Various individuals questioned my following comment:
> > The OM-2S is, in my humble opinion, superior to
> the
> > OM-4(ti) in handheld photography and E-6
> photography.
First of all, let me explain that there isn't any
clearcut advantage either way, just a slight leaning
one way or another based on features and ergonomics.
(I am being biased, since this has been my primary
camera for 15 years wheras I just got an OM-4)
The OM-2S lends itself very well to aperature priority
mode. For this, there is practically no difference
between the OM-2(md,n), OM-2S and OM-4(ti).
Furthermore, all of these OM varients allow you to
setup a manual exposure setting to use as a fallback
or quick manual override in lighting conditions that
could fool the averaging meter.
For example, in bright daylight, there is the standard
"Sunny 16" rule that states that 1/ISO at F16 will
result in a properly exposed picture. If my seleted
aperature is F16 and I'm shoot Provia, I will
automatically set my shutter speed to 1/125, but leave
the camera in auto. This way, as I am composing an
image, I glance at the exposure scale to see what the
camera is going to use and if it doesn't jive with
what I KNOW to be a proper exposure, I'll just flip
the switch over to manual and take the shot.
Otherwise, you just dial in exposure compensation.
Now, where does the OM-2S shine in all of this? The
manual mode uses spot metering. I can quickly point
at something and get the proper meter reading without
having to press any buttons. Single switch, point and
adjust. No buttons to press, no reset, nothing. To
return to auto mode, just flip the switch back, but
your manual settings are still preserved. In the
OM-2S, Auto is always auto, and manual is always
manual. In the OM-4(ti), auto is sometimes manual,
and manual is somewhat auto, but when auto is manual,
auto isn't auto, nor is manual manual when auto isn't
auto. Got that?
Properly exposing various types of film is as much
emotion as it is science. The science approach works
well with B&W film where using the Zone System really
is about the best method. However, slide film doesn't
work well with the Zone System. With slide film, you
are most concerned with making sure the middle-tone is
most accurate and you use other methods (filters, film
selection, fill lighting, etc) to take care of the
high and low values. For slide films you must expose
for the subject (spot meter), or the entire image
(averaging). Multispot metering rarely gains you much
in slide film unless you are in an extremely complex
lighting situation where you must average numerous
spots to get the average of selected "subjects". A
classic example of this is photographing slot canyons
where you must multispot those areas you wish to
properly expose.
One of the reasons why I desired an OM-4(ti) is for
the manual mode, multispot metering. This takes zone
photography to a new level. For example, spot a
(desired) Zone-1 and spot a (desired) Zone-9 and for
good measure spot a middletone. After you have your
three spots, just adjust your exposure so that all
three dots are within your +/-2 stop hash marks. With
this technique, you are guaranteed to have your zone-1
and zone-9 captured on B&W film. The third,
middletone spot, is just for good measure as a reality
check. The middletone spot shouldn't be too far off
from the middle.
Anytime that you add "features" to a camera you will
add to the complexity of how to use it. Pretend for a
moment that you are shooting in the dark where you
cannot see any controls. Which camera can you operate
without grabbing a flashlight? Which camera can you
operate without wondering just what setting is
selected? Which camera can you change modes, settings
and film and know exactly what is going on? Try this
with a Canon or Nikon wonderbrick?
The OM-2S and OM-4(ti) bodies are masterpieces of
ergonomic design. I don't believe that there is
another SLR line that is as easy to use in ALL modes
than the OM's. That said, the OM-2S seems to lend
itself better to the handheld, swinging by a harness,
operate it with gloves on type of photography. You
can always slap it into Program Mode and be reasonably
assured that the resulting picture will be OK.
Ken N.
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