what so ever.
Anyway I still use the OM stuff and no one has challenged the quality.
I really think that image editing software such as Photoshop and high
quality 35mm film scanners with the OM stuff will offer signicant
price/performance well into the next century. It is however iteresting
to see how these outrageous prices for 35mm quality photographic gear
will effect the future of our choices.
Phillip Franklin
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