What do you think is the best OM body and why?

[F6Roger]

Which is best OM

Which is best OM

For me it is the OM1, I bought the OM2 when it first came out, great camera, BUT, it stopped working while I was on the top of a mountain. That shouldn`t have been a problem, Chris Bonington took his OM1 to the summit of Everest! Olympus UK fixed it under warranty saying it was an electrical fault. Hmm, got a secondhand OM1 (if electrics go wobbly,you loose the meter and go Sunny 16). Do you really need all the bells and whistles of the OM3/4?, for me, no. Still got both the OM1/2, they battle it out with my Nikon F6 for pride of place.
Keith, you really should try the F6, it really is a wonderful camera, plus you would be owning the last pro slr made. A real piece of photographic history.
Chrome/black?, mine are chrome, but at the end of the day the results will be the same.
Just my two pennies worth, others may disagree. After all, all of photography is very subjective.

 

[Keith]

For me it is the OM1, I bought the OM2 when it first came out, great camera, BUT, it stopped working while I was on the top of a mountain. That shouldn`t have been a problem, Chris Bonington took his OM1 to the summit of Everest! Olympus UK fixed it under warranty saying it was an electrical fault. Hmm, got a secondhand OM1 (if electrics go wobbly,you loose the meter and go Sunny 16). Do you really need all the bells and whistles of the OM3/4?, for me, no. Still got both the OM1/2, they battle it out with my Nikon F6 for pride of place.
Keith, you really should try the F6, it really is a wonderful camera, plus you would be owning the last pro slr made. A real piece of photographic history.
Chrome/black?, mine are chrome, but at the end of the day the results will be the same.
Just my two pennies worth, others may disagree. After all, all of photography is very subjective.

Thanks for your input and I have to say the thought of eventually owning an F6 is never really out of my mind ... for the reasons you say ... the last great pro SLR ever made!

I suspect the price of these things (F6) is never going to come down ... I was browsing KEH today and couldn't help but notice this sad truth!

 

[HHPhoto]

Thanks for your input and I have to say the thought of eventually owning an F6 is never really out of my mind ... for the reasons you say ... the last great pro SLR ever made!

I suspect the price of these things (F6) is never going to come down ... I was browsing KEH today and couldn't help but notice this sad truth!

Well, Keith, as you have sold your FM3a because of the viewfinder, then you will be extremely happy with the F6.
It has the best viewfinder I've ever seen, regardless of film SLRs or FF DSLRs.
And focussing manually with the F6 works excellent, much better, more precise than all of my other manual SLRs. The screen is brite and the focus indicator works extremely accurate.
Using my manual Nikkor and Zeiss ZF lenses is a real joy with this camera because of the excellent viewfinder.
As you have already ZF glass, go for it.
A screen with split-image focus help is available, too.

I recommend ordering the F6 together with the MB-40 vertical grip, handling with it is excellent. And you have always the choice: without grip as a lightweight package, with grip for vertical shots and max. performance (8 fps).

Furthermore I recommend the MV-1 data reader for getting the full EXIF data (with it no difference to DSLRs concerning availability of full data).

I agree with you with the outlook that used prices of F6 will stay high. Because of two reasons:
- an increasing number of photographers realize the qualities of this unique camera
- so far only 35,000 units were sold; and the total yearly output by Nikons Sendai plant where this camera is still built is about 150 units per month.
High demand, limited supply = higher prices.

But from my experience it is worth every cent.
I've bought my F6 new, as a once in a lifetime camera for the next 40 years to come.
The best decision I've ever made concerning buying new camera gear.

Cheers, Jan

 

[shadowfox]

The general consensus of opinion seems to be the OM-1 ... it definitely is the M3 of the SLR world!

Sorry, my ears just curled up hearing that...
I personally think OM-1 is much better than M3

I think a more apt comparison is with M4-P. Both are underrated by their respective brand snobs, but deliver the goods reliably every time.

 

[Lilserenity]

I'll have to go with my OM2n's.

I used an OM2SP which was loaned to me this summer and it was a good camera, but I dunno, something about the OM1/2 is very pure. Could do with the 2SP/3/4's hot shoe mount mind. It surprises me that a metal hot shoe instead of the soppy plastic hasn't been made for the OM1/2s. Just as well I rarely use flash.

I haven't actually handled an OM1 so this isn't really fair; but the size of the batteries for the Om2 are so small as to not need to worry about them, I carry them in my pack everywhere but the batteries tend to last about 10-12 months and I use my cameras a lot!

Also the AE system is fantastic.

How would I improve it, I don't think I could actually. I keep thinking shutter lock, but then the ability to shoot a well exposed image even in the off position (thanks to the camera getting it's AE system on in time) so long as the light is passable is a real god-send, and I'd rather get pictures of my foot now and then for the ability to just grab a shot which you saw coming from nowhere.

And of course, the OM2 in manual mode works like an OM1 except with an electronic shutter. Very little to dislike about that.

Vicky

 

[Lilserenity]

Why does the N generally seem to be recommended over the other models? There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference to me ... and how does one actually differentiate between the two?

I could be completely wrong but the 2n I think has an easier way of curing mirror lock up (up from the auto position) and I think it has a better flash system (TTL-Flash?) I think the AE system is slightly tweaked too.

Also the cameras I guess are just that bit newer but at both their ages now, I doubt that counts for much when looking for reliability.

I got two 2n's simply for their interchangeability but I'm sure a 2 and 2n would have made little practical difference.

 

[F6Roger]

The best OM body

The best OM body

To date the score seems to be~

OM1~12 / OM1n ~3 / OM2~2 / OM2n ~6 / OM3 ~2 / OM3ti~1 / OM4~4 / OM4ti~3


So lets hear it for the :angel: OM1 :angel:

(Think I`ve got too much spare time, but both my OM`s are away having a CLA)

 

[Paolo Bonello]

To be honest I really don't care which is best. It's just splitting hairs on an overall brilliant camera line. The little nuances between models is just enough to appease our innate need to control things. OM wins as a whole as far as I am concerned. Pick your model number to suit the colour of your tie or the weather. It makes little difference as far as I am concerned. Buy them all and have a rich life or buy any one and be equally happy.

 

[Chris101]

Like Keith, I use my OM for recreational shooting. And so convenience is not an issue - in fact, the more the camera does on my behalf, the less I get to do myself! So from this angle, the best OM is the one with the least convenience features, but with the performance features maximized. In short, the OM-1n.

It gets no better than this:

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Those 50 macro f3.5s are great to take out on a sunny day aren't they? No need for a hood.