I bought my first camera after getting out of boot camp at Great
Lakes. It was a P*ntax auto 110 SLR. Everything I owned had to fit into
one seabag that I could haul around. I was sent to California to be
stationed on a ship that was still being built. This gave me some time to
fool around with the 110 a bit before I decided that I really wanted a
35mm SLR. I sold the 110 to a friend and headed off to the Navy Exchange.
When I saw what Olympus had to offer for 35mm Cameras the choice was
easy for me. The other cameras seemed so big and clunky compared to the
OM bodies. I wanted the Om-1 but didn't have enough money. The OM-G had
just come out so I bought it. Although it had more plastic it seemed like
it was well built and the price was right. I knew as long as I had a
camera to use those Zuikos on I could always upgrade latter.
My ship was built and I travelled all over the South Pacific with the
OM-G and the 50/1.8 which served me well. In the Phillipines I bought
another lens cheap and we continued sailing Westward untill I ended up in
a port in Mombassa Kenya. Of course this was the trip of a life time for
me and the only way I could manage to do it was to enlist. I was on the
ship for three years so I got to photograph some great places. We also
saw much of the Pacific North West , Mexico, Central America and went
through the Panama Canal.
One day a Chief Petty officer spotted me using my OM-G. I was taking
some photos of aircraft landing on a carrier that we were life guarding
for. He had a small collection of Olympus cameras on board ship. He had
an M1 an OM-1, OM-2 and some older stuff that I think were Olympus Pen.
He eventually sold me the M1. :-)
About a decade later I am back home in Massachuestts shopping at the
local building 19. (Building 19 is a resaler of goods from other stores
inventory). Building 19's motto is "good stuff cheap". In the book pile
about 20 feet away I spot a book with an OM camera on the cover. The name
of book is Olympus SLR Cameras by Carl Shipman. There is a whole stack of
them and they are only 3 bucks apiece! I buy one and go home and drool
at it. It shows almost the whole system and what it does and what I need
to have. I dig out my OM-G and Olympus brochure and start studying the
brochure like I used to on the ship. The Zuiko obsession starts again
only this time it hits harder. Within a week I am buying an OM-4 and some
lenses. The OM-4 keeps me happy for a few more years untill 1996 when my
son is born. I purchase an 85/2 and begin taking family portraits. I
don't think a week has gone by that I havent taken at least one picture
of my kids since they were born. The internet and ebay and this list have
only added fuel to the fire , I now have a 4, 4t, 2n , 1, 1n, 2S, a
couple of Gs and other olympus stuff I won't mention and to think it all
started with an OM-G and a 50/1.8.
Frank
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|