Olympus OM-1

USLatin · Dec 29, 2008

I just borrowed my Dad's OM-1 cause I am sick and tired of shooting with my Powershot,not that it doesn't take amazing photos for its cost but I can't wait to get a D90 or other DSLR... so I plan to shoot some film rolls and see what's up with that. I am really exited to finally burn through some celluloid! :beer:

So, I am wondering about a few things:

1. I found this PX625 which is supposed to work with the OM-1, am I getting the right one? http://www.adorama.com/BYPX625W.html?searchinfo=px625&item_no=8#ProductReviews Should I get a few since shipping is the bulk of the cost or do they not die out fast?

2. I also borrowed a 50mm 1.8f OM-System F. Zuiko which I suspect will be sharp as balls, and a Vivitar 70-150mm 3.8f which my Dad said isn't nearly as nice. Also he had a Bower 2x converter which looks so incredibly dirty that I am affraid to even try to clean it. I am defenitely not going to invest in Olympus glass, as I am considering getting a D90 and or a Red with Nikon mount.

So I suspect I'll be shooting with the 50mm prety much the whole time and use the zoom a bit, check out how it performs and possibly use it for portraits which I was hoping to shoot soon. The 50mm seems to have some specs of dirt/mold inside so I guess I'll have to clean those up in Photoshop... so... I am thinkning I should shoot a test roll with the 50 and the zoom and write down the settings for each exposure and then figure out where I stand? Does that sound like a good plan?

3. Last but certainly not least: Digital scanning... where to go in the Valley? I would LOVE to be able to get at least 16-bit and say like 20MP... perhaps 32-bit

Anywho, I gotz no clue about this so any help would be marvelous.

USLatin · Dec 29, 2008

I am worried about the 50mm... it looks really dirty, most of this is inside, hardly any of it seems to be on the outside. Will I have too much of a problem with this lens?

USLatin · Dec 31, 2008

So is it even worth the hassle to try to use that 50mm? Would one of you DPs be able to tell me if this sort of dirt build up would show up? I guess at smallest apertures... right?

Justin Aguirre · Jan 1, 2009

I'll do my best to help you out since I use the OM system as my main camera setup.

The little numbers on the 50mm lens after the word Zuiko are codes for the number of elements in the lens. It went D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7 and they were all single-coated lenses, multi-coated lenses were labeled MC. . The later made lenses (after the early 1980's) were simply labeled Zuiko and were all multi-coated. One of the last 50mm lenses made for the OM system has the words "Made In Japan" on the front of the lens and has a cult status among OM users for it's sharpness and contrast.

Your 50mm sorta looks like my 50mm. Mine is a little less dirty on the inside and it doesn't effect performance at all. If you want just run a roll of cheap-o Kodak Gold film though it and have it processed at a local Target/Wallmart. It won't be the best color but you will be able to see if the dirt shows up in your photos.

The zoom lens you have is the same one I own and I personally love mine. It's an excellent portrait lens. Olympus did make it's own 70-150 f4 lens which is suppose to be superior and if your going to have the camera for a while, it's fairly cheap to buy.

For the battery, if I remember correctly the OM-1 the battery only operates the light meter, all other functions should operate without it.

You should really love the OM system. It's small, lightweight, and takes sweet pictures.

USLatin · Jan 1, 2009

well I am in luck, I read "made in Japan" on the 50mm, weee!however I think I'd burn though rolls without the exposure guide

I ordered one of those batteries and I am quite certain I got it right so I'll be shooting soon enoughI am glad to hear you like the zoom do you shoow with it wide open or should I try to hit the sweet spot?could you pls tell me where and how much it costs for good developing and scans? and what kind of files do you get?

Petrus · Jan 1, 2009

Dirt inside the lens does not show as dirt on film. Mostly it lowers contrast and slightly also resolution, but really noting to worry about much.

There is no reason to go overboard with scan resolutions, in real life sharp 35mm pictures (slow films) equal about 8-10 MPix digital files, which means 24-30 MB tiff files. With sharper scans you might get sharper grain, but no real picture resolution.

I my tests even the now ancient 4.7 MPix Canon EOS-1D file was as sharp as 21 MPix scan from 35mm Fuji Astia film (shot with same lens and EOS-1n) done with a industrial press scanner. So there...

USLatin · Jan 1, 2009

Nice info Petrus, and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for laying it out like that. I'll shoot for 10MP scans then and probably save some money without missing out on much at all.

Student, I am wondering if the meter will work with the 2x adapter? The one think I am worried about the most is messing up exposure... And will I retain the nice contrast from the 50mm when using the 50 with the 2x? If so I think I'd stick to using that for controlled photoshoot and use the zoom for live action?

I guess developing has an effect on exposure of a negative, right? How does that work?

I am SO exited... the camera feels SO nice in your hands! I can't wait to start shooting people with it!

Justin Aguirre · Jan 2, 2009

As far as I know it shouldn't mess with the meter since it reads it though the lens. You might loose a bit of sharpness though, I'm not to sure on that I rarely use my 2x.

Not to redirect you to other sites but I'm part of this group on Flickr.

Olympus OM
http://www.flickr.com/groups/olympus-om/

And they can do a way better job on the tech specs on your OM-1. I use an OM-2 and OM-G.

For scanning, since I'm based in Newport Beach, I just head to Samy's Camera to have my film developed there. For process and CD it is 17.00 per roll and that's at 2048x3072 I'm not too sure what mb that is though...

Glad to hear the camera feels good in your hands and I know you said you didn't want to invest in Olympus glass but eBay has 35mm and 28mm wides for sale for under 100 dollars. I was also able to score an Olympus Zuiko 100mm f2.8 and Zuiko 135mm f2.8 for both under 100 dollars each. Just get on checking.

Petrus · Jan 2, 2009

I used to use OM-1, OM-3 and OM-4 cameras professionally for some 10 years. OM-3 is still my favourite film body, perfect spot metering, small tight body.

Math is easy: 2048x3072 equals 6,291,456 Pixels or 6.3 Mpix. As an uncompressed tiff file uses one byte for each color for each pixel, it makes a 3x6.3 = 18.9 MB TIFF image.

Tele extenders are designed for telephoto lenses, they either do not fit shorter lenses at all or the quality suffers a lot. No hurt trying, though, but do not try to force them together if the extender is designed to partly go inside the lens.

USLatin · Jan 2, 2009

WOW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52506515@N00/2935302018/sizes/l/in/pool-15007408@N00/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miumiu/3127954463/in/pool-olympus-om

I just love how film handles light, and the grain when it isn't too prominent, and the colors you can get, and the highlights are spectacular

It would be expensive but maybe every so often I can shoot some film and scan it at 16-bit and like 18MP or higher for some really lovely grain looks...

USLatin · Jan 2, 2009

The Student said:
For scanning, since I'm based in Newport Beach, I just head to Samy's Camera to have my film developed there. For process and CD it is 17.00 per roll and that's at 2048x3072 I'm not too sure what mb that is though...

that sound a bit low in resolution, what bit depth do they scan them at?

I am really itching to see some of your work man!

The Student said:
Glad to hear the camera feels good in your hands and I know you said you didn't want to invest in Olympus glass but eBay has 35mm and 28mm wides for sale for under 100 dollars. I was also able to score an Olympus Zuiko 100mm f2.8 and Zuiko 135mm f2.8 for both under 100 dollars each. Just get on checking.

You are evil! Hehehe... I really shouldn't... I will likely end up shooting mostly ditigal so my money should go towards Nikon mount... hopefully some ZF manual focus lenses... but perhaps if I end up working with the OM-1 I could justify a 28mm if it were fast enough, and a 100mm or 135mm 2.8... that would be perfect.

Petrus said:
I used to use OM-1, OM-3 and OM-4 cameras professionally for some 10 years. OM-3 is still my favourite film body, perfect spot metering, small tight body.

Math is easy: 2048x3072 equals 6,291,456 MPixels or 6.3 Mpix. As an uncompressed tiff file uses one byte for each color for each pixel, it makes a 3x6.3 = 18.9 MB TIFF image.

Tele extenders are designed for telephoto lenses, they either do not fit shorter lenses at all or the quality suffers a lot. No hurt trying, though, but do not try to force them together if the extender is designed to partly go inside the lens.

It does fit, but it looks like it will really kill the optics.. the glass doesn't look nearly.
I'll shoot with it on the zoom though and see what that does. I didn't know that about the adapters.

USLatin · Jan 5, 2009

Stores are open! Finally could get some hard details and cost.

Sammy's Camera (431 S. Fairfax Ave. / Los Angeles, CA 90036 / Tel: 323-938-2420)
_ $8.50 for developing and proof sheet (36 exposures)
_ $18.75 for each exposure scanned at 16-Bit, 3600dpi, (~17.34MP)

O-u-c-h! But I gotta try this!

I'll be hearing back from A&I once they get through everyone else that has been flooding their phone lines on their first day back from the holidays.

Olympus OM-1

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