Hiya all,
Warning: Long mail....a summary includes "new gear acquired, used gear
acquired, used gear to come, succesfull service from Olympus
Denmark"....now you're warned...:)
I've been travelling around for the past months (business-wise, although I
did bring the trusty OM1 and OM2s/p) and hence have not been very regular
on the list. However I have still been able to nurture my Zuikoholism by
using the lovely gear as well as acquireing something new.
For starters, as some might remember, did I dig up a brand new 85mm, which
conveniently had arrived upon my return. In its initial testing it has
been showing to become a strong competitor to the Zuiko 100mm (I think f2)
which is usually always at hand. I am still amazed by the combination of
quality and compactness of the Zuiko's - in particular those "moderate
tele"-lenses.
Along my way I came across two (again new) T32, which were on sale from a
shop which was in the process of closing. Priced too reasonable (about $50
a piece for new gear), I couldn't help but to buy them - and the flash
connector (I've forgotten the name, but the one which enables me to
connect 3 flashes to the OM2s/p or OM4). The flash connector was used,
but mint, and works fine.....Using flash has honestly never been
something I liked much, but it seems that now it's time to pratice
something other than "natural light".......if I get the time, some of my
experiments might end op in the flash-section of TOPE (great work there,
btw.)
Finally, I have been "approved" to "adopt" an OM2 s/p from a list member
(Hi there - you know who you are) and have also completed the paperwork
required. I have high hopes for that body, since the OM2s/p has always
been my favourite......and I discovered too late that they were
discontiniued from OM. So I have good things to come still.
>From the not-so-good-department.....my OM1 decided to give up on me. The
shutter ring sorta jammed (or rather: got graduately more and more stuck)
and the meter finally gave up on me *sob*. Returning to Denmark, I called
Olympus' workshop in Denmark, and asked if there was any way in which they
could give CPR to my OM1 and bring it back to life. The encouraging answer
was "Of course we can" - and it turned out that I had another Zuikoholic
in the other end, working on reparing gear for Olympus Denmark....
I had the camera sent over, and in less than a week it was returned to me.
Fully alive and well, cleaned and (I guess) lubed up, some new wireing and
new springs had been inserted etc. The overall feel and sound of the
camera is like when it felt and sounded when it was new, and everything
seems to be in perfect working order.
For such an overhaul, where there were actual defects and stuff to
replace, I paid about 1100DKK, which is about 156 EUR (now, you US-folks,
go grap the universal currency converter for a change:
http://www.xe.net/ucc/)
I have the feeling that the camera has been taken apart and put back
together with the same care and appreciation as the one I feel when using
it. Having spent many exciting moments with the camera, I find the price
to be fair, and I am happy that it now can follow me around the next 30
years :) the price is also fair, considering that they did the whole thing
in express-speed (I think they had the camera for about 2 days). Also, if
I recall correctly, N*kon Denmark charge about the same for just an
adjustment of the meter on the older, manual N*kon bodies (no, I do not
have any of those, I have friends who do).....
I can only reccomend the workshop at Olympus Denmark for those, who live
"in the neigborhood" and who may need service. Fast, good and (imho)
affordable service. And most importantly: I spoke to the guy, who actually
performed the delicate work, and he sounded like a good Zuikoholic. He
also told me, that their workshop does service all the old OM-bodies, and
that they had "most of the spare parts, also the rare ones" at hand.
I'm graduately gonna send my other bodies to Olympus Denmark for overhaul
and adjustment. The OM1 was the only one with "defects", but I figure that
they all will do well with a cleaning, adjustment of meter and other such
things....and after all: you do take your car to regular service every
year even if there are no defects - so why not take the cameras to service
every 10 years *grin*.
Ok, I'll stop now. I have a bunch of films that need developing and
printing, so I will be keeping myself busy in the darkroom in the
following week-nights. If something turns out worthy of showing off, I'll
see if I can find a scanner somewhere.
Take care and all
--thomas
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