Ray,
I inherited my OM-2 from my father (unfortunately). I remember very well
when he got it brand new whilst on a tour of Japan in 1978 (my folks
are/were classical musicians). In those days, the price difference with
France was stupendous, even including the customs tax, something along the
lines of a 30 to 40aving. He was raving about it, boring us to death with
descriptions of how light and small it was compared to other SLRs, about the
range of accessories, macro possibilities, etc. Knowing my father to be a
very thorough man, whatever the reasons behind his purchase of the OM-2 kit,
he certainly took the time to consider his options. I also remember him
saying that people stating the OM was not rugged enough were wrong and that
the OM cameras looked so due to their size but were very reliable and
resistant. He was always preaching the Olympus cause compared to N*kon and
C*non.
So he brought back that OM-2 with QA310, Zuiko 50/1.4, 75-150, 35/2.8 and
Teleplus 2X converter. The kit replaced his 1959 Zeiss-Ikon Contina II
527/28 (which I now have too) and took him to the cutting-edge of what SLR
photography was at the time. He enjoyed using it until he started moaning
that the camera bag was becoming too heavy to lug around all the time so he
purchased an IS-3(000) and the OM-2 went back in its brown leather case to
be used occasionally.
Apart from my father, no one really had any inclination to taking pictures
in my family so he always was on duty for family occasions although somebody
else would take some pictures with him in the group. It's true to say though
that the pictures of him I have were mainly taken by friends of his and few
by family. Over the years, he took a lot of slides (thousands in the
cupboards in their little Kodak yellow boxes) when touring with the
orchestra. I've found some real gems like pictures of the Berlin wall being
erected, Blue-roof Mosques in 1974 pre-revolution Teheran, 1973 tour of
Russia when you were not allowed to photograph administrative buildings (one
musician took a picture of scaffolding not knowing this and was promptly
taken to the police where he spent 48 hours! before being released), great
views from the Iguacu falls in Brazil, etc. There will be a lot of work
cataloguing all this. His main regret was not being able to go to Australia
with his work, something he would have done for leisure once retired.
As for me, I had purchased a Praktica MTL3 from a friend in 1980 (an
unwanted present) which I used for a while but without any real conviction.
I guess photography was not interesting to me back then. The Praktica was
stored in a cupboard, only to see the light of the day recently when I took
it with me on my way back home. After my father departed, by choice I got
the OM-2 and my sister, the IS-3(000). Having a baby son prompted that
well-known dad feeling of wanting to take pictures of junior and so the OM-2
was called back into active duty. Fortunately, dad had taken the time to
explain how to use the camera when I was young, and I remembered his lessons
well enough to not bother with the manual, only to waste a roll when
forgetting to switch to auto mode when using TTL flash for the first time,
and getting a very underexposed result as a consequence! Learning my lesson,
I read the manual, put a new roll in, and I've never looked back since.
So now, I've become a Zuikoholic, purchasing OM gear here, OM gear there,
and quite enjoying using the cameras (yes, there have been additions!).
However, I must point out that I could have become a Nikkorholic or
Zeissholic and that it's only because of my dad's foresight that I now
follow the only true religion. :-)
Francois
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