Hi all! I've been lurking the list for a few months and I think it's time
to introduce myself and say something about my photographic history:
[circa 1980] As a child, first photo experience with my father's old
Yashica 6x6 TLR -- even some darkroom work!. Also was reading some '78
OM-system booklets, which made me start to incubate the disease :-)
[1990] Got my first SLR, a Pentax P30n with an awfully soft 28-80/3.5-4.5
-- that made me _very_ concerned about lenses' sharpness & contrast. Later
I got a fair Vivitar 70-300/4.2-5.8 and a nice Pentax 50/1.4. Anyway, the
zooms got me used to fast films (ASA 400-1000)
[1992] My brother gave me his broken OM-101, which I turned into an ugly
but working camera. I noticed its OTF metering was far better than the
Pentax, especially with (not-so-rare-for-me) very fast films (ASA 1600-3200)
[1993] Prices of photo gear in Spain almost doubled in a few months. As a
University student, I got an Exakta 18-28/4-4.5 in Pentax KA mount -- I've
seen that in several brands, even in the list. It had really poor
performance wide-open (one of my main concerns), but then I couldn't afford
any other thing. However, it made me aware of wide-angle's potential --
especially of 21mm focal length. I was yet seeing the 50mm somewhat narrow.
[Summer 1994] In a semi-abandoned photo shop I found two brand-new Tamron
lenses (SP 90/2.5 Macro & SP 70-210/3.5) marked with the "old" prices --
not a Fang, but almost :-). I got them along both adaptall mounts (Pentax
KA & 'OL'). They were excellent performers -- and still they are.
[Fall 1994] I bought second-hand my first single-digit OM: an OM-4 with a
silvernose Zuiko 35/2, plus a few focusing screens. I quickly got great
results from its spot metering. However, as nice as the FOV of the 35mm
was, I found the lens a bit disappointing: _very_ soft wide-open, though
pretty sharp when stopped down.
[1995-1997] Some busy years. With the OM-4 as main camera and the Pentax
almost forgotten, I felt short of wide-angles -- the long range was well
covered by the Tamrons. I was thinking of two Tamron lenses: the SP 17/3.5
and the "famous" 24/2.5. I _knew_ I liked the 21mm, but Tamron had no lens
in that focal length, and had no Zuiko 21/3.5 on sight -- I was asking for
it back in '94.
[1998] Got my job as a Computer Science teacher. I got the Tamron SP
teleconverter (01F) and finally decided for the (then expensive) 24 mm...
Maybe my _worst_ decision in my photo history -- quite soft wide-open and,
even worse, extremely flare-prone.
[1999] With the solar eclipse in my mind, I got the Tamron SP 500/8, which
turned into a dim (f/8) but nice lens. I started looking at other brands in
order to solve my "wide-angle problem".
[January 2000] I got impressed by the performance of Carl Zeiss lenses, so
I sold the short zooms and the 24mm, and started getting some Contax stuff
(demo and used), mainly in the shorter focal lengths: 18/4, 28/2.8, 35/1.4,
the tiny 45/2.8 (my heart was with the Zuiko 40/2 ;-) and 135/2.8. These
were _outstanding_ lenses, but also heavy and bulky, and I felt the bodies
(Contax Aria & Yashica FX-3) like cheap plastic toys... I also got a Ricoh
GR-1, to be _always_ in my pocket.
[November 2000] I started into astro-photography, where I found the
OM-system very well valued, so I thought then to specialize my OM gear.
Plans were to add "just" an OM-1 and a 300/4.5 -- I had no idea of what was
coming to me ;-)
[November 2001] Finally got the 300/4.5, but no OM-1 still. Later I
purchased a Beattie screen -- surprisingly bright and extremely suitable
for my needs.
[February 2002] I subscribed the list -- and got the disease! The rest...
is history :-)
Now my OM kit consists of:
OM-1
OM-1n
two OM-2n
OM-4
Sigma fisheye 8mm F4
G.Zuiko 21mm F3.5 (one of the last SC, AFAIK)
Zuiko MC 35mm F2 (silvernosed, #110xxx)
Zuiko 35-70mm F3.5-4.5 (BTW, mine seems of superb picture quality)
Zuiko MC 50mm F1.4 (#1074xxx)
Zuiko 50mm F1.8 (miJ)
Zuiko 1:1 Auto-Macro 80mm F4 (with the 65-116mm tube)
E.Zuiko 135mm F3.5
Zuiko MC 200mm F4
F.Zuiko 300mm F4.5
...and a XA with A11 flash which often replaces my GR-1 (the OM-101 is now
dead).
For flash, a Metz 40MZ-3i replaced my long-time dying Cullmann MD44.
I have quoted the Tamron SP and Contax gear. In Pentax mount, an MX body
replaced the P30 and I only keep the 50/1.4 -- good combo for meteor
showers. Also have a Russian Zenit-E (M42 thread mount) with an extremely
cheap (but incredibly good!) Helios-44 lens (58mm F2), along with a M42
Yashica 50/1.4 (from my boss' dead Yashica Electro-AX). Add a Lubitel 166-B
(Russian 6x6 TLR) and a delicious rangefinder: the Yashica Electro-35 GSN
-- with that outrageously _sharp_ 45/1.7...
Unfortunately, until the end of June I would only be able to post to the
list on weekends (job reasons). However, I'll try to contribute ASAP.
Sorry for being so long...
Regards,
Carlos Santisteban
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