I figure this thread is a good a way as any to introduce myself to the list.
In preparation for a post high school graduation trip I traded my banjo and
bass guitar for a used OM-1 with 50/1.8 I found in excellent condition at
the local pawn shop (Toyota, Japan, 1980). That indestructible beauty served
me well through years of motorcycle tours, mountain climbs, photography
classes and uncounted canisters of bulk Tri-X. The manual controls,
stone-cold reliability and difficult to find meter batteries have taught me
to see light better than any tool I've owned.
After a ten year hiatus during which I was completely immersed in the world
of digital media tools, spending orders of magnitude more discretionary
dollars on Macs, hard drives and RAM than the worst Zuiko habit, I suddenly
found myself without my OM-1 (lost in a move) and needing an SLR for a
week-long field trip with my son's fifth grade class (Yosemite Institute,
Autumn 1998). Intrigued by the spot metering and mechanical shutter of the
just-released and cheap OM-2000, I purchased the 35-70/3.5 configuration
with the hope that my OM-1 would show up again and I'd end up with a couple
of bodies and a new lens. Sure enough, a few months ago my wife found the
old chrome OM-1 along with my long-lost Pen-D and Rollei 35 SE in an
unopened box from our last move and I embarked on a refurbishment quest that
led me to this invaluable list and all the wonderful web sites that members
build and maintain.
Unfortunately the 50/1.8 silver-nose has fungus and the Cosina OM-2000 body
and lens are not inspiring a lot of use (although it's a perfect camera for
my kids to learn on). I'm currently looking for a 50/1.2 and the fastest 21
or 24mm I can afford. I'm interested in learning to do a sentimental
overhaul of the 50/1.8 by myself. I'm also looking forward to trying out
this new Fuji Acros 100 film I've been hearing about, getting a good film
scanner and printing the results on an Epson/Piezography printer.
Perhaps somebody will create a digital camera system someday that inspires
as much long-lived devotion as the OM series, but until they figure out how
to make them work without batteries my OM-1 will be the only camera I trust
to take a picture anytime, anywhere, under any conditions with a smile on MY
face.
Joel Ingulsrud
joel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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