At 08:58 12/31/00 , Chris pondered:
I'll weigh in on the 4T versus 2S. Actually there are four bodies in this
class, the OM-2S, OM-4, OM-4T (black) and OM-4ti (titanium).
In operation, the OM-4, 4T and 4ti are all the same (except for one flash
mode).
(1) There is no difference other than the color of the 4T and 4ti. Other
than updated circuits that are still replaceable and the titanium body
caps, the difference between a 4 and 4T/ti is the ability of the 4T/ti to
use an F-280 flash in Super FP mode (you can use the flash at any shutter
speed). That said, the GN of the F-280 plummets as you increase shutter
speed, as with any FP strobe or FP flash bulbs. The T-series flashes work
on all of them. Supposedly, the black finish on the 4T wears off
("brasses") relatively easily compared to brass body caps.
(2) The OM-4 is very slightly heavier with brass body caps. The one
caution about an OM-4 is the battery-eating syndrome. It has an older
circuit and a few of them eat batteries. I have an OM-4 and it goes
through them about twice a year which is about what it should do. The
circuits are no longer available for the OM-4. Although the circuit can be
replaced with an OM-4T circuit it's not cost effective to do so (it doesn't
add super FP mode either).
The OM-2S is a cousin of the OM-4 with a Program mode in addition to Manual
and Auto. The Manual Mode only has spot metering, and the spot metering is
only activated in Manual mode. This is one drawback to the design, but not
a biggie IMO. The Program mode can be handy if you want to use it like a
manual focus P&S, but you cannot bias the program to favor faster or slower
shutter speeds (and wider or narrower apertures) as you can with more
modern program modes. The mirror design is slightly different and takes
longer to travel up and return. This means a motor drive in Continuous
mode can only shoot it about 60% as fast as the other "single digit" OM
bodies. Not a problem if you don't use a motor drive in Continuous mode
all the time.
Two potential issues with the OM-2S in addition to a circuit that can no
longer be replaced:
(1) The flash ready signal in the viewfinder on earlier ones is green and
is powered by the camera batteries. These will eat the camera batteries if
you use a flash frequently and leave the flash on when you do. The later
ones and older ones converted to a newer flash ready circuit power a red
LED in the viewfinder using the flash, not the camera batteries.
(2) A few will also exhibit the "flying shutter string" phenomenon. The
shutter strings pull the curtains across the film gate. If one of the
strings comes loose it will fly around in front of the film gate as the
shutter travels causing mysterious shadowing on the images. There is a
test for this described in the OM FAQ.
As with Tom, I would recommend finding an OM-1n or OM-2n body to start with
. . . with a Shoe 4 that isn't cracked . . . as you stated you're on a
budget. As you mentioned an OM-4T and an OM-2S you will probably be more
interested in the OM-2n as the OM-1n is Manual mode only and the 2n has an
Auto mode. The chrome ones are less expensive with a very durable finish.
Be forewarned a black one with excellent cosmetics (no dings, engraving or
brassing) will be noticeably more expensive. Both are very reliable
workhorses; they seem to run forever if reasonably cared for. If you find
one of these with the Shoe 4 on it, take the shoe off and inspect the prism
housing for dents . . . sometimes caused by bashing the Shoe 4 into
something. Just because the shoe isn't cracked doesn't mean some previous
shoe gave it's life in a bashing and left a dented housing behind.
For more on these, and other bodies, see Lee Hawkins/Michael Covington's
(et al.) OM FAQ and OM Buying FAQ hosted by Lee Hawkins here:
http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawkins/
http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawkins/photo/olympus.faq.html
http://brashear.phys.appstate.edu/lhawkins/photo/buying-used-om.faq.html
Sorry I cannot help you with sources in Edmonton. There are several
Albertans on the list who can probably help. My experience with eBay has
been good . . . buying and selling . . . but you *must* read the item
description *very* carefully. If you have any fear, uncertainty or doubts
. . . ask and get a reply to your satisfaction from the seller before
bidding. Unfortunately there are some sellers who will try to obscure a
non-functioning camera by stating evasive and ambiguous things like "I
don't know anything about this XXXXX, so I don't know if it works or not,"
or "It doesn't have batteries in it, so I can't tell if it works." This
usually means it doesn't!
There is a marvelous database of customer feedback about camera dealers in
the Neighbor-to-Neighbor area on Phil Greenspun's "photo.net" site. As
hard as they might try, not even B&H or KEH can make every customer happy,
so look at the drift of all the postings for a particular dealer. It's not
hard to spot the real slugs and theives in the business (a couple of them
are major photo journal advertisers) . . . and the ones who want your
repeat business for a long time.
http://www.photo.net/neighbor/one-subcategory?id=2
-- John
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