I met a gentleman (perhaps a tourist) in U.N. Plaza the day after Christmas
and he asked me to take his picture. So what does this guy hand me but an
FM3a (at least I think it was--was there simply an FM3?). Of course I
couldn't get it to work right away because the shutter release was
locked--I forgot to pull the rewind lever back! Then it immediately poked
me in the cheek. <g>
Anyway, getting around that lunacy . . . the build quality of that body, to
judge from weight and casual inspection, didn't impress me one bit. This is
comparatively speaking with regard to what I'm accustomed to handling,
OM-1's and 4's, and to mention this unit in the same breath with the OM
line is to mistake both camera designs--one is top of the line, the other
strikes me as intended more for people who either don't know the difference
or are convinced it's wisdom to spend less for exactly that. Less.
Would anyone have bought an OM-5? Probably not many users of OM-3/4Ti's
would have (I doubt much improvement could have been realized), perhaps
users of OM-1/2's would have upgraded. No doubt Olympus would have lost
money on the deal, but we'll never know now.
I see nothing good whatsoever in the OM series demise. Makes me want to cry.
Tris
P.S. John etched a couple of 2-4's for me a month back and they work great.
I can see no difference at all between these two screens and my (similarly
etched) Beattie. I heartily recommend John's work in general. Except for
when he listens to customers who ask him to do what his instincts and
experience tell him not to do (I once talked him into retrofitting one of
my Motor Drive 2 units with NiMH batteries which promptly failed <g>) it
always turns out top notch. As for his etched screens in particular, I
wouldn't know how to improve on this system--it's a great aid.
I agree. Let's face it, N*kon has made good cameras in the past. The
FM3a is a superb camera. It feels great and takes excellent pics. That
lever thing Mark mentions is a mess though. As far as focussing screens
are concerned, it only take 2 or 3, so not a big selection. I was tempted
to get rid of my OM stuff before the FM3a was release. Pre-release BS
stated that the FM3a would be a manual revolution. No way. N*kon seems
to have a horrible time of completeing a camera design. Whoever screwed
up the lever is a goof. OM was designed pretty much perfectly. No one
can touch it yet.
-Bill
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