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Olympus discontinues OM line


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Speaking of 35 mm camera makers giving up the ghost, Olympus is abandoning its OM line. The OM-4ti is a high-end manual camera comparable to Leica's R series. The old OM-1 and OM-2 are still popular in the used market.

 

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Here's what Olympus had to say:

 

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"Olympus will discontinue the 35mm OM SLR system. The company continues to manufacture selected lenses and accessories for the OM System that will remain on sale with limited availability until the end of March 2003.

 

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"Olympus launched the original OM-1 in 1972 and has developed and sold numerous OM System lenses and accessories. After 30 years, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find stable supplies of parts for the camera system. This has made it impossible to continue to keep the system on the market. Olympus is committed to providing excellent levels of after sales service for its products, including:

 

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"Body, Lens, Flash:

Olympus will maintain parts for approximately 10 years after the end of production.

 

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"Other Accessories:

Olympus will maintain parts for other accessories, but time periods differ from part to part."

 

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More fuel for the discussion about the changing manual-film-35mm camera landscape . . .

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I don't buy Olympus' "difficulty finding parts" excuse. If the OM

series was selling, they'd make the parts. Nikon just released the

FM3A which resurrects some parts from the FE2 of the early 80's. And

it's selling. IMO there is one reason why Olympus can't sell the

OM's and Leica's R system is next to fall: the biggest investment is

our lenses, and when a manufacturer demonstrates a lack of commitment

to keeping those lenses usable and valuable, photographers panic and

abandon ship. This happened when Canon started the EOS line and

switched lensmounts. It took them a long time to win back their

customers, and only because Canon is such a huge and diverse company

did they have the financial staying power to do so. Today the issue

isn't any longer AF vs manual focus. It's film vs digital. Someone

can feel comfortable buying a "retro" body like the FM3a because

there is system compatibility of lenses with the D1-series. Even if

we *say* film will never go away, how many of us want to risk tens of

thousands of dollars on that prediction? If Leica were to confirm

that a digital R body is in the works, I believe they would see a

strengthening of their sales. Likewise if Olympus were to take the

S20 and put an OM lensmount on it, they could keep the line going.

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I know 3 photojournalist that use olympus gear(mainly OM3/4ti).I

think they might be buying up remaining stock because they swear by

them.If you think about it they are no bigger than an M6 and not much

noisier.The only trouble was that their range of lenses was never up

to much.I don't think they ever made any really fast 28,35 and 50mm

optics(I think some will prove me wrong!)

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What do you mean by "really fast" optics, Phill? At time I sold my

Olympus stuff , I had a Zuiko 28/f2 and a 35/f2. They also made a

21/f2, a 24/f2, and a 50/f1.2, although I never owned those lenses.

 

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I used the Olympus system for 13 years and covered assignments in 27

countries on five continents. I loved the equipment, and hung on as

long as I could in hope they would bring out an auto-focus system, but

was ultimately forced by aging eyes to switch to Canon EOS.

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Told you! I didn't know they did wides that fast.I was going to add

that I would like to have seen 28mm f2,35mm f1.4 and 50mm 1.4/1.2.

So I was wrong again,oh well.

 

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I know they made some superb fast tele's,I think they did a 250mm

f2.8?I still have an OM1 which I have added to my collection of old

cameras,but my 8 year old son has his eyes on it!

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For what it's worth, the OM-1 (1972) was designed as a poor man's

Leica: much smaller than the SLRs of the day, a very quiet mechanical

shutter, mirror-slap significantly reduced (you can hand-hold shots

at 1/15), and a solid, metal body. The TTL meter is accurate and

reliable. The viewfinder offers 97% coverage, which is still high by

today's standards.

 

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It's a great little camera, offering stripped-down functionality, and

a large system of lenses and accessories. A piece of camera history

now has its headstone filled in.

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Actually, I believe they made a 250mm *f2* lens.

 

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Eugene Richards used the 21/f2 for much of his "Cocaine Blue" book

because it was the fastest/widest lens he could get.

 

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I suspect that those who love the virtues of the OM system will go

right on using them and that they will increase in market value. As a

matter of fact, after ten years away from Olympus, I'm putting

together a small outfit to complement my Leica when I need to travel

light.

 

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I am also, after a spell of back trouble which may yet require

surgery, reorienting my marketing to bring in more jobs which can be

accomplished with a minimal outfit. Years of carrying a van-load of

medium format equipment and heavy powerpacks and bags of light stands

have taken their toll.

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When I did photography for $$$ the Olympus was my SLR for long lenses

and macros. The camera handled a lot like my M3s--same focus

direction and general size, and had some really fine lenses. Like

Dave, though, I don't seem to be able to focus it anymore (the

Olympus' famous large viewfinder image also translates as lousy eye-

relief for use with glasses, and both that and the viewing distance

on my Visoflex are friendlier to my eyes, so I sold most of it last

year. Great stuff, though, for the time.

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I've been using Olympus OM cameras since 1981. I currently own an OM-

2n and OM-2S (Sot/Pogram). My lenses include 21/3.5, 28/2.8, 50/1.4,

50/3.5 mqcro, 100/2.8 and 35-70/4 zoom. I also have a Vivitar 70-210

zoom, T32 flash with TTL extension cord and a Winder 2. I've had good

results with this gear and I still use it occasionally, although I

prefer using my Leica M stuff these days. Light metering is

especially good and the cameras are tough and solid.

 

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OM cameras and lenses are SMALL! They even make the Leica M series

seem big and heavy. For anyone interested, the following web site has

excellent pictures and descriptions of the entire OM range of

cameras, lenses and accessories: http://www.taiga.ca/~esif/om-sif.htm

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I agree Olympus have moved away from traditional cameras for some

time, and instead have concentrated on digital, a field in which they

are a leader. Leica just needs to stick to what it does well, and

concentrate on craftsmanship. I have always had a soft spot for Olys,

from the excellent 35RC (my first serious camera) through to the

various OMs. The lenses are good and very contrasty, but IMHO, Leitz

lenses have better resolution.

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I also have an OM-1n but without any useable lens to use. I think

it is better camera than Nikon fe2. Both have similar true match

needle meter which is more prefered to the matching diode dot in the

Leica M6 or Nikon fm2 camera. OM-1n also have true Mirror lockup

but fe2 lacks. What it more amazing is that the view finder

features .91 in magnification (well compared to that on an M3) and

covers 97% of film area with a 50 mm lens. Whole thing is smaller

and lighter than fe2/fm2/M6 settings. It could be very cool looking

to have the 40/2 pancake lens mounted.

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Just to throw in my 0.02. The OM is a great system indeed, it was

revolutionary when it appeared and still is amazing for quality,

compactness and completeness. I started photography with a OM-1 back in

1972, when it first appeared. I immediately fell in love with the

elegant and compact design. (BTW, it should have been called M-1, but

then Olympus had to withdraw that name - guess why...?!)<BR><BR>I tried

and owned many lenses and bodies thru the years, my favourites

remaining the bare bones OM-2 (with optional aperture priority AE),

lenses ranging from 21 to 200. Most used: 35/2, 85/2. Some of the Zuiko

glass is reputed superb, the 24/2 has long remained the fastest of its

length. The TTL capabilities have set standards in the 80's, the T32 is

a really well designed piece of flash. Very handy for macro work, too.

And I DO like the mirror lock for rocksteady tripod shots. If I weren't

using my M6 so exclusively these days I would try to get hold of just

another spare body before they run out. But then again, they last

forever...

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The OM-1n model that came out in 1979 (which updated the flash and

motordrive capabilities of the OM-1) is very widely available used--

and cheap, too. Usually around $200 for mint. Lenses are not

expensive either, with a 50/1.8 setting you back between $35 and

$50. I just paid $200 for a 28/2.8; the 28/2.0 was about twice that.

 

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I suspect that OM fans (like me and the posters above) comprise only

a small group precisely BECAUSE the equipment is so cheap (if it were

more expensive, would more people use it? The more you pay, the more

it's worth?). Anyone who has used OM is generally very attached to

it. Remember that it was pro equipment in the 70s. Imagine now

being able to buy a complete pro outfit (two bodies, multiple primes

and zooms) for about $1,000.

 

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The OM-1, 1n, and 2 are used extensively in astro- and micro-

photography, because of the mirror lock-up and the small size: a

strange niche to have been filled by what was marketed as a

journalists' camera!

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