Having spent a month now with my new old OM-1 I can't think of a better
camera for someone who wants to learn from the ground up. (Tho' I've
learned not to push all-manual cameras on someone who hasn't specifically
asked to learn the use of such a beast.)
If that's enough, skip the rest of my babbling and put a checkmark in the
OM-1 column.
No offense intended to the happy owners of the other numbers, but I haven't
seen anything above the OM-1 series that I'd need (other, perhaps, than
spare parts!).
I needed mirror lockup and depth of field preview (like my not-an-OM FTbn).
I needed shutter speeds from B-1/500, and 1/1000 would be nice. I needed a
fairly readily available source of affordable lenses (sorry, Contax). And,
considering this would be a special purpose camera for me, it should be as
compact as possible (sorry, Nikon, the FM2 is compact but most of the lenses
aren't). Finally, nothing should depend on batteries for functioning other
than the meter.
A working meter would be nice, but not absolutely necessary. I can always
fall back on 400 film and guesstimate.
If you agree with my criteria, then the OM-1 is only very slightly less than
perfect. My not-an-OM FTbn has one feature I really like, and another I
prefer. First, it has a collar around the shutter release button that not
only prevents the shutter from being tripped inadvertently, it also locks
the shutter open when set on bulb. No need for a cable release. While this
would have little use with very short time exposures, when one gets into the
multi-minute to hours-long exposures the little bit of shaking caused by
fiddling with the collar or lens cap is insignificant.
And I prefer the conventional placement of a shutter speed dial atop the
camera. But since the OM's placement facilitates its compact size, it's a
fair tradeoff.
All things considered, including intangibles like pride of ownership,
there's very little to compete with the OMs. I love the graceful lines of
the not-an-OM Spotmatics, but it's chancy finding those bodies and Takumars
in good working order.
Finally, regarding flash, if your young charge is really interested in
pursuing roots-level 35mm SLR photography, learning guide numbers is a
necessity. And really not all that difficult. So the OM-1 with any old
flash will do. Then he'll appreciate the advantages of auto-flash and,
finally, the subtleties of TTL flash.
Lex
---
(Who learned the old fashioned way as a kid with the help of some very kind
mentors.)
----Original Message Follows----
From: T.Clausen@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi all,
A young member of the extended family recently asked me if I could teach
him a bit about making "good pictures" - including everything from the
camera to the darkroom - and at the same time assist him in finding a good
beginners camera.
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