I was a Pentax user before I switched to Olympus in 1984. I was won over by
the multi-spot metering of the OM-4, not because of the size of the body, which
wasn't significantly smaller or lighter than my Pentax Spotmatic. There was
also the bayonet lens mount, which I, at least at that time, considered
superior to the screw-mount Pentax.
Anyhow, had I known when I made the switch about the OM vibration problem, I
might have stayed with Pentax or moved to another marque. Much, much too late
now; way too much gear under the bridge. Going through old slides and
negatives from my Pentax days, I long ago concluded that certain stuff shot
with the Pentax is sharper than similar shots taken with the Oly gear,
particularly if using a cable release or a long lens on a tripod. The
hand-held stuff, even at slow shutter speeds, seems generally about the same.
I think the difference may be that the mechanism that shuts down the lens in an
OM body moves in a rotary motion perpendicular to the direction the camera is
aimed, resulting in a twisting force, while in the Pentax, the movement is
straight ahead, parallel to the direction the camera is pointed, thereby
reducing any effect possibly caused by vibration. Makes sense to me, and
although it will be considered blasphemy by many here, I think it's a design
flaw in the OMs.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Walt, running and hiding behind the frequently necessary stone-proof wall
--
"Anything more than 500 yards from
the car just isn't photogenic." --
Edward Weston
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Brian Swale" <bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[Snip]
>
> I think that for OMs, vibration has been the unsolved bugbear. Mostly
> unsolved - and for me it would still be unsolved were it not for the tests
> done
> and put on the 'net by Gary Reece; and for the information so freely given in
> this group - all of which has made a huge difference to my enjoyment of
> photography. I'm glad to note that the E that I have seems to be essentially
> vibration-free.
>
> Brian
>
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