Gerald Irwin
Auckland, New Zealand
Sydney, Australia

I have been a photographer since 1979. I started out with an OM-10.Through the years I have used OM-20s and various OM/non-OM lenses. While travelling through New York I purchased a new Zuiko 70-210 Zoom lens. During my travels to Melbourne I found and purchased a used OM-4. I still have an OM-20 as a backup camera. Recently I purchased an Zuiko 35-105
zoom via Ebay, again from New York.

My fondest moments through these years have been captured with OM equipment and
people have marvelled at the images. The current digital camera systems don't come into my thinking just now, as they are far too inadequate for me.

Some think that because it's digital and expensive, it takes better pictures. Not so! It's people who take better pictures, not cameras. You can spend a fortune on any type of camera gear, and still take lousy pictures. But an artist, (yes, photography is an art form, albeit a technical one) with a versatile system like the OM system, can indeed make a picture utter a thousand
words.

Congratulations for a system that has out-lived many of its rivals, and my cameras still function as if new. I've once dropped an OM-10 while running across a road, but apart from some scratches on the base-plate, it didn't seem to notice! The cheap Tokina zoom lens never recovered though! That's why I have no concerns that this gear will still out-live me! (have you seen my driving recently?).

I hope that Olympus will rescind its decision not to support the OM system anymore. Especially after they release a new OM5/6 camera that has the same OM bayonet mount, same flash shoe/system, with a retro-fitting optional Digital Databack 5, and sporting a 35mm 512MPixel digital sensor array. This (fictitious) system would send all camera makers back to the drawing board!

Thanks again for the memories...

26 November 2004

Gregg Iverson, USA
Equipment : OM-1 MD, OM-4T

I spent two wonderful summers (1977, 1978) shooting OM-1 cameras at a summer camps the camp photographer. More than B&Ws developed. I married the Director's daughter! Now my children use one of the OM-1s. The other OM-1 was traded in on an OM-4T in 1991. Sometimes I even let them use the OM-4T!

25 April 2000

Ray Moth, Indonesia (originally from England)
Equipment : OM-2 Spot/Program (aka OM-2S)

I selected Olympus as my preferred system because of its elegant design and its TTL/OTF light measurement for both daylight and flash. In my opinion this concept, more than any other, made Olympus SLR cameras superior to most others for many years.

I have a very modest OM system, consisting of one OM-2S body, a Winder 2, a T-32 Flash with extension cord and two Zuiko lenses: 28mm f2.8 and 35-70mm f4, which are excellent. I would like to experiment with wider angle Zuiko lenses (18mm, 21mm, 24mm) but I haven't yet found a used one for a reasonable price - they're pretty expensive new, though I don't doubt they're worth it.

I previously owned an OM2n, which was very good but, in my opinion, inferior in its lack of spot metering, its use of CdS cells for the light meter and its lack of mirror lock-up. I changed to an OM-2S in 1985. I'm an amateur photographer and the 2S offers an ideal combination of features for me. I like the fact that the 2S uses silicon blue cells for both the meter and OTF light measurement and, of course, that it uses spot metering in manual mode, as well as having mirror lock-up when using the self-timer.

The only real complaint I have about the 2S is that the batteries run down alarmingly quickly. This happens without warning: I've never known the battery check light to blink when acitivated - it's either red or dead! Problem is, you can't get silver oxide (SR44) in Indonesia and alkaline cells (LR44) are not good enough. Minor complaints are that the film advance and the shutter speed ring on the 2S are both stiffer and less pleasant to operate than on the 2N. Other than that, the 2S is a beatifully designed SLR camera, which is small, light, easy to use and is strong enough to withstand frequent use. In combination with my Zuiko lenses, it reliably produces excellent pictures if I do my part.

25 April 2000