Well today was a little bit of a mix of highs and lows. Fortunately, the
lows came first so overall, it seems more like a good day.
The lows came when I went to finish off the roll that was in my OM-2s. A
couple days ago I posted that the new batteries solved my meter problem.
This seems to have been premature. The meter worked fine that night in quick
testing but as soon as I fired up the OM-2s today it was exhibiting the
exact same problems as before. Next step I guess will be to clean the
terminals in case of any corrosion. A bit of a disappointment. I really
wanted to finish the roll off so I used sunny 16 as a guideline and
bracketed heavily. Not really the best way to burn off the last frames on a
roll of Provia 100f.
However, I also had the great idea of going out to shoot with a minimal lens
kit. I had originally planned on just packing the 50/1.4 and the 35/2 and an
OM-1n. In the end, I also packed the 21/3.5 because I had some ideas for
some shots I wanted to try with it and it's so small that taking it along is
no problem.
The afternoon was hot and sunny and I spent the time with friends so I
didn't do any shooting then. By the time we'd split up it had gotten
overcast and foggy but was still fairly warm. When we split up, I went on a
very long walk (over 2 hrs I think, covered roughly 4-5km but I'd have to
measure it). On the first few shots I used the 35 but then I switched to the
21 for a few shots and that's what I stayed on. I finished that roll and 5
other rolls (all TMAX 400). I think this was the most prolific day for me in
terms of amount of shots taken (especially in that short a period of time).
I had a great time working with the extreme perspective of the 21mm. Almost
all the shots were more dreary industrial shots which I think worked well
with the mood the weather was setting. I normally don't shoot as much film
as I do today, it just seemed like I kept seeing more shots to take. I
almost felt like a snapshooter but I was still trying to frame my shots well
by getting in close with the 21. I took shots inside a parking garage, in
back lots of warehouses and other industrial buildings and then the bulk of
my walk took me along the train tracks through the container pier and by the
grain elevators.
I'm really looking forward to getting the prints back from these rolls. At
the same time though, I had such a great time taking the shots that I almost
don't care what the results will be. It was just a fun day to be out
shooting and I had a good time doing it. I hadn't used the 21 much before so
that was a bit of a treat. I'd also been using the OM-2s exclusively of late
and I must say, that while it's a great camera, it just doesn't compare to
the feel of the OM-1n (IMO). I just found that everything about the 1n felt
better. The shutter speed ring handles better (I think it's a bit thicker)
and feels nicer. I even noticed little things like the feel of the film wind
is nicer and I like the sound of the shutter more as well (although I think
the 2s could be quieter). The 21 is a real joy to work with in the quick
shooting style I was using today. The DOF is so huge with this lens that you
almost don't need to focus at all. Just frame the shot and release the
shutter. Most of the time I just kept it at infinity except for the shots
that were in really close. Even though it was overcast, it was still pretty
bright out so with the 400 film I was able to get shutter speeds over 125
and apertures of 11-16 most of the time so the DOF should really take care
of any focusing errors on my behalf. The only real problem I found with
using the 21 is that it's so short that the hood gets in the way a bit
(especially when setting the aperture) and I did knock it off the lens a few
times. But this is really a minor complaint. Once I made sure to secure it
better it was fine.
--
Andrew "Frugal" Dacey
frugal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.tildefrugal.net/
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