Barry B. Bean wrote:
> Given the news that the OM-2000 appears to be temporarily or
> permanently unavailable (B&H no longer lists it), what are you
> advising students who want to buy their first "real camera"?
Even when the OM-2000 was available I still recommended a used OM-1,
particularly if the student was promising.
> As much as I'm a loyal Olympus fan, it's hard to tell an 18 yr old
> kid with real potential as a photographer that they should buy into a
> system that the manufacturer seems intent on abandoning.
Instead of worrying about the viability of a "system" remember that the kid
needs to focus on learning to see light, and not get bogged down in the
distractions of system politics. No SLR I'm aware of gets out of a
photographer's way better than the OM-1--it's reliability, simplicity,
portability, spacious, bright finder, the excellence of even the default
50/1.8, not to mention how it just feels right in all but the largest hands
combine for a no-excuses platform for learning. In addition, the student
will get spoiled and join those of us who demand more than the automated
plastic junk being sustained today.
The more we advocate Maitani's values the more likely they'll survive.
By the way, the lack of OM system development at Olympus over the past few
years has an awful lot to do with the lousy Japanese economy. The domestic
economy sustained many an adventure for export-driven Japanese companies in
the past, but the last decade of doldrums has finally begun putting many
pet, niche projects to bed--including my beloved Yamaha SR500 cancelled
after 22 years of continuous production (sob).
Joel Ingulsrud
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