arhphotographic

Have you ever arranged to go somewhere on the basis of what others have told you about the location, got there and been thoroughly underwhelmed? That feeling of disappointment was what I encountered with the legendary Olympus OM1.

To be fair though my example was not exactly in prime condition. I detail here how I first cleaned the viewfinder to better appreciate its near 100% coverage of a scene.

In the image above you can see the film Rewind, mirror lockup (very welcome feature) and self timer levers.

The Olympus OM1 is a fully mechanical camera only requiring batteries for the light meter. Unfortunately it is so wildly out, about 6 stops, that it is impossible for me to use. However as someone who uses a hand-held light meter frequently, it was not a problem.

Unusually the dial on the top right is for setting the film speed. The shutter release is in a nice position contributing to a camera that does feel just right in the hand.

What really concerned me though was the film wind on lever. It feels so rough and sounds like grinding metal. So concerned was I that something was wrong I looked on the internet for a solution. I discovered this would appear to be quite normal behaviour.😮

Not only that but the shutter speed selector, situated around the lens mount, is very stiff. So much so that it is impossible to use as intended, while looking through the viewfinder. Instead I have to almost wrench it into position. 😦

The video below tries to highlight these two issues. When pressing the shutter release you can hear and feel a secondary click almost like the aperture is closing down to achieve exposure before actuating the shutter. Is this normal behaviour for the OM1??

The issue with the speed selector is clearly related to lack of use and incorrect storage. But all the issues compounded together made for a strong feeling of disappointment. They did make me question whether to use the camera at all. What possible good would result from using the camera? But we are talking about the ground breaking OM1. Breaking, yes I can appreciate that. Ground breaking??

Very good question! Let’s find out. I used a 50mm f1.8 Zuiko for some images but predominantly used the slower 35 – 70mm f4 Zuiko lens.

Looking at the images coming out of the OM1 I can genuinely say I am flabbergasted. 😯

Despite the state of disrepair/mulfunction, the camera is still able to reward me with images just as I wanted them!! True, I was using a hand-held light meter for the exposure, but the shutter speeds had not been examined beforehand for their integrity. Clearly nothing wrong with them.😀

Very little, if any post processing of the images I’ve included, stand testimony to a very capable camera/ lens combination.

So maybe a woeful example of the OM1 but a true winner in my opinion.

I wonder what an OM2 is like?