> What OM body did you cut you teeth on? Were you one of
> the old timers who got the OM-1 with its plates still
> hot from the metal press? Was it an OM-2, 4, or
> interestingly enough, an OM-3? Or did you start out
> with an OM-10 or one of its variants? When you got
> your first OM was it your first SLR and you barely
> knew how to set the apeture and focus or were you a
> pro looking to expand into a new system, or an
> hobbyist/ameture somewhere in between? Do you still
> have the body that started it all?....
>
It was a long journey for me to finally end up with an OM1 in 1976,
about 20,000 miles or so. I worked for a year after college and saved up
my money for a trip to Latin America. Attracted by the small size/light
weight I bought a new P*ntax SP500 with a 28mm and 135mm plus a cheap
2x. I hid all this along with 2 dozen rolls of Kodachrome 25 and 64 in
an ugly army surplus gas mask bag and headed south. 2 years and many
miles later I sold this camera to an engineer for Electro Peru. He
didn't have to pay duties and I got a very favorable rate of exchange.
On my return i made a stop over in Panama which at that time was the
best place in the western hemisphere to buy electronic and photographic
equipment. I'd seen the new OM cameras in my travels and had been
impressed by their versatility and compactness so I was like a kid in
the candy store as I went up and down the main street from one store to
the next wheelin' and dealin' for about a week. I finally left with an
OM1, 50/3.5 macro, 135/3.5, 28/3.5 (all silver noses of course), two
Rollie 35's and assorted cases, filters, stereo gear, etc. Raised a few
eyebrows at customs in Miami when this (then) very young scruffy
traveler came through. I still have this same kit (and all the
liturature in spanish) which has been back to Latin America a few times
and all over the mountains and around the islands here in the PacNW.
Just lately it has seeded my renewed interest in things OM.
Mike
--
Latitude 48° 32' North, Longitude 123° 7' West
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