Eric-
As a fellow backpacker/climber I can saw the OM line is ideal. The sturdy
metal construction, compactness, and small-sharp lenses are ideal to pack
with. I have been hauling my 2S up climbs from the Texas desert to Alaskan
peaks and have loved it. My "worst" experience was having my last set of
batteries freeze on a glacier. Solution- goto the mechanical 1/60 -sec
shutter and keep shooting!
After 16 years of hard use the body has brassing and the film winds a little
rough (from too many exposed hours in blowing New Mexico sand) but she still
works!! Now I have even inadvetantly dropped it a few times and it has
bumped rocks, biners, etc and keeps going. It is now my 3rd string body. I
have an OM-4 that is 14 years old and in awesome shape and a OM-4Ti that I
just got brand spanking new last week. I fully expect them to be working in
15+ years!
Check out the OM webring and all the good info it has on all things OM
http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=olympusom&list
Then look to buy. I would second the plug for keh.com Their stuff is very
clean and I have always been happy with them. Get a couple of good Zuiko
lenses and you are off to the races. Check out Gary's lens test site on
webring for great info (we cannot thank you enough for it Gary!)
My own favs -esp for climbing/packing would be the 28/2.8 , the 50/1.8 (for
low light/speed) and maybe like the 100/2.8 or the 75-150 zoom. I read a
Galen Rowell article in one of his books that said he takes a 24 and an 85-
he also said that 900f his pics were or could have been taken with just
those 2 lenses. Those Zuikos are pretty close and pretty cheap to acquire
and also replace if you somehow were able to booboo them.
Another plus to the OM size is that it is easy to pack 2 or 3 bodies and
still take things like food. I often take 2 OM bodies 5 lenses and
assecories, a small tripod and loads of film as well as ropes, crampons, etc
put it all in my Dana Terraplane and go. Actually I put the camera gear in
a Lowepro Omni Sport(2 bodies and 5 lenses!).
Anyway, if on the odd outside chance you were to go for some lesser brand, I
would say go with a Nkn FM-2 or a used Pntx K-1000, both are all metal and
can take the abuse of the outdoor lifestyle. Both lines also still use the
same lensmount so you can have a rugged metal body and still use new lenses
on it. Avoid all autofocus plastic cameras_which is pretty much everything
else. Yes the are nice if you have $1800 to drop on a F5 and say National
Geographic gets you a spare body, but they are far too finicky to take the
long haul up the AT or dangle from a climbing harness. Actually for an AF
camera get a Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic or a Yashica T4, they are cheap,
sharp, small, and pack great. I use my stylus for prints and can shoot
Velvia in 1 OM body and B+W in the other.
Anyway I would still say that any OM will serve you well. Someone described
them as a tool. I would say a machine, a finely tuned, glorious machine that
will serve you well and is built to last. Here is a thought- of all the new
SLR's on the market, which will still be able to function in 10-15 years?
Only the good ones, the metal machines-not any plastic ones. That really
just leaves Olympus , Leica, and a couple of Contax and Nkn bodies. Pretty
much everything else is designed to be obselete and useless in a few years.
Call it the computer industry mentality, modern AF plastic cameras are going
to last about as long as Pentium II.
Buy confidently and take lot's of pics!!
So good luck! and maybe I will see you on the trail!
-Darren
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