>
> This is completely off your OM topic, but related. I think that the E-1
> has
> the smoothest release experience of any camera I have used since I put away
> my screw-mount Leica bodies. Does your experience with the E-1 support
> this?
>
Off-topic is on-topic with this list...
I agree that the E-1's release is an experience unto itself--most definitely
unlike any other digital camera I've ever tried. But, when compared to OM
bodies, there is one which I think has an even smoother release.
OM-3Ti.
I just dry-fired mine a few times to confirm my impressions of it. The
release is very soft, but with a slight difference as compared to the E-1.
With the E-1 there is two steps to it, but the transition between the first
step and the second step (where the shutter actually fires) has a very tiny
notch even though you barely feel it. Once you move past that resistance,
the E-1's release is a smooth plunge with nary a wiggle.
The OM-3Ti, just as the other non OM-1 bodies has a half-step meter wake-up,
but is notchless. Just touching the release is usually enough to wake it up,
but the first couple of mm of travel is reserved for the meter and won't
trigger the shutter. As it has no step, the shutter release has one smooth
plunge all the way to the point where the shutter fires. This is pretty much
true with other OM bodies, but with a twist.
The OM-2S has a rather raspy release and the OM-4T I have has a distinct
step prior to the final plunge to firing the shutter. My OM-3Ti has just one
buttery smooth movement all the way to the bottom, but like the OM-4T it
does fire the shutter prior to full-depression. By firing the shutter before
the finger reaches the bottom, you don't get the camera movement from the
slight but present kinetic energy being absorbed by the camera from the
finger movement. The finger is still in motion while the picture is being
taken. I'm estimating that the shutter fires on the OM-3Ti about 2mm from
the bottom.
This does present a little problem though, which I've noticed with the 3Ti
which I don't have with other OM bodies. Precise timing of the exposure. I'm
a squeezer and tend to time my picture based on the position of my finger.
With the 3Ti I'm not quite sure where the shutter will fire and I usually
end up shooting before I really want to.
Just a stream of thinking here.... Bear with me...
The OM-2S also fires before reaching bottom, but the button is smaller,
recessed in the funnel-shaped surround and presents a slight dilemma.
Because of the recess it's harder for the finger to reach the bottom, but
if/when it does, the nasty shutter delay of that specific camera means that
your finger is actually bottoming out during the exposure, not after. This
is one reason why I developed a rocking motion with my finger to shoot that
camera.
Anyway, I've said many times before that the OM-3Ti feels different than any
other OM body and I think one of those things is the shutter-release. It is
a different tactile experience from the others.
>From a practical application I'm going to say without hesitation that I can
handhold the E-1 slower than ANY camera I've ever had or used. The camera is
so smooth and the way the shutter-release feels, I can get lower speeds than
I've ever been able to before. It's not uncommon at all for me to shoot with
the 200/4 on the E-1 at 1/15 and get pixel-sharp images. I'm good, but not
THAT good. Likewise, the OM-3Ti is so smooth that I am doubling my
allowable shutter times. Instead of 1/125 at 100mm, I'm able to go down to
1/60 at 100mm, for example. The E-3's shutter release is very bumpy as
compared to the E-1 and needs the image stabilization to match what the E-1
can do in absorbing shutter-release induced vibration.
AG
AG
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