Hi, Chuck,
As one of the mainstay lurkers in this group for many years, I get to read a
lot of the discussions here, and from time to time, feel like I have
something of value to contribute. Veteran members will [probably] remember
me. May I say before going on, that it is absolutely not my intention to
criticize any of the great people on this list, or their decisions. What
works for you and your image creation, works for you, period. I have
rescently been disabled and cannot practice dentistry any longer, a simple
fact, no ifs, ands, buts, which has given me pause (and opportunity) to
think about what I would like to do with the rest of my life. I've decided
that I will do something in photography, as that is a major passion, and I
will do it in the fasion which I alone will choose, mostly for enjoyment,
and possibly to make a buck or two along the line. I thought this might
have been accomplished by use of my OM gear, and I still see no reason why
it could not have, but it is getting a little more difficult for me to focus
as well, so I decided to get a nice AF system, if I could find one that
would work properly and that I could trust. Also, all of the talk about the
E-1 and OM adapters, etc, got me enthralled that I could add a digital body
to my OM stuff and use the Zuikos that I have. I KNEW I would never find
anything close to Olympus/OM, and I went into my research with that bias. In
any event, I also wanted to be able to buy/use one set of lenses on film and
digital bodies. One thing I truly believe is that digital will NOT replace
film, but it simply adds another tool to the photographer's arsenal. Upon
really researching the honest facts, and looking for more than numbers and
scores, I narrowed my choice to a Canon or Nikon system. Nothing else seemed
to fit the bill for me. I went with the Nikon. I liked the lens choices, I
liked the flash system (EXTREMELY important consideration), but perhaps the
most compelling and decisive factor was the metering. I bought the F100
(film) and D100 (digital) bodies. A word here, Nikon has models that are
more expensive than these, but bigger and more expensive definitely does not
mean better, here. Do your research very carefully, for whatever you get.
How could anything come close to the OM-4Ti/3Ti average spot metering
system?? The Nikon's does not, not close in the least. It is far and away
superior, and it works with the flash system, too. I've run about 50 rolls,
so far. It's almost impossible to get a bad exposure in ANY lighting
situation--with flash or natural/available light. I can use 4 (or more)
flash units, wirelessly synced, with TTL Matrix metering. Results are
astonishing. I tried and could not make a mistake/poor exposure. It's so
very easy. Without getting too long winded, it's just plain fun, a blast!
Olympus does not have that to offer at this time. I have not heard too many
good things about the E-1, quite frankly. The bottom line for me is
results and ease of use. Then comes reasonable pricing, which Canon and
Nikon actually have, and you get A LOT more bang for you buck than going
with Olympus. There is no point in being faithful to the brand, as they
were not faithful to us, were they? For those who want a tryly magnificent
Film/digital SLR system, get the Nikon, or consider the Canon. Get it now
and start reaping the rewards now. If you are more interrested in tinkering
and hoping for a tomorrow that will never come, invest more time, money and
emotion in Olympus, letting nostalgia rule your sense of reality, then keep
on waiting for the payback. It will be a long wait.
In the meantime, here is a site which I have found absolutely invaluable to
achieving optimal results with my new Nikon system, and photography in
general. Beware, a lot of it is tongue in cheek satire. I identify with
this dude. It's a lot of valuable info. Here is the link:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm
Whatever you do, keep something OM. It is true that there was never
anything like it, and never will be..it's just beautiful stuff, and it does
work beautifully.
My two cents,
John
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Chuck Norcutt
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 7:38 AM
To: Olympus mail list
Subject: [OM] [OT] Did Maitani go to Pentax?
Still in the throes of where to go digitally I stopped off yesterday at
a well supplied photo store to take a look at the Minolta A1 the Schnozz
has been considering as a "bridge" camera. Very nice. Also got to
compare to a C5060. A very nice but much different camera which only
added to my confusion. Bridge camera or not I still need to replace the
little 2 MP Nikon Coolpix 800 that I just gave my son so he could have a
web shot cam to take to Iraq with him. I miss instant photography
already. Primitive as it was that thing was really useful.
The main point however, is that I was handed both a Pentax *ist D and
and an E-1 at the same time. First time I'd ever seen the Pentax. Its
diminutive size and large viewfinder compared to the E-1 took me back
about 30 years to when I first started comparing the OM-1 with its Canon
and Nikon competition. I couldn't help but think that with Olympus's
heritage the *ist D is what Maitani would have designed.
A very beautiful little camera with no hope of an OM adapter and (like
the E-1) no image stabilization. Now I'm more confused than ever...
especially since Pentax has just whacked $500 off the price of a kit
composed of *ist D body and 16-45mm zoom (equiv. FOV approx. 24-70mm).
Bridge camera anyone?
Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
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