While I'm stepping in it and generally irritating those who see only
through Zuiko glass....
I honestly think that had I known about the Pentax Program Plus and ME
Super and the Minolta X-700 when I made the decision to go OM, I might well
be typing to another list. They all have their limitations, but there is
merit to considering a camera that has both manual and aperature priority
settings. Originally, I'd thought that I was only interested in an all
manual body, but after using an OM-4 for awhile I've become quite used to
auto ap. priority.
Things I would look for in a beginner camera:
*cost/availability
*cost/availability of wide used lens selection
*large bright viewfinder
*durability
*manual mode
*aperature priority mode
*spot metering
*DOF preview
*mirror lock
*flash sync higher than 1/60
*TTL flash
*useful info in viewfinder, nothing more
*self timer (I actually use this feature far more than I thought I would.)
Things I would personally NOT put too much emphasis on:
*repairability-- (if cost of replacement bodies is cheap enough and
plentiful enough)
*independence from batteries-- (vastly overated for most 1st world situations)
*irrelevant or seldom used features like double exposure mode
*shutter speeds over 1/1000
*ability to accept AF lenses
*ISO range beyond what most folks will actually shoot
Note that finding an inexpensive camera that meets all of the criteria
might well be impossible, but it's a list that I'd start from, anyway. Also
note how poorly the overly recommended Pentax K1000 would fare when judged
against such a list. When I was looking for an all manual beginner's
camera, many, many, many folks suggested the K1000. In my view it's a
pretty lame and limited choice. When I got to shopping, two of the local
camera shops indicated that they sell out of K1000's every fall and buy
them back every spring. In an area with 1/2 dozen universities and about
that many more arts centers all offering photo classes with instructors
that often suggest K1000's as a good beginner's camera, one doesn't have to
be a rocket scientist to figure that most of the local market in K1000's
consists of cameras that have changed hands, many, many times more than
average for other cameras.
For someone with a well equipped uncle who uses Olympus, sticking to a
single digit OM body may make some good amount of sense. But for the rest
of us, it's perhaps important to acknowledge (however grudgingly ;-) that
there are some other interesting options out there.
Mike Swaim
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