Olympus OM1, OM2, OM2S Program, OM4 | Which Is The Best One To Buy In Year 2022?

[@GB-ez6ge]

The meter needle framing on the OM1 has positions that show 1/2 or 1 stop increments, so yes, you can do exposure compensation. Another way it to change the ISO/ASA dial accordingly. And, of course, there's the old-fashioned aperture and shutter stop positions, requiring one to count.

[@matts3690]

Several things you have stated are not true. Having spent some time discussing the OM with some old school original service techs. There are two things I wanted to address, the OM2n is regarded as a reliable camera and the OM2s has a constant drain, regardless of it you place it in B or manual shutter 60 or not. The only way to get around this issue is to take the batteries out. Due to the short production life of the OM2s this was never addressed. Also, the PCB with the om2s is a concern in itself, they are known to fail and then the camera is merely an expensive paperweight as they cannot be serviced if/when they fail. Hope this doesn't sound rude I am just looking to correct incorrect information.

[@fezzes428]

you sound extremely knowledgeable in the world of the om system so i hope you can help me. i have an om-1 with missing bottom plate screws and i have no idea what their size is so i can replace them. would you know what size they are? thanks

[@archiemcewan9500]

I have all of the above Olympus models reviewed and would agree with the foam problem that occurs with om 1s and 2s , however in terms of reliability I've never had any real problems regarding battery drain or serious mechanical problems and I've been using them for years , the exception to this being the om 4 t i were I had to have it repaired due to film advance mechanism jamming the shutter, I don't know if this is an issue with the om 4 t I in general , I was informed that Olympus couldn't have designed are more awkward film advance/ shutter mechanism if they tryed ! 29:41

[@davidsanderson3693]

I recently purchased an OM2SP and it automatically turns off the meter after 20 sec of non-use. Touching the shutter lightly turns it back on.

[@vincenzocherubini2424]

Stunned that you were able to get the OM4 for that price. Very lucky! Regards battery drain, all the early 4's had this. However, the later models were fine, whilst none of the Ti's suffered from this. That was the main reason that i got the Ti model even though i already had the 4. All in all though, as a user and owner of all the OM cameras, in my opinion the 4 series still ranks as one of the best cameras ever made.

[@devroombagchus7460]

Thanks. I enjoyed this video. I agree that mechanical cameras are in the long run more reliable. Easier to fix, because chips and transistors don't have any screws. The draining problem is true for the earlier M4 models and damaged the camera's reputation. The 8 spotmeter values are for me a gimmick. I am sure they will give you a perfect average, but that average might not be what you want. If the scene is outside of the film's dynamic range, the perfect average will give you bleached highlights and/or black shadows. What I do appreciate in my M4Ti are the light and dark buttons. Spotmeter at the snow, press light and the camera will expose leaving the snow white, not 18% grey.

[@blankslate1198]

This review is a fair start but has a whole lot of half-truths, incomplete coverage of the models, and little nuance in describing details and capabilities. There's a lot of frantic fiddling and banging to distract us viewers, too. Oh, well....

[@TheGizmoGarage]

This video offers my own perspective. My opinions may not be 100% accurate.

[@paulfortman5834]

I have the OM-1n and OM-2n. Both are excellent cameras, but the OM-1n is my favorite. I am looking for a digital to add to my arsenal of cameras.

[@jcbraun3358]

hope it worked out 👏

[@forzatoro89]

The OM2-SP, OM3 and OM4 that have been serviced since late 80s (by Olympus or third parties) don't have the voltage leak problem, this is why you haven't

[@RhettAnderson]

The Pentax ME and the ME-derived SLRs are slightly smaller than the OM series. Very close, though.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Those MEs price has gone through the roof

[@RhettAnderson]

@@TheGizmoGarage I have bought several of them for $25-$50. Almost all in working order, all within the last 4 months

[@danc2014]

Me also have the screen decay problem. I also seen the selector switch break as for which camera ... It is more what lens you have.

[@sputumtube]

No mention of the OM3.... ?

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Overpriced collector's item... Not in my "best to buy" list. For the price of OM3 I'd recommend buying a Leica

[@htt2707]

@@TheGizmoGarage The OM3ti version is expensive, but you can get OM3 for a reasonable price. The non ti verwion is not titanium but has exactly the same specs - multi sport meter and mechanical body. I have the OM3 and its great - the best and most realiable camera I have ever had. I dont known if it had the same battery drain issue as OM4 - I put mine on B to turn of light meter and the batteries last months.

[@mynewcolour]

@@htt2707 Does the OM3 have the 2 series focus screen of the Ti cameras?

[@MrGibsonguy335]

The Nikon EM and FG cameras are slightly smaller than the OM-1.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Indeed, but they are considered lower end camera models back in the days, where OM-1 is their flagship model

[@blankslate1198]

The presenter sure bangs these cameras around a lot! And then he has a couple of broken ones...

[@dtcho100]

Yep, pretty unnecessarily rough with the cameras. Also, he gives incorrect info, as the OM-2 is much more reliable than the OM-2S/OM-2SP, which have serious battery drain issues.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Haha I promise I didn’t break them, they arrived dead and I tried to fix

[@hschmicknos]

What’s with all the background noise on your mic? Sounds awful

[@TheGizmoGarage]

I had to make the audio when I was driving, so it was tire noise, sorry!

[@TheTomco11]

Of course the om10, om20 etc are also worth considering. Though they might be a little less durable because of their use of plastic, they're consumer rather than professional so have likely been used much less

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Yes. As long as it loads film, doesn't leak light and exposes accurately and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, it's a good camera to play on.

[@alexeizhiltsov6797]

Great! Thanks a lot for a very useful review! I have om-1, om-2, and om-4. I fully agree with your assesment of the models, yet it is fun to play with all of them. Olympus made really great cameras, but I have to confess - I also love Nikon FM2! That is a legend, like OM1!

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Nothing wrong with enjoying different cameras, they exist to compete for attention! I've sold all my OM gears, and now collects mainly Minolta (XD5/XD7/X700)

[@RedHell2884]

Thanks for the video, but what if I asked you to choose one or two other Olympus cameras for me, combining mechanical and electrical features and many necessary specifications, knowing that I have the OM10? Thanks

[@TheGizmoGarage]

OM10 is great... You could go with OM2/OM2n for better look and build quality. My personal fav again is late batch OM4-Ti, absolutely the best user experience.

[@humdar]

Having used both, would you say the film advance lever on the OM-4 feels a lot "rougher" compared to the OM-1?

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Yes, a lot rougher, OM-1 was a lot smoother. But non of them can compare to smoothness of the lever on the Leica M-2 and M4-2 that I once owned.

[@timpipe]

​@@TheGizmoGarage the old Spotmatic were surprisingly smooth too.😊

[@vitorcalistosilva5949]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I've been using my OM2n for 5 years now, I really like using it but unfortunately is starting to develop some problems.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Unforturently, film cameras are more prone to tear and wear damage with use. Vintage cameras are even more so due to age and physical deterioration. My advise if you love your OM2n is to eventually find a backup OM2n just in case your current camera goes out of service.

[@mohammedakram4529]

I've had the OM4 since 1985. It's been one helluva camera. Takes superb pictures and the metering is outstanding.

[@icecoldpillow]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@ericpaapanen7076]

Question: Are the lenses compatible between the OM one and the OM4?

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Fully.

[@ericpaapanen7076]

Thanks for the info and thanks for putting together these helpful videos! I recently purchased a kit that includes an OM-1 camera body, and three Zuiko lenses, a 28mm, a macro zoom, and a 65-200mm telephoto. I bought this set as a backup for the OM-1n that I bought brand new 40 years ago with a 50mm lens (which still works great to this day!) I haven't shot film using any of the recently purchased gear yet, but just by inspection, everything seems to be ok, except for possibly the telephoto. I don't have any experience with telephoto lenses, so I'm not sure what to expect. With the exception of the telephoto, the view through the view finder through all the lenses is clear and they focus crisply. However, the view through the telephoto is blurry and somewhat grainy and I can't seem to achieve anything other than a very soft, blurry focus. The only part of the image in the view finder that seems to be in focus is one half of the split image range finder. I can line up the images in the range finder and achieve some level of focus, but the surrounding image still looks very grainy. The question is: Is this normal for telephoto lenses of this era? Should I expect a crisp image if I shoot film with this lens even though the image through the view finder is not optimal? Any suggestions you can offer are greatly appreciated! I feel like I might be doing something wrong with this telephoto lens because upon visual inspection, it looks great. There is no fungus, no scratches, no sign of physical damage, and the focus and zoom operate very smoothly. It looks brand new. @@TheGizmoGarage

[@plesio2830]

I don't like your promo at all you shutting cameras like you are very nervous person and every shut is killing life of the camera. I know while you talk you want to have some movements a front your digital camera, but better idea will be if you will make any research on internet and download some pictures or pages from magazine on this time when camera was made or something else then just shut cameras like crazy while you talk. It is not interesting your video at all

[@calvinchann1996]

A severe case of fidgets.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

Sorry, I like cameras as toys and I can not lie.

[@urwholefamilydied]

6:35 you have it backwards... if it's snow, you don't want to overexpose... you want to turn it down a bit because there's so much light. And if there's a black cat, you would want to OVERexpose, because it's black. You wouldn't want to underexpose.

[@TheGizmoGarage]

It could be confusing. Snow scene camera tends to Underwxpose, turn dial to +1 to +2. My black cat camera tends to Overexpose. Turn camera to -1 to -2 😀

[@urwholefamilydied]

@@TheGizmoGarage I see what you mean. The meter is getting confused with either really dark subjects or really bright subjects. So you want to do the opposite of what you would think.

[@gabedamien]

@UWFD: the host is correct here. When it is snowy, the meter will read a lot of light, so of course it will reduce the exposure (in auto mode) or tell you to reduce the exposure. The problem is, it tells you to reduce it too much. The meter wants to make snow middle grey, but in our photos we want snow to look white, not grey. In order to make snow look white, we have to tell the camera to expose brighter than it thinks is correct for the scene. This is what we call exposure compensation; we use +1 or +2 relative to what the camera meters as middle grey in order to get white snow instead of grey snow. Vice-versa for a black cat: the camera will raise the exposure to try to make the cat look middle grey, but it will raise the exposure too high. We need to tell the camera to drop the exposure -1 or -2 compared to what it meters, in order to end up with a black cat instead of a middle grey cat. Of course the exposure for the cat will use a slower shutter or bigger aperture than the exposure for the snow, but that is not what we are talking about. We are talking about compensating for the meter in each scene independently. For example, the camera might meter the cat at 1/60s, but we shoot it at 1/125. The camera might meter the snow at 1/500, but we shoot it at 1/250.

[@dtcho100]

No, you are incorrect. If you are photographing snow and want the snow to appear white, you need to overexpose given the meter will suggest exposure that will render the snow an 18% gray. Otherwise the snow will appear gray. If you underexpose, the snow will appear dark gray.

[@gabedamien]

@@dtcho100 that is literally what I said. EDIT: or were you responding to OP?