The first 35mm camera I used was a Minolta SR-T version a friend had purchased. My college roommate had worked in a local newspaper as photographer and film processor, and he agreed to show us how to use the camera as well as develop the film and make prints. It was a significant step up from the Instamatic cameras of my youth. I learned the bare minimum about shutter speeds, aperture and film ISO, as well as some darkroom techniques.
By the time I decided to buy my own camera the Olympus OM-1 had taken a large share of the SLR camera market. It’s durability, small size and system of lenses had made it popular with photojournalists who were taking it into places the old Graflex 4×5 press cameras couldn’t survive. Also, it was affordable, something important to a grad student interested in 35mm photography.
I’ve gone through many rolls of film with my OM-1, delivering varying levels of satisfaction in the outcome. Since I really didn’t know how differences in lens quality would impact image quality, the inexpensive lenses I’d purchased kept giving me pictures that were just not what I was seeing in magazines or professional portfolios. As such, I’d go back and forth with photography, putting the camera on the shelf for a while, then taking it down to try again. I cycled through this process several times, working through rolls of Tri-X, Ektachrome and finally Kodachrome. Never really got the results I wanted but built a nice collection of vacation pictures!
When digital reached the point where it was delivering image quality similar to film I decided to jump on that bandwagon. Olympus was again my choice as they had begun a new system, designed specifically for digital from the sensor to the lenses. I started with an E-510 and moved through the E-3 to the E-5. Again, not really understanding the impact of sensor size on image quality and dynamic range, I found some limitations in the choice of Olympus over the full-frame systems from Canon and Nikon. Still, I was getting pretty good images, even better ones once I started buying the professional level Olympus lenses. A summer in photography school eliminated much of my ignorance about equipment and technique. Finally I was getting the quality of images I’d aspired to for all those years. I looked forward to continued satisfaction as my camera system grew.
But Olympus chose to take another route, trailblazing again with “mirrorless” as a way to shrink the camera down, returning to the compact idea of the OM-1. Gradually I saw it was going to be hard to support my Four-Thirds Olympus system with batteries, new lenses, even simple things like replacement eyecups. Additionally, I was trying to stretch the smaller sensor to do things it really wasn’t designed for, like low light photography or bigger prints.
So I looked around for a system that would not “age” as quickly (I don’t like to give up things that are working, regardless of how old – I also use a 4×5 view camera!). What impressed me about the more current full-frame systems was their ability to shoot at high ISO with little noise. My E-5 was good to around 800, beyond which the noise in the sky or solid backgrounds started to appear. In order to get shutter speeds that allowed hand-held shooting in low light I needed clear images at ISO’s greater than 800.
What I decided on was a Nikon D800. It got good reviews when introduced, not only for the increased pixel count on the sensor, but the size of the pixels that allowed shooting at much greater than ISO 800 with little noise. The full-frame and greater pixel count enables me to crop more without losing resolution. With the body I purchased the 24-120mm f/4 lens, which is comparable to the 14-54mm “walking around” lens I use on my Olympus (perceived focal lengths are 2x for the Four-Thirds sensor). I’m still working my way through the menu system on the Nikon to get it set up the way I like to shoot and to understand how to quickly make changes as needed. Lots of buttons supporting lots of options. Fortunately, now that I have a few years under my belt, I at least understand what settings will give me the desired results.
Ironically, the day after the Nikon arrived this showed up in the press:
https://www.getolympus.com/us/en/om-system-om-1.html
The OM-1 is back. Good things are hard to keep down. Olympus sold their camera division a few years ago to focus on medical and other specialized imaging. People have been wondering where the new owners would take the brand. Well, they are dipping into their past, combining the best of the old with the years of digital learning. I’m hoping this one will ignite photography passion just like the original one did, maybe prying some smartphones out of the hands of people who need just a little better equipment to deliver remarkable images.
I’ll keep learning about my Nikon, and keep using my Olympus cameras, including my antique OM-1. But I’ll be keeping an eye on this new one. After all, I have some great lenses that will need a home when my E-series bodies quit working.
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