So far I have been writing mostly about classic cameras with full mechanical construction with only one exception the Cosina CSM with an electromechanical shutter. It was because my collection fundamentally consists of such mechanical beauties.
But time goes on and my camera count is also increasing in many unexpected ways. My last camera in the row is still using film and being my camera it is naturally having only manual focus, but it is an ultra-modern professional beast in every other aspect. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce to You the Olympus OM 4-Ti!
Olympus OM 4-Ti (black) Datasheet
- Type TTL auto-exposure 35 mm. Single Lens Reflex Camera.
- Produced 1989-2002
- Film type 24mm x 36mm ISO/ASA 6-3200.
- Weight 540g (body only)
- Dimensions 87 mm height, 139 mm width, 50 mm depth
- Construction weather sealed titanium alloy body
- Lens mount Olympus OM Mount
- Shutter horizontal cloth focal plane shutter, electronically controlled
- Shutter speeds 1s-1/2000s, B, 1/60s can be used mechanically without batteries
- Sync speed 1/60s but with Olympus F280 Full Synchro flash up to 1/2000s
- Viewfinder dioptric correction; dioptric correction range from +1 to -3 diopters; viewfield: 97% of actual picture field; magnification: 0.84x at infinity with -0.5 diop. (50mm lens)
- Exposure meter dual concentric segmented silicon photodiode, Center-weighted and multi-spot-meter (2% of view; 3.3˚ with 50 mm lens) up to 8 points
- Batteries Two 1.5V silver-oxide batteries SR44 (Eveready EPX-76) or alkaline manganese batteries LR44
- Self-timer 12s delay electronic self-timer
- Hot shoe with contact for T series flash; 5-pin connector for T series flash; PC synchro socket.
- Motor drive optional motor drive 1 or 2 can be attached, up to 5 frames per second
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What is it really?
This camera is the latest model of the one digit (upper grade) line of Olympus OM cameras and in addition, mine is the last sub-version. While the OM 4 was introduced in 1984 my version shown up around 1990. Apart from some extra controls, the body design is pretty much the same as the original OM 1 (1972) which pioneered a new trend of really compact sized SLR bodies. Therefore this camera is one of the smallest reflex cameras ever made taking the 35mm film type.
Focusing
While other manufacturers introduced autofocus in their cameras Olympus stuck to the traditional manual focus design. There is a debate on why, but eventually, to me, the important point is that the lack of AF allowed keeping this wonderful classic shape. The lenses are also very small, there is no need to place a motor into the body, not into any lenses.
Metering
So why is this metering so legendary? Well, apart from the fact that it is reliably accurate it leaves the control in your hand. Other brands like Nikon developed metering systems where the camera compares the scene with a database of stored situations and tries to figure out the best exposure for you. It is convenient and most of the time satisfactory approach, but you have low control over it unless you switch to full manual or you guess what the camera thinks and you can compensate accordingly. It must be said that it is an issue only among challenging lighting conditions.
In contrast, the OM-4 allows you to select up to 8 points of measurements and then the camera calculates the exposure. In other words, you can select what is important for you and what are your priorities. For example, if you take to measurements on the same area and one on another than the first is more important to you than the other.
I know it sounds strange for first, but believe me, it is so much intuitive and joy to use after you tried once. Of course, if you don’t want to get bothered with such evilness, you can still use the traditional center weighted automatics, which just works well in most common situations.
All in all, for someone like me, who works with a very low frame-rate, prefers to think and focus instead of the machine but sometimes likes to get some precise support, this camera is the ultimate choice for 35mm photography. It is worth to note that (as far as I know) some professional medium format cameras also used a similar metering system.
Finally, the OM4 features a highlight and a shadow mode. It is useful in some cases where black or white surfaces are dominating on the frame. Normally if you take a photo with an auto-exposure camera of a gray, black and white piece of paper, it is likely that you will get middle gray on all frames (even instead of the black and white). It is because the metering system tries to achieve an averaged exposure which is good in most cases, but causing troubles when there is no reference. For example, a landscape covered by snow, or documents on white papers are typical cases.
To overcome this, you can use manual exposure, exposure compensation or in this case the high-light and shadow functions. You select the brightest (supposed to be white) or in other cases, the darkest (supposed to be pitch black) area on the frame, push the respective button and you will get the correct exposure with correct white or black representation. In fact, these buttons are doing simply programmed over and underexposure correction.
Flash control
Another interesting aspect is that this camera is one of the first ones able to use flash with very fast sync speeds (up to 1/2000s) when appropriate flash is coupled (like the Olympus F280). The problem of low synchronization speed was common of this kind of cameras due to the construction of the shutter and the very short burst time of typical flashguns. The OM 4-Ti solved this issue by continuous pulse bursts of the flash during the whole exposure which allowed to expose the entire frame correctly, although for the price of limited range.
Durability
This camera is very well made, it is weather sealed and indeed feels solid in my hands. All buttons, switches, and knobs work really definitely and smoothly at the same time.
But how though it is exactly? I have found a really exhaustive description about a crash test done by the Camera magazine 4/’89 (Germany) translated by Wiliam Wagenaar.
The methodology was:
- The OM4Ti is stored in the freezer overnight at -20C for 8 hours.
- The OM4Ti went into the oven for one hour at a temperature of 75C (Only 50C allowed according to the manual)
- The OM4Ti is hung in the grid of the air outlet of a sand blasting company for 2 hours, so that dust, dirt and sand can intrude deep into the mechanics.
- The OM4Ti went into a steaming hot shower cabin for on hour.
- The OM4Ti went into the shaking machine for a certain time.
- The shutter is operated about 15.000 times while the aperture is set at f8.
This camera survived the torture very well, only the cold caused some temporal problems with the shutter. Here are the summarized test results:
Shutter speed error: + 15% for the long times from 1/15
Meter error: none (< 0.1 EV)
Spot meter: deviation of 0.5 EV
Defects during test: none, except jerky manual film advance
Battery use of camera and drive: normal.Maximum points for each item : 10.
A total of 70 points gives the qualification of “CAMERA MAGAZINE PRO-CAMERA”
Item: Points:
- cold test 7
- heat test 10
- dust test 9
- moist test 10
- shock test 10
- internals 8
- price quality 9
- ease of use 8
- design 8
- equipment 8
Total : 87
In comparison, the Leica R6 received 88 points in the same test. If you want to read the full review, please follow this link.
Conclusion
So here is the answer to my question “What is this camera really?”. To me, this camera is a lightweight, compact tool with sophisticated metering and flash control but with the maximum control over exposure and focus possible in an admirable classic shaped yet durable body. It is unlikely that I will take advantage of the flash features, but I can clearly appreciate the excellent metering.
The lenses are very well made and with nice performance as well. Last but not least these cameras are affordable, they used to be called by many as “poor man’s Nikon” in the USA. Nowadays in the digital era, you can definitely find a good deal of an OM camera.
My Olympus OM 4-Ti
I always adored the OM cameras because of their small size, stylish design, good lenses, and reliable construction, but until now I have never even touched one. I came close in dimensions with my Cosina CSM which is really similar at first look, but clearly not in the same league at least with the professional OM cameras.
How did I get it?
I was not really wanted to get an OM since I had no lenses for the system, plus I was happy with the Cosina as my light travel companion. But one day I walked into a small optics shop which I didn’t know before but I was attracted by the old photo commercials on the front of the building. As it turned out they don’t sell cameras or any photographic types of equipment anymore (they focusing on eyeglasses), but I spot a few old cameras in the cabinet behind the desk.
This OM 4-Ti was among them without a lens, only the body cap was mounted. I asked it out for some inspection and I immediately knew, this camera has a place in my bag. There was no price though, so we had to call the owner of the shop who is around 80 years old and collects cameras as well. We had a nice chat but he couldn’t tell me a price neither. So we agreed to talk about the camera in a few days as he can look after a bit.
Of course, this made me struggling a lot in the proceeding few days as I was not sure that I can afford this camera at all especially because I had no lens. After a few days of hell, I went back to the shop and asked again if they decided the asking price of the camera and they had. The offer was so generous that I bought the camera right away along with some film. The man told me that he likes that I am collecting and using film cameras and I will probably have a good use of it, that is why he is selling the Olympus to me. Of course, I went back to show the camera as soon as I have got this great lens I have mounted on it right now.
Hunting for the lens and focusing screen
Because the camera is in an incredibly good condition and because it is the last evolution step of the professional OM cameras, I decided to get a lens which is matching both in capabilities and cosmetics to the body. I wanted something behind the standard 50mm f/1.8 Zuiko (which is a great lens by the way) especially because I have many f/1.8 fifties for other systems and I really preferred to have something different. On the other hand, I like standards when I have only one lens and naturally, I had a strong constraint on the money to spend.
In the end, I have gone for the Zuiko AUTO-S 50mm f/1.4 lens and I did some research which serial number to look for. It was not an easy search, but I have got my lens on e-bay in perfect shape in the original box with the serial number I was looking for (greater than 1,100,000) that marks the latest design and best coating. For more information about the different variants of this lens look around here.
After I received the lens I had to realize that my focusing screen is good for anything but normal use. The type I had in the camera was made for microscopy and other extreme macro purposes. So I had to look for a replacement focusing screen, but it was not an easy ride. I found many of these on e-bay, but on the price that I started to think if I really did a good deal with this camera. After a few weeks of desperate research, I have managed to find a screen in Hungary at a reasonable price.
Almost 2 months after I first saw the camera in the cabinet I have managed to get a working set which takes photos while I am capable of focusing with it. It cost me way more than I thought when I bought the body, but undoubtedly worth it. This is really an amazing camera to use and hold and I don’t think I would have considered getting one in any other ways.
The way it looks
Personal experience
Until now I shot only 3 rolls of film, therefore it is hard to claim that I master the camera. Nevertheless, the start is very promising as I feel very comfortable and natural to use and the initial results are encouraging as well.
Ergonomics
The ergonomics are really good, although due to the classic shape it is not as convenient to hold as more modern cameras. The bright side is that there is an optional grip available, but honestly, I don’t feel it is necessary. The layout of the buttons and other controls are nice as well, maybe the “highlight” and “shadows” buttons are not the easiest to hit blind, but I don’t think to use them often. The most interesting part of the controls for me is the OM-style shutter speed ring on the lens mount, which is unusual but also brilliant at the same time. You can set both the aperture and shutter speed at almost the same place with the same hand. Of course, it is probably not for everyone, I personally like it.
As I have mentioned already, the camera is really small even with modern standards. It is bigger than mirrorless cameras but it is definitely smaller than any budget DSLR- If you consider that it is a “full-frame” camera than it is quite an achievement.
Operation
Focusing is really easy, smooth and accurate with my fast f/1.4 lens and so far I am very happy with the metering system as well. Most of the time the normal center-weighted metering mode was fine for me with aperture priority mode. Note that aperture priority is the only automatic mode available on this camera, but in fact, this is the mode I prefer on digital cameras the most also. I have tried the spot and multi-spot metering as well with success, but I need more time to gather greater experience with them.
Battery life
I basically I took out the batteries from the Cosina CSM and put them into the Olympus. These batteries were in use for more than a year from now and so far I had no problems. Considering how tiny and cheap these batteries are and how long they last I think this camera is very economical in this respect. I have heard that the regular OM 4 was eating batteries, it seems the Ti version has corrected this issue
Test shoots
I have a Zuiko AUTO-S 50mm f/1.4 lens which has a good reputation in terms of overall image and build quality although it has some barbell distortion. I can confirm all of these statements. The lens is sharp, contrasty, not too prone to flares, the bokeh it produces is also pleasant to my eyes. Indeed the distortion is there, but it is not disturbing unless you shoot brick walls or other well defined geometrical subjects. I may make some measurements and create a lens profile in order to correct this digitally, but as I said this is a minor problem you won’t even notice in the 90% of times. The coating works great and flares are not really threatening you, I think a lens hood is generally a good idea, so I will get one soon.
As for other lenses, I really wish to get some exotic ones most notably the Zuiko 80mm f/2 is my greatest wish for portraits.
Some other OM 4-ti shoots of mine in this post.
Recommendations
This camera is for:
Everyone who loves 35mm film photography and needs a light, reliable and stylish companion. It is for everyone who likes to focus manually and prefers full control over metering yet likes to have a sophisticated system to aid the evaluation of exposure times. Last but not least this camera for those who do not mind to keep a pair of small knob batteries in their pockets.
This camera is NOT for:
I don’t recommend this camera for automation junkies, action or sports shooters or in contrast for more conservative people who prefer full mechanical constructions. In the case, if the electronic operation would be the problem, there are plenty of full mechanical choices in the OM series such as the OM 1 or the very rare mechanical counterpart of the OM 4 the OM 3.
Links
- Camerapedia the OM system
- Wikipedia OM 4
- OM 4-Ti crash test
- An OM 4 page
- Camerapedia OM lenses
- 50mm Zuiko lenses
- omexperience (really cool blog about film OM cameras, OM lenses with deep tests and the OM-D, This site helps you figure out which subversion of a lens has multi-coating etc based on cosmetics and serial numbers)
- Instruction manual
camerajunky 
Your article are like your cameras: flawless. Great work.
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Thank you! I am really happy that you like this post, although I always find some errors any time I check it.
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Hey Gabor, a great read as always. I really enjoyed the story behind the purchase of the camera!!! I only wish perhaps we were geographically closer, it would be fun to go out and shoot our respective OM’s together. Keep up the great work. All the best, Jason
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Hi Jason,
Yes, I was wondering too on how nice would be go out and shoot together. New Zealand is really an interesting place for us, so we may step by one day, in that case I will let you know. Also when you have decided your city to stop in Europe, you can send me a message, who knows may be I will be around.
Take care, and thanks for the comment. Gábor
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Lovely camera, lovely article!
The closest I have is a Nikon FM2n. I sure like the Olympus a little better though.
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Thanks for the kind words.
Your Nikon is a really nice camera with awesome durable shutter, I really hope I will have one at some time. I think the difference is so minor and the lens selection is way bigger for Nikon I guess. Eventually what really matters is the photographer.
Thanks for the comment again. Gábor
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Great piece of writing about a classic beauty. Thank you for sharing with us all.
Paulo
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Very nice article, full of info and great photos too.
O.F.
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It looks like it’s nearly in mint condition and I envy you for that. Your article pushed me even closer to finally getting one, although it doesn’t have to be a 4 Ti, since they’re fairly expensive here in Germany.
(I know one shouldn’t ask, but, c’mon, what did you pay for it? 😉
Thanks for the great read.
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I was really lucky with the body it cost me around 40€. Than I needed to buy a focusing screen for approximately 8€. The lens came from Germany through E-bay and that was very pricy as I wanted a really nice lens for this camera. I don’t remember the price of the lens as my mind tries to protect itself and besides my wife could also read this comment and I am not sure I told her everything :-)… If you check E-bay for similar lenses, you will get an idea. Overall I am very lucky with this even if the lens was relatively expensive.
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Hi. Great blog post! Are you still enjoying this camera and lens? If not, any chance you’d sell it to me? =)
-Scott
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Wow, it is great to read about the OM4-Ti. I bought one (I still have it) in about 1985, maybe a year or two earlier. I had an OM40 as my first camera but when I saw the OM4-Ti brochure I wanted it! Back then it was not a popular choice amongst the professionals (they were using Nikon or Canon) and it was considered a bit old fashioned because it did not have autofocus. But I loved it. I also have an OM1 and an OM2 which I bought some years ago from a collector but I have never used them. One day I will buy some film and take the OM4-Ti out for a spin… These days I am learning to be a film-maker and I have a Pentax 35mm digital camera which is ok, but bulky. But I just discovered I can use my OM lenses on my new Blackmagic pocket cinema camera, which uses the Micro four thirds system for which Olympus makes an adapter. Yay.
ps: I never had trouble with my OM4-Ti eating batteries…
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Yeah the Om system is absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately my OM-4 gave up recently and locks the mirror up even with new batteries.I guess I have some bad luck with it. I hope that it can be repaired some day. I wish you a lot of fun with yours and sure the lenses are great for cinematography.
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Hallo, the OM-4 (Ti) would never stand a crush test described. This is a bunch of lies and mystifications. It’s a very fragile camera per se. Must be taken good care of. If something breaks, you will not in 95% of cases be able to fix it yourself, even if you had previous experience with other cameras of that epoque. It is reliable in the manner an electronic system could be and mechanically it is perfect. That is why many of them still work today. Do not try to put the OM-4 under strain. If it breaks, you can’t fix it yourself unless you devote the rest of your life to this art.
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Yeah, the electronics of mine is already broken.
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Have you tried this? This is from a webpage about the OM2 but it may be the same issue – the mirror locks up if the shutter is pressed when the battery is flat…
* Reset Procedure”
* If the mirror is up and the shutter is locked, press the “RESET” button at the lower left corner of the body mount, and rotate the manual shutter speed ring until the reset mark (*) is aligned with the red triangle on the lens mount. Then the mirror comes down, and the shutter is unlocked.
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Thank you for the lot of good tips. I have tried several of them already. I was trying different fresh batteries as well and the battery check gives me a continious beep. Yes, I finished the last roll of film partially in manual mode. On the other hand you gave me some ideas, so I will try them over the weekend. Thanks a lot again. I will let you know how it went.
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Other useful information on the same page: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/om2/om2manual/index.htm
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Or you could ask this guy: “John is not just a guy with an opinion. He is a magician with OMs. He has kept many OMs working for me over the years. You will be happy with his work. No, it isn’t 2 or 3 cameras, but more like 30-40. He is the man! zuiko.com is where you can find him.” http://photo.net/olympus-camera-forum/00TzBi?start=10
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Another thought: I had a similar problem once and I discovered that the self timer lever was not completely turned off – the little button on the top much be fully in, not sticking up. From memory the mirror locks up when the self-timer is engaged to reduce vibration, but I can’t find anything about this in the manual.
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Also, try setting the camera to the manual shutter speed – 1/60. You can take pictures without the battery at this speed. To do this:
a) press in the “B” lock button – a tiny button on the body at the front on the right if you are looking into the lens. It is marked in tiny writing B Lock.
b) hold this button in and rotate the shutter speed to the RED 60 position.
c) shoot your picture
Do you have a manual?
Stephen
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Gábor,
One last tip before I go to bed – this from another poster on the lockup issue:
“Removing the motor drive covering cap, there is a small lever that, when slid over with a finger nail, enables the shutter to fire and the rewind button to re-set.
I removed the bottom base plate and saw some gooey residue around the lever. I carefully cleaned this off and the action of the lever was restored. The wind-on would operate and the shutter would fire. I then carefully rubbed a pencil around the lever and its path, lubricating it for a smoother action.
Result- the camera operates perfectly again!”
Good luck!
Stephen
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camerajunky,
this is a perfect article. I habe bought myself the OM-10 30 years ago and i appreciate Olympus’ old technology everytime I shoot a picture.
My question is about yout perfect B/W scans. Are you using the genuine canoscan software or Vuescan (or something else)? If you might give me your scanning parameters (especially for Vuescan) I yould be very gratefull.
Marga, Berlin
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Hallo Marga,
I have been using the stock canoscan software, but I had many problems with it. It works reasonably well with perfectly exposed negatives, but the quality is not amazing. I tried Vuescan, but somehow it handles the scanner incorrectly and my scanner used to stuck in the end position from time to time.
I am currently using SilverFast which is simply works for me almost out of the box. The only problem I have is that I have only the demo version which is limited in features and it adds watermarks to the images. So I need to retouch them which is time consuming, but it is still worth it. The only reason why I did not buy it is that I want to get a new scanner soon, and Silverfast versions are locked to scanner models.
According to settings. I have only general rules, most things depends on the image to be scanned. My general rule is that I try to get a relatively flat image, which I can manipulate best in post processing. So I keep the contrast low during scanning. I usually scan in the highest possible native resolution of the scanner, and I save to TIF files. I like to keep everything free from dust, so I can disable dust removal, as it may also cost some quality (and slow).
I think VueScan is a really powerful tool, but I have little experience with it. I will probably try again when I have my new scanner.
Hope that I could give some useful advice. Gábor
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[…] so I’ve been lucky enough to have a go with her old equipment. Im trying to use an old Olympus OM-4ti which is a pretty cool camera. Definitely always checking ebay for new stuff to play with but so is […]
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Back in the 1960s and 70s I worked as a professional photographer and was running a hundred rolls a week of 120 through my twin lens Rolleiflex cameras. These are still, even today, what I would rate as wonderful instruments. Finally, in the early 70s, I decided to go to a 35 for some limited shots, as in shooting action for car magazines, etc.
My first 35 mm camera ever was an Olympus OM-1. I fell in love with it, kept it, and today my younger son has it and loes it. He has also gone on to purchase new digital Olympus cameras but still uses the original for film photography and then has the film scanned into digital for the internet. But you can tell the difference, the warmth in the photos shot on film.
I am about to buy a new Olympus digital camera but the original camera will always be dear to my heart. Thanks for this review of a later model.
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Hello Gabor,
I have an OM-4 Ti with a mysterious problem and have been looking on the net for some answers. I have not been lucky so far when I stumbled upon your site, i really hope you can help me.
Basically, in Auto mode when using normal metering, it works fine. As soon as I click on Spot and try to take a picture, the shutter locks up and i need to release it manually (as though the battery was flat) however, if i Spot then clear, it works.
In manual , when I do multi-spot, it does not seem to want to average them. i.e. the >|< indicator does not move.
Is all this normal? Is there something simple I am forgetting, or does it look like a problem with the Spot circuitry?
Please help… I'm out of ideas
Many thanks
Matteo
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Hi Matteo. Do you have a full manual? Are you using spot in manual or auto mode? If in manual mode you will need to adjust the aperture and/or shutter to set the bar graph tip to the fixed point between the arrows. Looking back at my old comments on here I had an issue with the self-timer ” I had a similar problem once and I discovered that the self timer lever was not completely turned off – the little button on the top much be fully in, not sticking up. From memory the mirror locks up when the self-timer is engaged to reduce vibration, but I can’t find anything about this in the manual.”
Stephen
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Thanks for the review! I have a Minolta X-700 which although a lovely camera isn’t in the same league as this.Your photo’s look fantastic you are obviously a very good photographer I doubt I could get close despite using film cameras for 30 years now!
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Thanks, I would love to try an X-700 some day. Being a “good photographer” is a very subjective thing, also for many including me the process is just as important as the result.
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Hi! Thanks for the review! I am in the same situation as you do with the focusing screen! Can you let me know what kind of focusing screen were you looking for? I am not so worried about the price but the kind of model I should find! And besides, how did you manage to change it? Did you send the camera to service? Thanks a lot.
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Hi,
I have got the most typical screen at the end of the day. The one with the split screen in the middle.
Changing is really easy if you know how to do it. A guy who brought me the replacement screen popped out the old one and replaced with the new in about 20 seconds with bare hands. I am pretty sue that you can find instructions online. As I said you should be able to do it yourself.
Cheers
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Thank you so much for your article and website. My father left me his OM-4 Ti with about 5 different lenses.
I am no camera junky but I remember my dad loving this camera and so I would love to pick it up and start using it and you have inspired me to do just that.
I was thinking at first to try and use the lenses on a new Olympus DSLR with a mounting ring kit, if that is at all possible. P.S please let me know if it is.
After reading this article I think I will give this original set up a try as I never look at all those digital photos we take anyway so to make every shot count is a much nicer way to think about photography.
Do you have any videos of you using and setting up your OM4Ti camera as I would be an avid watcher and student if you did.
Much respect
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Hi,
Yes, I have an OM to Canon EOS adapter ring. It works very well, it even gives focus feedback.
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Nice review, and a beautiful OM-4Ti. I started with OMs in the 70s, and finally got an OM-4Ti champagne model in the 90s – truly an amazing camera. Mine endured many extreme conditions and never failed. I sold it along with most of my OM gear to fund my move to OM-Ds, but kept an OM-1 and a few lenses. Your are right to seek the 85/2 – a very special lens, and one of my favourites, along with the 21/3.5. Reading this has made me dig some film out of the freezer and load up my OM-1… 🙂
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Very nice pictures and review.
The spot metering is great. The other great feature of the OM series is that it meters off the film, during the actual exposure. For long exposures at night this turns out to be way better than anyone else’s; and I formerly though Nikon (FE, FA, F3 etc) were the gold standard.
And if you only buy one more Zuiko lens, get the 40mm pancake. A pro-caliber SLR you can carry in your jacket pocket? Yes, please.
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I am sorry to learn that your Olympus OM4Ti appears to have failed due to the electronics. This is always a risk with older electronic cameras viz Leica R3 & 4, Canon EF (1973-77) etc. The only electronic cameras I trust for my work as an International Environmental Journalist are the Nikon F3 models. They have a very well deserved reputation for longevity especially with the electronics. I carry two bodies, one has a prism and the other a waist level finder to keep the weight down. I use the Lithium CR1/3N 3v batteries and always have a least four in my bag for trips abroad. I don’t use the MD4 motor drive. I have no use for it and would despise the weight. I use 24/2.8, 35/2, and 135/2.8 lenses, I have no need of others. Of course I’m aware that with the Olympus OM system, there is a considerable saving in weight, however for sheer toughness I feel the Nikon F3 takes some beating! You can still buy new ones for £2500 at Grays of Westminster in London (“last of the brand new stock” shouts the old boy!) There’s a lot of them about, they were made from 1980 to 2001/2 and I have yet to see one on sale that did not work. Stay away from the special ones, they perform no better than the standard ones for far less money. Even brassy ones work just fine. My pair, like the lenses were bought well used and continue to work fine. They will outlive me.
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Since posting the last comment my OM-2n has joined the heavenly host, as well.
I shoot Nikon digitally, and have an FM body for film. The last thing I need is an F3, but I’ve always wanted one….
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Hi Steve, I am sorry to hear about your OM-2n. It seems all good things eventually come to an end. Although I wonder how long would a modern digital camera work? I had couple of them which have not passed the 10 years mark. I guess your Olympus served it’s time quite a bit loner than that already. I have a bit more trust towards the Nikons though. The F3 I have tested seems to be a very rugged camera but it is indeed quite large compare to the OM system. I guess your little FM is a good compromise though. I have switch over to fully mechanical cameras to be on the safe side. Nowadays I rotate between a Leica M2 and the Pentacon Six TL. Of course I shoot digitally as well.
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