Oly35mm Review - OM 4 Ti

Along with the OM-3 Ti, this is the pinnacle of Olympus film technology. Eight spot metering readings can be taken at a time and both high and low key scenes can be programmed in.

[@oly35mm]

***PLEASE NOTE*** The Oly35mm 2015/16 project is now closed and I will not be answering any more comments (as from 1st April 2017). Thank you to all who have taken the time to watch these videos, and a special thank you to everyone who commented, or added extra information to them. I wish you all many happy years of using film, or any other photography you enjoy. Cheers Oly

[@markyoung8153]

HI. Used these professionally for more than 20 years. Perhaps this may help understand the spot meter more clearly: The spot meter will allocate a value to what you measure and place a dot above that value on the bar. The hovering dot is to indicate where the next value will be placed at that precise moment if you press the spot button again. The lcd bar will then come to a stop between the two values indicating the shutter speed computed as an average betrween the two reradings. Take more and the dotted bar will show you the computed average of all the readings taken witht he dots showing you where you have taken readings. So, the hovering dot is a real time measurement of what is within the 2% metering area (approx the microprism collar area). The dotted bar graph display is the computed average between all readings taken up that point or-if you taken more than 8 - the last 8 readings. Memo and clear: I used to remember the clear and memo functions as: Pull away from prism (i,e, "Out" of the camera) clears spot readings (takes them "out" of memory) and pressing collar in towards camera stores measurements "in" the camera. Highlight will make the brightest spot taken to that point and compute a shutter speed to ensure that tone appears white. Shadow will take the darkest spot taken to that point and set a speed to make that appear black. On batteries - ran an original OM4 (still do) and never drained batteries if, as you say, store the camera in the bag with shutter speed ring set to red B or red mechanical 60th speed (for when batteries are drained Same for 4Ti. Great photographic tools.

[@oly35mm]

Mark: this is fantastic information. Thank you for taking the time to explain the complexity in such an easily understandable way.

[@markyoung8153]

+oly 35mm Glad my ramblings were useful. Apologies for typos-was in field on a tablet. One further point to anyone buying second-hand. At the 9-o-clock position on the lens mount (below the red lens alignment indication) is a spring-loaded black plastic pin. This activates the spot meter function when a lens is mounted and clears the stored spot information when the lens is removed. If off-brand lenses have been used on the camera and they had exposed screw heads between the red alignment dot on the top of the lens and the depth of field tab of the lens (i.e. between the 12-o-clock and 20-past position) then this pin could have been scoured-away enough to prevent the camera from activating the spot meter function. You will then only have real-time off-the-film metering and the spot meter button may seem inoperative. As far as I know these pins are no longer available OEM. You could re-build the pin with epoxy to restore spot function. Short point: Only use OM lenses on the OM4 or OM3 or lenses without any screw heads between 12-o-clock and 20-past on the lens mount flange. Final point on the spot meter from my experience - By metering different areas multiple times you can give a bias to some areas while not discounting others. For example, you have a moody sky and a bride in a dress. Take two off the sky, three off her face and one off her dress. Press Hi-Light. Now you have a whiter dress but an exposure bias giving 30% more emphasis to her face than the sky. Brilliant system in my experience. Olympus advertised it as a camera for people who "make photographs" rather than just "taking pictures". Hope this has been of benefit. Enjoy the camera.

[@oly35mm]

+Mark Young: again, thanks. I really love this camera (as I did the OM-4 before it). It feels so good in the hand and is a joy to use. Further to your comments on lenses, and for anyone who is following this thread: I would strongly suggest buyers consider genuine Zuiko lenses. The look you get from them (in my opinion) just cannot be replicated by generic lenses. Run a roll of film through an old OM body and even the humble Zuiko 50mm f1.8, and you'll see why Mark and I are such advocates of Olympus OM products.

[@madebymrnda]

Mark Young well dang you wrote an actual book haha

[@irvvine]

Couple of minor corrections for those wondering: - tilting self-timer lever towards the lens only disables sound beeps (for every situation causing the beeps like battery check or overexposure warning), it has nothing to do with the self-timer itself, - apparently there is no way to make self-timer work quietly because disabling the beeps and enabling the self-timer is done by tilting the same lever in opposite directions, - 60 shutter speed positioned next to the B on the SS ring is not for flash, shutter speeds marked in red are mechanically-controlled shutter speeds, - flash-synced speeds are instead marked in blue on the ring (of course with the 280 dedicated flash all speeds are synced), - the camera will work without batteries - but without metering and only on 1/60 s or B when the mechanical shutter speed (red on the ring) is selected, - selecting one of the red SS ring positions requires unlocking them with a separate button on the bottom corner of the lens mount, - red SS ring positions also turn off light meter and LCD and prevent them from waking up anytime shutter release is pressed, - blinking dot in the viewfinder is not the target exposure, target exposure is indicated by the long bars below the dots; blinking dot shows where will the normal dot be placed when you press Spot button (so it indicates current ongoing meter reading, not yet added to the calculated exposure)

[@antoniof.8614]

I absolutely love the multi-spot feature, it feels so intuitive to me. Just measure your highlights and shadows and see whether it can all be properly exposed in the viewfinder display, which in my opinion is the true wonder of this camera.

[@oly35mm]

It is a treat to use and once you get used to all the dots it's quite intuitive.

[@antoniof.8614]

oly 35mm Yes, it's probably the best implementation of the idea.

[@paulqueripel3493]

Don't use lr44, alkaline batteries have a voltage curve where the voltage goes down with time. Silver oxide sr44 the voltage stays constant until they suddenly die.

[@oversharingturtle4462]

How does one find sr44 batteries? In Australia hardware stores don’t stock anything but lr44

[@davidsanderson3693]

@@oversharingturtle4462 Try that river in Brazil. They even have replacement batteries for the mercury ones used in the OM-1.

[@MatteoPreziosoPH]

After the OM-1, one of the greatest camera of all times (I will never be able to justify myself from buying an OM-3TI, hence the OM-4ti instead.) I have never used the highlight/shadow function, but when doing portraiture I always and exclusively use the spot metering one. It is just so perfectly precise. I love it. ...And once again, excellent review. You got one more subscriber for sure.

[@oly35mm]

Matteo: thanks for the kind words (and my apologies for the late reply). I personally feel the OM-3 and OM-3 Ti to be overpriced, especially when compared to the OM-4, which has the same features and an auto setting (oh, and a self timer).

[@MatteoPreziosoPH]

oly 35mm Hi, once again I cannot not agree with what you say re: OM-3(ti). I cannot deny I would love to get my hands on an all-mechanical up to 1/2000th shutter camera, but I also must justify such purchase. Maybe one day I'll go for an OM-3 (I'll forget the TI tight away) BUT and IF only at an acceptable price. Meanwhile, Im having so much fun with the OM-4TI and an almost brand new OM-4 whichI recently bought on a lucky found (I just have to remember of putting the shutter dial on the red 'B' or '60' to avoid drainage battery and that's that. Love this camera, the exposure meter is out of this world. Regards, Matteo

[@oly35mm]

I understand Matteo Prezioso and have to admit I'm in the minority with my thoughts on the OM-3 (as you can see by the prices they fetch). We all have different needs/wants and it's not as though the OM-3 is a bad camera (in fact, it's the opposite). I hope you find one at the right price one day.

[@melvinch]

Fantastic video ! Olympus should really make a no-fuss digital OM-4 in my opinion just for the purists in us.

[@oly35mm]

Thanks Melvin. Mmm, how about an E-M4. Conceptually like the new Pen-F, but with no-fuss RAW, rather than a JPEG bias. No art filters, or story features, just muti spot metering clever HDR.

[@ivarhakuse8572]

Very informative about the spot meter. I had a problem understanding it myself

[@dragontone]

Hey Oly35mm, Thanks, that is great help. It has been planing for some time to find which of the Olympus OM body's would work best for me. In Europe film camera are becoming chipper and there are a lot of good camera out there to buy. but I am in love with the OM system, it's design and enjoying using it making great pictures. So I am planing to buy the OM1n | OM2n | OM2SP | OM4Ti, with lens ext. I have so far both the Om2n and the om4Ti body's with motor drive 2, which I had to do some fixing too (Cleaning Contact ext.) but are now working well and are great to use. Tanks for all the reviews that have been great helpful to me and those who where to young to remember how to use film cameras. All the best from Jonathan William Fay

[@oly35mm]

My pleasure Jonathon William Fay. The OM-1n is a great choice: fully manual, easy to use, and robust. I'm personally not a fan of the OM-2 SP and prefer the OM-40 (no spot metering, but a great ESP setting for exposure). I've had two OM-2 SPs, and l although they gave me good results I had to get them both repaired (one twice).

[@timgrist2238]

Great video. Bought mine in 1988. It's a gem.

[@oly35mm]

Agreed. I love using mine.

[@AhmadThabet-qw1kc]

The OM4 was upgraded to OM4 Ti in 1997, as you have mentioned. Please high light the differences between the OM4 and the OM4 Ti, which I have owned one back in the year 2000. The main difference is the Titanium Body that made it the most compact, versatile and light weight professional camera, among all other Japanese made cameras at that time, including Nikon, Canon and Pentax, by far. Many Thanks for the very good technical assessment and accept my Best Regards.

[@TrollMeister_]

The Olympus OM-4 with Zuiko 35-80/2.8 and Zuiko 24/2 was my workhorse kit during my film days. I held on to film photoraphy (Fuji Velvia 50) for a long time until full frame cameras became "affordable" . It was only in 2010 that I went 100% digital

[@flaminx0r]

I have been using an OM-1n for nearly 10 years and love it. This camera looks interesting but seems quite complex in terms of exposure features, do you think they are worthwhile? The fact that you quoted it drinks battery power could be annoying also. Great review!

[@oly35mm]

There is a reasonable learning curve with 8 spot metering choices and both high and low key options. I always find (and the Zone System is my Achilles heel here) that it makes perfect sense when you read the book/manual, but as soon as you get into the field it all flies out of my head. If you love the OM-1 for its simplicity, then maybe an OM-2n is a better alternative than the OM-4.

[@dragontone]

Hey Oly35mm, happy new year. Something that is on my mind! I am planning to buy an OM2SP for the missing caps and battery covers for my OM4, What I am wounding is the OM2SP worth keeping for my OM system collection. This camera has a lot of bad press, but at the same time every one who has one said that it is a great camera to use, strong and well made! Looking at reviews of this OM camera it has become a joke with OM system users and I don't know what to think about this camera? All the best Jonathan William Fay

[@oly35mm]

I have owned two OM-2 SPs and, in comparison to the OM-2n, it does not have the same intuitive feel of great engineering. I'm not the biggest fan of the OM-2 SP, but they've always taken good shots for me.

[@TrollMeister_]

Were you a member of the Olympus Mailing List ? It was a popular list that ran during the 90s and 2000s. I was a member.

[@nicksingh333]

Just got one the other day. Nice little summary of information.

[@oly35mm]

Nick: apologies for the late response. Thanks for the positive feedback.

[@DennisSulz]

It's NOT TTL like you mentioned it is OTF metering on this camera. It is that way on my OM 4T

[@SatumangoTheGreat]

Technically it is both. It's Trough The Lens (TTL) and Off The Film (OTF).

[@jonvincentmusic]

What I want to know is where you found such pristine examples of all these cameras, and found such pristine examples quick enough to churn a video out about one of them every few days/weeks.

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

My OM-4 drains batteries regardless of whether or not it is powered on. Apart from that, it is a good camera.

[@dragontone]

Hey Oly, I have a plan how to fix this. I have a broken OM3Ti battery cover that fits my camera so plan to make a new base on the battery cover fit. Tanks again for all your help. Jonathan William Fay Ps. Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year.

[@oly35mm]

Excellent! Good luck.

[@MrGibsonguy335]

All the OM-4 and OM-2SP cameras have mechanical shutter speeds 1/60 and Bulb. No batteries needed.

[@swansong789-sk6if]

I think you would more accurate saying the OM4 had BATTERY DRAIN not LEAKAGE. leakage suggest acid getting inside the camera battery chamber, which is not the case. Basically the batteries just run done quickly.

[@nicksingh333]

Also did you get the sunny 16 film from Film Never Die in Melbourne?

[@oly35mm]

Yes. I believe it's re-badged Agfa Vista 400.

[@icare4u77]

hey, can you simply auto metering for street photography without headhake ?Thank you.

[@dragontone]

Hey Oly35mm, would you know if any of the other OM systems battery caps would fit OM the om4 body, I have been looking for one for my OM4 but can not find one for sale in Europe/world. When I was looking I found out that the OM10/OM20/OM30/OM40 all fit the same cap! All the best from Jonathan William Fay in cold, wet, Ireland.

[@oly35mm]

The battery cover is a tricky one. It is smaller than the OM-2n (I've never owned an OM-2, but I'm guessing it is the same) and the consumer OM-XX models. The OM-1 took a PX625, so that's no use either. I'm guessing the OM-3 and Ti models will fit, but they are probably even harder to find. The motor drive cover is interchangeable, so you could use that to get you by. Maybe your local camera repairer can help.

[@selgeaus]

Are you located in Melbourne? I have a silver model of this camera in very good condition I'm interested in selling.

[@oly35mm]

Yes I am, but I must admit I'm selling most of my collection, and am only buying lenses now. Good luck with the sale.

[@hifzhanharish9054]

Have u sold it?

[@AhmadThabet-qw1kc]

The Spot metering dot readings are not shown in the view finder, once I press the Spot Meter button, please advise the reason why. Many Thanks & Best Regards.

[@alanread6596]

Exellent video

[@GeorgMierau]

I'm looking for a way to remove the shutter button cap (a piece of plastic with a hole in it) of an OM 4-Ti. Do you know one?

[@oly35mm]

Georg: try olympus.dementix.org/Hardware/

[@GeorgMierau]

Thank you.

[@EinerVonDenen]

Quick question mate: If this is your second most favorite camera, which is your favourite?

[@oly35mm]

The OM-1. I just love the combination of engineering, simplicity, and ruggedness. It was my first review on this channel if you are interested in viewing it.

[@EinerVonDenen]

+oly 35mm Ha, glad to read this since the OM1 is exactly the camera I already own. ;) I am still thinking about either getting a OM2sp, OM2n or OM4ti. I guess you would prefer the OM4ti out of these. Do you have any experiences with OM2s at all? Couldn´t find a video about this on your channel yet.

[@oly35mm]

The OM-2(n) is number 3. I owned an OM-2n for a few years and loved it. I haven't reviewed it, as there are plenty of good reviews on KZbin already. I do cover it (and the OM-2 SP) a little in the OM Series Overview. I must confess to not being much of an OM-2 SP fan. It's okay, but I would suggest you compare it to the OM-40 (I have a review on that, and it's number 4).

[@marklion315]

Did Olympus never make a more modern film SLR? Nothing with AF or matrix metering?