Well, I've got to pipe in here again on one of my two favorite
subjects. (silver nosed lenses and OM-2S bodies).
As to reliability issues, I'm inclined to believe that claims of
failure potential with the OM-2S is greatly exaggerated. By
this point IF it works correctly, it'll probably continue to
work correctly for the forseeable future. After all, it is a 20
year old camera! If it fails, you've just got yourself a museum
piece or donor body to another.
Now, onto the OM-4(T, Ti) bodies: I always wanted a 4x.
Eventually I did break down and get one. Alas, flying shutter
strings and semi-fried electronics (flash sync gone
haywire--beware of high voltages and current) have removed this
camera from normal use. I only use it now with PanF+ with
shutter speeds below 1/30. I'd love to get another, though.
Why?
Because for the B&W photographer it presents incredible exposure
determination. For large format "Zonies" it's the near perfect
spot meter with built-in "low-res" film capture.
How?
Pop the 4(T,Ti) into manual exposure mode, multi-spot a high
value (Zone IX) a low value (Zone I) and adjust your exposure so
that both diamonds are within the +/- two stop pips in the
display. (usually the spot readings aren't isolated enough and
are contaminated by nearby brightness levels). Easy as that.
Personally, I find the OM-2S to be a better Fujichrome Velvia
camera because the averaging meter (in auto mode) works
extremely well and the manual mode is easy to setup with an
alternative (known) exposure. In bright sunlight, for example,
just dial in sunny-16 with the shutter speed and flip to manual
whenever you know the meter is being fooled. With the
"floating" spot meter you can easily eyeball exposures without
pressing any buttons. Finally, and MOST importantly, the
exposure compensation dial is perfectly located and easily
adjustable with your trigger finger without taking your eye from
the viewfinder.
The problem here is that both the OM-4 series and the OM-2S have
near-perfect control ergonomics. To say that one is "better"
than the other is plain wrong. They both are exceptional.
Different, but exceptional. There will never be another OM ever
built that will be any better. And NO OTHER camera made today
has a digitally simulated analog metering readout. This is an
important feature because it allows you to see brightness trends
and relationships without READING and INTERPRETING digital
readouts. Light is analog, not digital--shouldn't our meters be
too?
I would suggest, though, that the champaign OM-4T is the best
looking one, though. It's an almost perfect match to
silver-nosed lenses.
AG-(I did get my other favorite subject in there)-Schnozz
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