Olympus OM10 with Kodak Portra 800

I take a look at the Olympus OM10 and pair it with Kodak Portra 800 film. This is a great first camera for a beginner in Film/Analogue Photography who wants to use manual settings. Kodak Portra 800 was a little tricky to shoot with but I love the grain in this stock. The colours that Portra 800 produce are simply beautiful. Overall it was a joy to shoot with the Olympus OM10, I highly recommend other film enthusiasts to give it a try.
In this video, we shoot some street photography in Cardiff and a couple of portraits in Newport, Wales. At the end, you'll find a couple more shots from London and various other places.
Have any favourite shots? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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Chapters
00:00 - 01:26 - Introduction to the Olympus OM10
01:27 - 02:13 - Kodak Portra 800 + Loading Film
02:14 - 05:42 - The Streets of Cardiff
05:43 - 07:11 - Shooting Portraits
07:12 - 08:22 - Final Thoughts
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If you use the link provided to buy Kodak Portra 800 I will receive a small commission which goes towards running this channel. Thank you.

[@MattJNeale]

I totally forgot to mention that the lens that came with this camera is the Zuiko 50mm f/1.8.

[@MattJNeale]

@Kwaku Marfo Hi there Kwaku, thanks for subscribing! With regards to the sharpness it could be a combination of things. I usually shoot in manual mode so for me the manual adapter does make a difference. I like to have control of my shutter speed as sometimes in auto mode the camera makes a weird guess and ruins the shot. This day was also pretty bright and I was shooting with an 800 ISO film. This meant I could shoot at aperture f/8 - f/11 making the focal range much deeper, in turn making it easier to get a tack sharp image. The final thing that could make a difference is development of the film. I’ve had some poor developers before which really makes a difference. I now use these amazing guys at AG Photolab and they really know how to do a good job. Hope this helps! There’s another Olympus OM10 video coming next week so look out for that :)

[@MattJNeale]

You’re very welcome Kwaku!

[@paulinamolinari4099]

the portraits were insane

[@MattJNeale]

I’m glad you liked them Paulina, thank you

[@wearetheunknown8162]

My Dads camera when I was a kid, I loved using it. He traded it for a point and shoot Olympus. Fortunately I found one a two years back, so cool to use it. Given it to my oldest son to use. Absolutely love your videos, your pictures are fantastic. Top man.

[@Connorpei]

Love that last shot of her eye through the mirror. Very well composed! Always wanted to dive I to film properly

[@MattJNeale]

Thanks Connor. Do it, you won’t regret it!

[@GavinLyonsCreates]

Splendid stuff, lovely portraits in there. OM's are great cameras which ever one you go for. (oh btw skillful backward driving very impressed! yet to master it myself.)

[@MattJNeale]

Thanks a lot Gavin. Yeah the backwards driving is a bit tricky to be honest haha

[@elodiejb6819]

Amazing. I also have the Olympus OM10 ! I love this camera ! I'm still learning :)

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you. I think it’s a great camera to learn on, hope you continue to grow and have fun with film!

[@christiankollo]

bro u just make me cry with those portrait!

[@Marcffoto]

Love this bro!

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you Marc mate!

[@Amphibian_006]

Those portraits were great!

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you very much! I enjoyed making them :)

[@nick-w]

Very cool and nice portraits!

[@MattJNeale]

Cheers Nick!

[@dasbe2061]

amazing pics mate!

[@MattJNeale]

thanks man

[@tomtafola4518]

Fantastic video

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you Tom

[@brentonc8752]

OM systems cameras are magnificent. They strive for compactness and flexibility I love everything from my om10 to my micro 4/3 digitals.

[@RobotNick64]

I use this camera with the manual adapter and you inspired me a lot! Nice street photography! Regards from Germany

[@MattJNeale]

Thanks, appreciate the support!

Bro! the 7:07 shot! What??? Fire 👏🏼👏🏼

[@neilpiper9889]

I have an Om10 with a 35 to 70 F4 Zuiko lens. A very useful and versatile film camera. I use my Nikon D40x digital camera with a 18 70 afs DX lens more because film and processing is so expensive.

[@IIIJoeBrownIII]

Nice! I just got an om-10, going to take it around lovely photogenic Cardiff with me too 💚

[@MattJNeale]

Great camera and great place to use it mate! I should do more photography in Cardiff myself.

[@IIIJoeBrownIII]

@@MattJNeale meetup might be fun :)

[@Mc007Queen]

I bought one at Value Village in Windsor Ontario for $49 and it came with a bag mint condition Olympus om10 camera with the adapter and the Flash and the original owners manual original strap that was on it

[@user-cl1eu8ps8b]

nice!

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you!

[@steefanoable]

Really nice review! I would like to get the Olympus OM-10, what battery do you suggest I buy, I heard the original one is no longer available. Thanks, regards!

Amazing man! Im looking for my first film camera but it is been hard! I would love a rangefinder... do you know here I can get one?

[@MattJNeale]

Thank you man. I would try eBay or another auction site. If shops are open where you are you can also try charity shops / thrift stores / car boot sales etc to find bargains!

[@FrancoEnElMedio]

Great video Better photos. I have a question. Do you set the iso on 800 or 400?

[@MattJNeale]

Hey there, thanks a lot. I set the iso to 800. Straight and standard for this video. In future I’m going to be doing more pushing / pulling and see how that works out.

[@DDavy2014]

Hi Matt. Lovely pictures I also have an Olympus OM10 and have been using it for about a year. Sometimes I find my photos come out great and other times totally over exposed or blurry. Do you have any tips for me with this camera? Your photos are so crisp What aperture f would you use for a bright day, usually 8-11? And does the manual adapter help you?

[@MattJNeale]

Hey, thank you! I would recommend looking into the exposure triangle if you haven’t already, it should help with learning what settings work for you. The other thing I would suggest is to invest in a good light meter. It will perform much more accurately than the camera’s built in light meter, which sometimes goes faulty. For a bright day I would usually use f/8.0, although it depends on the other settings, shutter and film speed. The manual adapter helps a lot, as otherwise the camera is semi-auto exposure, automatically choosing the shutter speed, which gives you much less control. So the manual adapter allows for ultimate exposure control. Hope you have fun with it!

[@DDavy2014]

@@MattJNeale thanks for the advice mate! Much appreciated. Great channel 👍🏼

[@missmithyt1465]

Hey I just bought this exact camera and I’m also using the same film you’re using in this video. My question is do you set the manual adapter while taking the shots and how?

[@MattJNeale]

Hey, congratulations you’re now the owner of a wonderful little camera! The manual adapter is usually sold separately and it manages the shutter speed, to change it simply turn the dial to the desired speed. You can use the light meter in camera or an external one to gauge your exposure settings. Hope that makes sense

[@exododivino]

What aperture do you use on portra 800? I have a doubt with my sekonic light meter, it’s always indicating 22f in ISO800, and I think that aperture in a sunny day, will probably trash the photo 😅 I’m newbie 😼📸

[@kevinvanhove5834]

love those types of portraits. i'm going to travel soon and would like a new 'simple' camera to get some nice shots in. how exactly does this camera work, not very familiar with a film roll? i don't know much about cameras. do you take a picture and then it comes out of the camera? or how do you upload them to your computer? thanks!

[@MattJNeale]

Hi there and thanks for the comment. So you’ll need to brush up on your knowledge of analogue photography. It’s fairly simple though once you get it. First purchase an analogue camera and a roll of film to get you started. When you’ve finished a roll of film you’ll need to get it developed. You can do this one of two ways. 1. Send it to a lab to develop or 2. Develop it yourself. I would highly recommend sending it to a lab if you’re new to film photography. I still send mine to a lab because of the convenience I require at the moment. Do some research on good labs near you. I also ask my lab to scan my frames and send it to me via email. That way I get the digital version of the files before I receive my developed film. You can scan it yourself to but you’ll need to purchase a decent scanner. Once I’m properly up and running I’m going to make a video about this process but it may be a little while before I do. Good luck and have fun with it!

[@kevinvanhove5834]

@@MattJNeale that’s great, thank you very much for the detailed answer. so there’s no way of seeing the picture straight after taking it i assume

[@MattJNeale]

@@kevinvanhove5834 No worries, and no there’s not. But that’s kinda the beauty of it, you’ll focus more on perfecting the elements as much as possible.

[@ShukuraOnline]

Enjoyed this video. What camera is on your chest? And how are you attaching it to your body?

[@MattJNeale]

Thanks - GoPro with a chest mount

[@MrRenanBraz]

I have an OM10 that is showing faults in the electrical part. I use the adapter to manually set the speed. Can you tell me if even without the electrical part working this adapter works normally to set the speed? Or if without the electrical part, how fast is the camera shooting.

[@MattJNeale]

To be honest with you I’m not so sure, I would recommend taking it to a camera shop to ask someone there. You can also just test it yourself with a cheap roll to see how they come out.

[@kevontewilliams3818]

What ISO, aperture and shutter speed did you set when you did the portrait of the young lady ??

[@MattJNeale]

The film speed is 800. That is effectively the ISO. For aperture and shutter I simply cannot remember I’m sorry. Most likely I used something like f/4 and 250-500 for shutter speed. This is just a guesstimate though… sorry I can’t be more certain. I need to invest in a notebook!

[@kevontewilliams3818]

@@MattJNeale it’s perfectly fine thanks so much

[@devroombagchus7460]

Thanks for the video and the nice images. I use my OM 10 as a point and shoot. The OM 20 has a shutter speed ring on the body around the lens mount. So no extra adapter anymore. However, I prefer not to have an extra ring around the lens, because the camera is so small that it means more fiddling. If necessary, the adapter is much easier to set.

[@MattJNeale]

You're very welcome. I hadn't thought of using my OM10 as a point and shoot. That's a great idea, perhaps there's a video there somewhere.. Thanks for the info.

[@devroombagchus7460]

@@MattJNeale Je vous en prie. 2 remarks: I usually use 400 film, so in daylight I can use f 11 or f 16. No more focusing issues for street photography. Olympus has a great tiny zoom, 35-70. Excellent lens, almost the size and weight of the standard 50mm. Vivitar has cheaper, but also very good lenses with an OM mount.Have fun!

[@MattJNeale]

@@devroombagchus7460 I have the FD 35-70 for my AE-1, love that lens. I’ll have to look at the Olympus one. I’m going to try using the OM10 as a street camera, thank you for the recommendation.

[@WoodPecker5454]

I paid £60 😭 a bit too much but im excited to use it

[@MattJNeale]

It might end up being a bargain in the end, you never know! I think it’s a great camera and worth £60 in very good condition

[@atosise]

6:36 your shadows are ready to fight :P

[@MattJNeale]

You’re right. I never noticed!

[@robertcraig3041]

My wife loves that shirt she was wearing in the park. Where did she get it? Who makes it?

[@MattJNeale]

Hi Robert, I made some enquires for you! The shirt was bought from online retailer Taobao whilst we were living in China. The shirt itself isn’t any particular brand, sellers on Taobao usually buy wholesale and do some generic branding themselves. It could also be a copy of something more popular. It may be difficult to find I’m afraid as we don’t remember which individual seller we bought from (kinda like eBay but without the bidding). There is an international version of the website/app if you want to try though. Good luck!

[@Angelkaaya]

I literally just got this camera, how do I twist the asa dial 😩

[@MattJNeale]

You have to lift it first before twisting, it could also be that it’s a bit stuck or jammed if it hasn’t be used for a while, good luck!

[@Angelkaaya]

@@MattJNeale it’s worked! Thank you !!!

[@vhnzo8606]

where do you suggest buying from

[@MattJNeale]

eBay, thrift stores, charity shops, Etsy, specific film camera resellers in your local community, Reddit also has an analog community and sometimes people sell gear there. I bought mine from a charity shop using eBay as a storefront. Finding the right camera to buy is part of the fun, have a good one!

[@tomtafola4518]

Try lomo 800

[@MattJNeale]

It’s on my list for sure. I have a variety of rolls that I acquired over the Christmas period so once I’m done with them I’ll get Lomo 800

[@hamzaghorafi1339]

Hy I have such a camera and want to sell it!

[@MattJNeale]

Cool. I recommend trying Facebook if you use it, they have a decent marketplace feature. You can also try other websites like eBay, gumtree or even Craigslist. Hope you get a decent price!