Frank Ernens wrote:
>>The OM1 and OM2N are not very suitable cameras for mirror lenses.
>>Animals tend to blend into their surroundings, so automatic
>>exposure on the OM2N works well (stepless shutter speeds). Birds,
>>on the other hand, are usually shot against sky or water, and I
>>substitute meter on some foliage and then shoot on manual, losing
>>the stepless speeds. In theory the exposure could be 1/2 stop out,
>>but I got away with it with the film I used. Velvia is said to be
>>much less forgiving. I need to do some more experiments with a
>>faster film. On an OM4 one could use the spot meter on auto, which
>>is still less convenient than manual if the bird is moving.
I myself wrote:
>Hey Frank, don´t forget there is actually also a more affordable OM
>camera with spot meter in manual.
Please forgive for holding on to this thread, but I simply can´t erase
it from my mind. I´m certainly not trying to flame Frank Ernens here
or anyone else for that matter, but why is it that everytime someone
tries to list available/suitable OM cameras the OM-2S/P seems to be
omitted (not in the FAQ thank God!). Recently in
rec.photo.equipment.35mm a seemingly very knowledgeable person tried
to list all OM cameras. I don´t know if he´s a member of this list,
but he seemed to know a lot about the OM system and he mentioned every
possible variant incl. M-1, OM-1 MD and OM-4 T. Was the OM-2S/P in the
list? No! I posted an answer that he had forgotten one model, but
there was no reaction.
As I see it there can be one of two reasons (or possibly a combination
of the two):
1. Bad reputation of a troublesome camera with often defective circuit
boards and abnormal battery consumption.
I admit I had to replace the circuit board in mine some years ago due
to high battery consumption, but it have served me well ever since.
Nowadays I can also buy 357 batteries for a fraction of the price for
SR 44 batteries. I just happen to like it very much. It has an
excellent spot meter and a useful snap-shot program mode. It takes all
OM screens. A beautiful body with the most delicate (sexy if you wish
;-) shutter sound I´ve ever heard on a SLR camera. It is the end of
the old OM-2 line but yet it was a very modern camera at the
introduction.
2. Surprisingly low number of bodys sold.
This was sold when SLR cameras "sold as butter" as we say in Sweden. I
don´t know if this is right, but the camera was only sold during three
years (1985-87). In my opinion it could have remained in production
for a few more years as a mid ranged price option to the more
expensive OM-3/4. I don´t know the reason why Olympus cut the
production after only three years, but maybe it was not selling very
good (due to OM-4 selling very good?).
There was a discussion once in this list about the virtues of this
camera, and in the first postings there was only negative remarks
(most probably rightly so) from people with bad experiences. After a
while someone (a brave someone) posted a positive judgement, and then
there suddenly was a whole bunch of people commenting that they were
more than satisfied with their OM-2/Ps. Were they ashamed at first
that they had a working body and that they liked the camera or what?
Could someone please explain this mystery to me? I know, I know, it is
not without drawbacks, but then again which camera is?
Per Nordenberg
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