On Sat, Aug 28, 1999 at 01:39:14PM -0700, Winsor Crosby wrote:
> Does anyone know why the Oly shutter speed control was designed to be a
> ring around the lens rather than a dial somewhere else? It has always
> seemed an awkward feature of an otherwise perfect camera. It almost kept
> me from buying one. Does it save some great amount of space inside the
> thorough stuffed innards of the OM camera to do it that way?
Exactly. The shutter speed is controlled by a stack of cams beneath the
floor of the mirror box, and putting the shutter speed control there saved a
lot of linkages from the top of the camera.
As for "awkward", I always thought it was an elegant solution, since it put
all the controls in the same hand...left hand sets up the picture -
exposure, focus, zoom (if present), and then supports the camera; right hand
steadies the camera and fires the shutter. A very practical division of
labor.
Maitani-sensei didn't let the way everyone else did things hamper his
thinking as he designed the OM-1. When there was a reason to do something
one way or another, he did t, but when there was a reason not to do it that
way, he did that, too. The result was a very elegant, usable design.
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