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[OM] The "Wish List" goes on, and on, and on...

Subject: [OM] The "Wish List" goes on, and on, and on...
From: "L.J. Clark" <ljclark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 22:27:10 -0800
Fellow Olympoids (and Canon/Nikon wannabees):

I've been avoiding the "Wish List" thread up to now.  There seem
to be more than a couple of branches, as regards people's wishes.

What is fascinating is the fairly hefty number of suggestions that
want to turn an Olympus into a Nikon or Canon.  Some of this seems
to stem from the desire to keep the old Zuiko glass.  Well...Zuiko
lenses aren't bad, but if you compare whole lens lines with each
other, there isn't really anything THAT special about them.  
(There will always be unique and standout lenses from each 
manufacturer.  They do that to torture us.)  The most consistent
feature about the Zuikos are their compact size and moderate
weight.

If you want an Olympus that is an OM, then you best forget such
things as built-in motor, auto bracketing, a more informative
display, AA batteries, and a bunch of other stuff that takes up 
cubic space in the camera body.  There are some things, such as 
more sophisticated exposure control, that can be done inside
the existing body form (OM-4/3/2S).  But if you want more 
information displayed on the camera body (such as LCD panels), 
that takes up real estate now used by some of the mechanical
controls.  If you look at some of the bulkier Canons and Nikons,
part of what they do depends on having a large surface area to
stick displays and little switches.  One of the reasons some
cameras don't have a manual advance lever is that the space that
the lever takes up on a manual camera is being used for displays
on the auto-everything SLRs.

If you want more feedback to the camera body from the lens, then
you better get ready to scrap your Zuikos and stand by for a
whole line of new lenses.  Odds are the mount wouldn't even be
the same.

If you want an exercise in ergonomics, find a junked OM-something.
Get out your colored pencils, some grid paper (to make it easier),
and some rubber cement.  Make little displays, switches, selectors,
etc.  Try to stick all this mind candy somewhere on the OM body 
without hack sawing something functional off.  And with that 
exercise, you still haven't figured out how to connect the 
switches and displays with the inside workings of the camera.
(If you haven't got a busted OM body, I guess you could carve one
from a bar of soap).

Olympus OM cameras are victims of their own design philosophy.
What most of us like about the cameras (compact size, simple and
straightforward operation) is exactly what dialed them out of the
do-everything camera market.

If you want all those other junky features on a camera, go out 
and buy a Nikon or a Canon.

Larry Clark 
-------------------------------------------------------
An example of too much time, and too much technology...
http://www.twodimes.org/home
-------------------------------------------------------

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