At 09:40 AM 3/13/2002 -0600, you wrote:
I have also never understood the -2sp. Admittedly, I have never really
used it, but when fiddling with it in the odd camera shop, I found it to
be a bit clumsy. Some have speculated that it was a generational thing
(meaning that this camera came out when they started w/ Oly), but I find
that to do effective spot metering one needs the graph of the -3 and -4
series.
Let's say that you are looking at a scene with difficult lighting, and a
few areas look to be what you see as "neutral grey". Well, if you slide
the 2sp spot meter over these areas, you will have to remember what each
of those values were before deciding on the correct exposure. However,
if you had the -3 or -4, you would be able to see their relationship on
a graph (e.g. that part "A" is 2/3 stop brighter that part "B") and
would be able to make a better judgment from that.
Bob,
Just thank your lucky stars you're not into the OM-2S. The OM-4 will serve
your needs just as well. The OM-2S is the rarest of the OM's -- and the
most seductive. If you get into one, it will make you a little less happy
with both your OM-1 and your OM-4.
It is the interaction between auto/averaging and spot/manual which seems so
ingenious to me. Most of the time you can get more than basic preliminary
information about the scene from the auto reading. Set the shutter speed
to match the auto reading and then switch to manual and compare with the
spot meter. Shoot either in manual or auto, whatever you want. Make your
adjustments for exposure either on the lens or on the exposure comp dial.
The OM-2S enforces the habit of selecting representative middle values in
spot mode. These are extremely easy then to compare with the overall
averaged value. You can do the same with the OM-4, but the tendency with
that body is just to take a bunch of spot samples without mentally
processing the relationship between a representative middle value and the
whole averaged reading. I *learn* more with the OM-2S and this gives me
more control. YMMV etc.
The OM-2S is wonderful for very serious tripod work with slide film, or
just for snapping away informally. I just can't imagine OM without it.
Stay away from them. Buy one and you'll soon want three. You need that
money for lenses.
Sadder but wiser (but not by much)
Joel W.
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