At 08:35 PM 12/15/00 -0800, 'brian A.M.' wrote:
[snip]
>i've been very much enjoying the OM system since i did my own 'net
>research and opted for the brand earlier this year. Now have 2 bodies,
>and 6 of the more-common lenses. My oversized, and overcomplicated
>autofocus camera system went unused, and is now up for sale.
>my relevant comment here comes on the availability of Zuiko lenses--and
>the lengths it seems some go to get them.
[snip]
> ...i think i have learned now why some people are slaves to the marks of
> Nik*n and Can*n: YOU CAN GET A FREAKING LENS WHEN AND WHERE YOU WANT ONE.
Well, Brian, I can understand your frustration. I have watched the papers
here in the Seattle area and have seen only one or two Olympus OM items up
for sale in a year or more. But I just got on the internet with some degree
of speed this summer, and even more recently discovered and have begun using
e-Bay. At first, the amount of OM equipment I saw up for bid was
overwhelming. I have since picked up an OM-2s body with newer 50mm f/1.8
lens for $202.50 (bodies alone are commanding up to $375 in stores, when
available). A bounce grip, a T32, an older 50mm f/1.4 ($31, it's clean, I'm
happy), and other items from e-Bay. I found a nice, clean T20 in a used
photo equipment shop about 4 miles down the road for $30. A camera store
about 4 miles the other direction has a couple OM bodies with lenses for
sale, at decent prices (clean black-bodied OM-1, with lens, $175 -- that
ain't bad). The owner KNOWS OM well. Seattle has an Olympus factory
authorized repair shop right in the heart of town. I feel VERY comfortable
owning an OM1 that is somewhere between what, 21 and 27 years old? Original
owner was a photo shop owner. Told me the meter was repaired. It has never
failed me in over 16 years of ownership. That gave me the confidence to
continue to stay with a line of recently discontinued but much-beloved
equipment. And to add to it.
There are other auction sites (Yahoo.com, for one). And then there are the
major camera dealers B & H, KEH, etc., both online and out on the street.
San Francisco probably has more than one decent camera store that deals in
new and used Olympus equipment. If you do a little research, and keep an eye
on this list, you'll soon have your "favorites" folder jam full of Olympus
sites for new and used OM equipment, information, photo sites, etc. There is
still a LOT of equipment available. And THIS site is a veritable goldmine of
information.
Yeah, there are lenses I still want that go for a lot more than I'd like to
pay, even as bargains. But I'd rather put say, $275 to $300 into a new 50mm
f/1.2 than pay $800-and-up for a new plastic SLR with fewer features and
nowhere near the quality of build of my OM-1 and -2s, AND have to start all
over with the lens collection, not to mention learning a new system.
The only "problem" I have at the moment is that thanks to reading this list,
I now want several more lenses that I never knew I "needed" before. Given
time, and patience, and enough cash, I will get some, if not all of them.
Even though there is a major "sea change" going on with digital (and I want
that E10, or it's successor, badly), I still want an OM4T/Ti someday. Some
of us will abandon 35mm, many won't.
Now, can someone please tell me where I can get another '54 Austin Healey 100
for $850? They seem to be running $22,000 to $45,000. There are faster,
better-built, more reliable (and dry in the rain) cars, with dealers, parts
and repairs available in every major city. But there is something about the
old Healeys that NO new car has, which brings me to:
I think we are SO LUCKY to be owning and using the OM system before these
cameras, lenses, and accessories achieve "collector" status and the prices
go right off the chart. THIS is the Golden Age of OM, if you ask me.
As Tom Scales mentioned a day or so ago, if you are PATIENT, and know your
prices (what items are going for typically, and what you are willing to pay),
you WILL find bargains. If you just HAVE to have a lens TODAY, perhaps
N*k*n, C*n*n, etc., are better choices for you. Just do all us Zuikoholics a
favor, will you, and notify the list first, when you decide to abandon your
OM equipment? <g>
I'm betting that if you use your "new" OM stuff for awhile, you'll find
you're in love with it, and won't want to part with it. I sold my Austin
Healey when the reverse cluster gear went, and the wheel lugs started to
strip, for the reliability of a VW Bug. I won't be making that mistake
again, EVER, especially with my beloved OM-1!
Sorry this is so long. Just a love letter to OM.
Rich
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