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RE: [OM] Irony of discontinuing of the OM series

Subject: RE: [OM] Irony of discontinuing of the OM series
From: Tris Schuler <tristanjohn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 23:32:39 -0800

I met a gentleman (perhaps a tourist) in U.N. Plaza the day after Christmas and he asked me to take his picture. So what does this guy hand me but an FM3a (at least I think it was--was there simply an FM3?). Of course I couldn't get it to work right away because the shutter release was locked--I forgot to pull the rewind lever back! Then it immediately poked me in the cheek. <g>

Anyway, getting around that lunacy . . . the build quality of that body, to judge from weight and casual inspection, didn't impress me one bit. This is comparatively speaking with regard to what I'm accustomed to handling, OM-1's and 4's, and to mention this unit in the same breath with the OM line is to mistake both camera designs--one is top of the line, the other strikes me as intended more for people who either don't know the difference or are convinced it's wisdom to spend less for exactly that. Less.

Would anyone have bought an OM-5? Probably not many users of OM-3/4Ti's would have (I doubt much improvement could have been realized), perhaps users of OM-1/2's would have upgraded. No doubt Olympus would have lost money on the deal, but we'll never know now.

I see nothing good whatsoever in the OM series demise. Makes me want to cry.

Tris

P.S. John etched a couple of 2-4's for me a month back and they work great. I can see no difference at all between these two screens and my (similarly etched) Beattie. I heartily recommend John's work in general. Except for when he listens to customers who ask him to do what his instincts and experience tell him not to do (I once talked him into retrofitting one of my Motor Drive 2 units with NiMH batteries which promptly failed <g>) it always turns out top notch. As for his etched screens in particular, I wouldn't know how to improve on this system--it's a great aid.


I agree. Let's face it, N*kon has made good cameras in the past. The FM3a is a superb camera. It feels great and takes excellent pics. That lever thing Mark mentions is a mess though. As far as focussing screens are concerned, it only take 2 or 3, so not a big selection. I was tempted to get rid of my OM stuff before the FM3a was release. Pre-release BS stated that the FM3a would be a manual revolution. No way. N*kon seems to have a horrible time of completeing a camera design. Whoever screwed up the lever is a goof. OM was designed pretty much perfectly. No one can touch it yet.

-Bill


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