Hi Shaun,
Welcome to the list. I come from a Nikon background, manual cameras only:
FE2 and FM2. Once lusted after an F3 but balked at the weight even before
I had experience with anything other than Nikon.
The FE2 in particular I think is a wonderful camera, and it still commands
a good following and has retained its value well. The direct comparison OM
camera is probably the OM-2N. IMHO it is bettered by the OM-2S with its
spot metering in manual mode, and this is now my camera of choice.
I think that you can follow the link at the bottom of this note and
thereupon link to the FAQ and from the FAQ page to Gary Reese's lens test
site for all the info you might want about lenses. In general, you get
what you pay for, but the slower lenses are very good as well as cheaper
and lighter. We do a lot of huffing and puffing on list about single-coated
vs. multi-coated versions of the same lenses. I do not prefer my MC Zuikos
to the SC ones. It is now virtually a non-issue for me, but opinions will
vary on this topic.
Zuiko zooms are amazingly good, although most are not very fast. I have a
35-105/3.5-4.5 in both Olympus and Nikon lines and in addition to spec they
are built very similarly, but the Zuiko kills the Nikkor. My Nikkor
80-200/f4 is probably the equal of any Zuiko I have, but the Zuiko
85-250/f5, while slower, has a tripod mount, a more versatile range, and
weighs less (or at least no more). Many Zuiko zooms are two-touch. I had
a prejudice against this coming from Nikon but now prefer it. I am
constantly amazed to learn how many good 3rd party lenses were made for OM,
and I own a couple, although there is something unique about the design and
feel of a Zuiko. The marriage of these bodies with these lenses is very
special.
Shutter speeds in theory would be the drawback of OM, with OM-4Ti leading
the family with 1/125 flash sync and 1/2000 top speed (notwithstanding the
OM2000), and the other OM's have half those speeds at the top. (I actually
don't know the score with the OM-3's, sorry.) In practice, most do not find
this a liability. The OM shutter is more durable than just about any other.
Zuikos have DOF preview button on the lens itself. Others I'm sure will
give you good answers to the OM-4 questions.
Joel Wilcox
Iowa City, IA USA
At 07:47 PM 9/25/1999 PDT, you wrote:
>Hey guys, I am new to the list and just thought I might put my few questions
>in for fun. I come primarily from a nikon background (all manual of course)
>with a bit of rollei thrown in for laughs. I was seriously considering
>buying an om4t as an alternative to a nikon F3T. I had a couple of
>questions I just was not sure of even after doing a bit of research.
>
>Does the om4 have Depth of field preview?
>Does it hace a PC synch socket?
>Is there a back available that will imprint shooting data (apperture &
>shutter). The recordback4 can't do this, right?
>Among the zuiko lenses, which are considered to be the real 'shiners'?
>Which lenses would you not go without?
>
>I think that was about it for now. Are there any out there on this list
>coming to Olympus from a nikon background? Can anyone share experiences
>they've had with the om4?
>
>Thanks in advance...
>Shaun Van Poecke
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