40-year anniversary of OM system

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This year 2012 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the OM system. Rumor has it that Olympus will release a new line of digital OM system (OM-D) to mark this anniversary. Just like what happened to the EP-Pen series. But that is for the future.

From Wikipedia:

"The Olympus OM System was a line of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras, lenses and accessories sold by Olympus between 1972 and 2002 (some accessories were sold through early 2003). ... The range was designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, chief designer for Olympus, and his staff. ... The first model introduced was the all-mechanical M-1, which after pressure from Leica was renamed OM-1. ..."

I only start using OM camera since 2010 and really like it. Maitani's design is simply beautiful. The camera is compact and fits right in my hand. Using rings to control shutter speed and aperture so that you can keep your eyes on the viewfinder all the time. And OM lens has their own reputation, obviously.

I'll start posting the photos that were taken using OM cameras during my 2 months of staying and traveling in Europe. Shooting about 24 rolls of negative films. Hope the series could demonstrate how the 40-year-old camera system is still capable of sketching the moments.
Camera: OM1 and OM2-MD
Lens: OM 28mm f2.8 / 35mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.4 (1million+ series)
Lightmeter: Sekonic L-308S Flashmate
Film: various brand of negative film, color & BW

Side note: Though the camera's metering is still quite accurate, I prefer using an external light meter to decide "correct" exposure. Not much slower though, since you're already slow when using a manual focus camera!

So, our first stop - Paris:

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More to come... Thank you for viewing

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Our next stop - Leverkusen, Germany

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Next stop - Köln (Cologne), Germany





One more pic @ Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof

[SilentSeth]

Wow. Beautiful. Reminding me to the photos in the 60-70's issue of Life magazine.

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Wow. Beautiful. Reminding me to the photos in the 60-70's issue of Life magazine.

Thanks a lot! Guess it is the old look from film that is hard to be reproduced in Photoshop..

[SilentSeth]

Yea my late grandpa have that "best of" issue of Life magazine. Basically it consists of photos appeared in Life magazine from around 1960 to 1980. Can't really remember the exact year.

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Our next stop - Ladenburg, Germany

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Our next stop - Weinheim, Germany

The garden / Schau-und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof

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German houses

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The streets

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View from the ruined castle / Burgruine Windeck Schlossberg

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Our next stop - Heidelberg, Germany

City by the River Neckar



Over the bridge





Beautiful view from the Philosophers' Walk

[ricohflex]

Good pics.
Like postcard.
I appreciate the OM design by Maitani.

[analox]

Thanks a lot

[pikapig]

From all that i see....its really not about the gear but the person behind the camera....with or without OM...ur pics are excellent i bet!

The sunset shots really need skills and imagination to execute...nicely done~!

oh..saying that...OM1n is the only camera that i still hold on to, compared to the rest of the SLR...
50mm f1.8 is the lens i didnt sold away either... Its enough...this lens alone!

[analox]

From all that i see....its really not about the gear but the person behind the camera....with or without OM...ur pics are excellent i bet!

The sunset shots really need skills and imagination to execute...nicely done~!

oh..saying that...OM1n is the only camera that i still hold on to, compared to the rest of the SLR...
50mm f1.8 is the lens i didnt sold away either... Its enough...this lens alone!

Thank you for your kind words. I'll try to share more my experience of using OMs on my trip here. There are pros n cons in using manual film SLR on the entire trip though. Most importantly, it is probably the amount of concentration and awareness when holding and focusing with the OM lens. (hard to explain, haha)

Just want to share some tips for using film camera on travel (which I learned though the discussions in CS, just repeat them again ):
- Carry two bodies: one loaded with normal film (ISO 100-200), one with fast film (ISO 400-800). Or one with color, one with BnW film.
- Use sunny-16-rule: "On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to [1/ISO film speed] for a subject in direct sunlight". Meaning on sunny scene, I shot at 1/800s, f/16 for Fuji NPZ 800 film. On cloudy day, go with f/8. On shade, f5.6. And at night, probably f2 or f1.4.
- Use hyperfocus: meaning that if I use a 28mm lens at f/11, set the focus at 3m, then everything from 1.5m to infinity will be in focus. Thanks to the focus scale on OM lens

No shutter lag, time to focus, metering, etc... With these rules, it is even faster and easier than shooting by Point-n-Shoot camera, I guess.

@pikapig: congrats on your new bronica MF btw (I just read your blog). I used to carry such system (1 body sq-b, 3 lenses 50/80/150) on my trip to Bali. Kinda heavy and slow. But worth the experience though

[pikapig]

Thank you for your kind words. I'll try to share more my experience of using OMs on my trip here. There are pros n cons in using manual film SLR on the entire trip though. Most importantly, it is probably the amount of concentration and awareness when holding and focusing with the OM lens. (hard to explain, haha)

Just want to share some tips for using film camera on travel (which I learned though the discussions in CS, just repeat them again ):
- Carry two bodies: one loaded with normal film (ISO 100-200), one with fast film (ISO 400-800). Or one with color, one with BnW film.
- Use sunny-16-rule: "On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to [1/ISO film speed] for a subject in direct sunlight". Meaning on sunny scene, I shot at 1/800s, f/16 for Fuji NPZ 800 film. On cloudy day, go with f/8. On shade, f5.6. And at night, probably f2 or f1.4.
- Use hyperfocus: meaning that if I use a 28mm lens at f/11, set the focus at 3m, then everything from 1.5m to infinity will be in focus. Thanks to the focus scale on OM lens

No shutter lag, time to focus, metering, etc... With these rules, it is even faster and easier than shooting by Point-n-Shoot camera, I guess.

@pikapig: congrats on your new bronica MF btw (I just read your blog). I used to carry such system (1 body sq-b, 3 lenses 50/80/150) on my trip to Bali. Kinda heavy and slow. But worth the experience though

I think im still at the stage of gear exploring and the fun of different equipment....need to start shooting more n shoot properly...

thanks for the tips

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Our next stop: Offenbach, Germany. Not a recommended place for tourist but it is the place in Germany that I'm most familiar with.

The Marktplatz

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On a foggy morning, here is the bus stop at Offenbach Ost station




Old street in autumn