Albert Yang wrote:
(snip)
1) So what is the solution for the fact that the batteries are no
longer made for the OM-1's meter? I hear that the newer batteries
are 1.55 V and ruin the reading and might break the meter.
2) Is there an actual Zuiko website that describes all the Zuiko
lenses in detail from the manufacturer? Olympus's website doesn't
cover it.
3) If the lenses are as good as say Leica, Zeiss, Nikkor etc.. Then
what am I missing here? Or is this just he hidden bargain of a
lifetime? I can probably buy one of these with a 50mm f/1.8 lens for
under $200, so is that basically the diamond in the rough?
Thanks guys (and gals)!
Albert
P.S. Om-2n's do NOT have mirror-lockups. Should I go for one of
those, or is mirror lockup a great consideration? I don't even know
when to use it!!
========================================================================
Albert, You'll get lots of good advice from this list. My 2 cents:
1) You can still get mercury batteries outside the US. Alternatively,
you can have the camera converted to use silver oxide (357, SR44) by
John Hermanson, at the Camtech website http://www.zuiko.com/ or you can
buy a conversion device that sits in the battery compartment and
accepts a siver oxide cell, from website http://www.criscam.com/ As you
say, just using silver oxide cells without converting the camera is not
a good idea.
2) An excellent website with descriptions and pictures of the OM range,
including lenses, is at:
http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/veluwen/om-sif.htm
and you can see Zuiko lens tests at:
http://members.aol.com/olympusom/lenstests/default.htm
3) In general, don't expect Leitz/Zeiss performance from Zuiko lenses,
especially at full aperture, although a few Zuiikos e.g. 35-80/2.8 and
90/2.0 macro are truly world-class (unfortunately, so are their
prices!) Most Zuikos work very well when stopped down but many are a
bit 'soft' wide open. Zuikos do tend to have more pleasing bokeh
(out-of-focus areas of the picture) than many others, including Nikkor.
The Zuiko macro lenses are particularly good - this is one of Oly's
strong points. The biggest claim to fame of Zuiko lenses, IMHO, is
their diminutive size and light weight that makes OM a very portable
system. An OM-1 with a 50/1.8 Zuiko lens is so tiny it's almost like
holding a P&S camera.
Mirror lock-up is beloved of macro photographers and those using very
long lenses, because it helps to minimise camera vibration when the
shutter is released. The MLU of the OM-1, however, is reputed to be
less effective than one would expect. I understand that this is because
the mirror flip mechanism is still operative, even though the mirror
itself is already locked up, and so is the lever that shuts down the
lens to its selected aperture. Movement of these mechanisms during
exposure causes vibration. Other cameras in the OM range, e.g. OM-2S
and OM-4, that have mirror and aperture pre-fire when using the
self-timer, are said to be more vibration-free using this feature than
the OM-1 with MLU. For most types of photography, MLU is not needed and
I would hazard a guess that the majority of OM-1 users don't MLU very
often.
Regards,
=====
Ray
"The trouble with resisting temptation is
you never know when you'll get another chance!"
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