Olympus OM-4

[BelaMolnar]

<p>I'm a Nikon user in the last 45 years. A couple of years ago I inherited my friend Olympus system, OM-1 and 2 OM-2 s. My question is; Why the Olympus OM-4 camera is so expensive on the used market (eBay ), U$400 to 1170.00, compared with the same quality Nikon FM, Fe, FM2, FE2 cameras. Plenty of them on the used market, not like the OM-3, witch is a rare camera, hardly any in the used market.<br>

Thank you for the comments.</p>

[User_4136860]

<p>The OM4 has a wonderful multi-spot metering system that enables you to see if the brightness range in the scene is within the films ability to record it, in addition it can also give priority to to the highlights or the shadows in the exposure, and many of the OM4 are the Ti, Titanium models whose bodys are about 40% lighter and tougher than the standard magnesium bodys.</p>

[BelaMolnar]

<p>Thank you Ben. I know all this about the OM-4 light meter, so, it same to me, it is a more expensive and better film camera, then the so well known Nikon FM2 and FE2 or even the F3 cameras. And some of the old OM Zuiko lenses also very expensive lenses, like the 18mm, 100/2 and so on.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Their (Mattani's) last very compact and desirable film camera I think (a sort of SLR Leica M), also like the very expensive early sixties Nikon SP in the Nikon RF line, or the last film-using Nikon F6. The Leica IIIG was the 1957 produced swan song of the Leica thread mount cameras and, while superior to their preceding models, commands a much higher price. I understand that the Olympus lenses vary greatly in price, as some were exceptional and others merely very good, but I forget which are which. The last non-aspherical Leica M Summicron-M 35mm lens has a cult following. I bought one new in 1980 for a bit over four hundred dollars and now mint used examples are selling a few hundred dollars above or below the two thousand dollar mark. There is little linearity betwen prices of different models on the used market, with cult items receiving more attention. So much the better for users of the less expensive items (and darkroom equipment where some great deals are now available).</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>$400 at the lower end seems pretty steep for an OM-4 - maybe for a Ti/T, but I've seen standard OM-4s going on fleabay for ~$200. And for $1170, it would have to be a new-in-box Ti. All that being said, the combination of size, build quality, VF, lenses, system support and the unique and beautifully designed metering system makes the OM-4 a phenomenally good 35mm SLR - in my opinion, one of the best ever. The Nikon FMs/FEs, and even the F3, are magnificent workhorses, but technologically, the OM-4 leaves them in the dust. Apart from higher shutter speed and flash synch as a result of shutter redesigns, the latest FM2 is effectively the same camera as the earliest FM (I don't include the FM-3A in this - but have you priced one of those lately?). Nikons command the prices they do partly because of the (deserved) Nikon cachet - did you ever hear Simon and Garfunkel sing about an <em>Olympus</em> camera?</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>I saw a couple of them going for around $200 on KEH. </p>

[luis_g]

<p>....and get a return-policy because a lot of OM-4's have circuit boards that are going bad or are gone altogether, and that means they look perfect, but devour batteries. When you get it, leave it on and see how long the battery lasts.</p>

[john_robison3]

<p>I nabbed an OM-2sp w/50 1.8 for $15 at a local Value Village. After a $5 set of new batteries it returned to full operation. I don't think it has all the features of the OM-4(ti) but is more automated than any camera I've ever had.</p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>Luis - the OM-4's voracious battery diet has nothing to do with them "going bad", they were like that right out of the box. OM-2SP's and most OM-4s had circuitry that tended to drain batteries when the camera was sleeping (remember that automatic OMs are never really powered off unless they are switched to the mechanical 1/60 speed or B). The OM-4T and the very latest OM-4s had updated circuitry that did not do this. Updated circuit boards were available as an upgrade at one time, but I'm pretty sure these are no longer available. The quick and easy way to tell if your OM-4 has old or updated circuitry is to switch it to battery check. In cameras with updated electronics, the light and the audible signal cancel out automatically after ~30 sec. The signals keep going on the older battery-eating cameras.</p>

[ingemar_lampa1]

<p>Not trying to be a wise-guy, but a few corrections may be in place:<br>

OM-4 cameras can not be not be powered off by turning the shutter dial to 60 or B. Only way to conserve the batteries is to take them out completely. The Ti models are not 40% lighter, only a few grams (30 or so if my memory serves me). Only the top and bottom covers are in titanium, not the whole body. There was a "Ti craze" among the manufacturers in the 80'ies and is more a result of marketing than improving the base-product. However, the Ti models did get some important mods well worth spending more for them (except for the horrendously expensive OM-3Ti), namely improved seals for weather proofing (but don't go diving with them!), flash-synch up to 1/2000s (but only if using the F280 flash unit) and the no-drain circuitry discussed above. If a unit has the newer circuitry, the beep will turn off after 120 seconds, not 30. Some late 4s got them (I think) and all 4Ti's have them.</p>

<p>On a practical note: yes the multi-spot metering is unique for the time and quite useful, but even the standard "average" metering mode of the OM-3 and 4 is as close to perfection one can come, only perhaps matched by Nikons matrix metering introduced with the F5 many years later. Lovely cameras and great fun to use. I have an OM-3 and an OM-4Ti and use them whenever I get the urge to do 35mm. <br>

Here is a link which may be of interest: <a href="http://www.maitani-fan.co.cc/maitani_fan/sitemap.html">http://www.maitani-fan.co.cc/maitani_fan/sitemap.html</a></p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>My OM-4T battery check shuts off in ~25 sec. Yours may differ. I agree, though, unlike most of the Ti "upgrades" (thinking of the Nikons, specifically) the OM-4T has substantial advantages over the OM-4B(rass) - the low drain circuitry alone would settle it for me. Apparently, the ISO/exposure compensation dial was also redesigned to make it more robust and easier to manipulate.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>"Why the Olympus OM-4 camera is so expensive on the used market (eBay ), U$400 to 1170.00, compared with the same quality Nikon FM, Fe, FM2, FE2 cameras."<br>

==================================================<br>

Why ? because the OM-4 was the top of the line for Olympus back in the day. It was the equivalent of a F series Professional Nikon camera while the FE2, FM2 were more prosumer types. </p>

[dan_b.4]

<p>I hate to dampen your enthusiasm but in my own experience (and I do love the OM-1N and 2N) and among other Olympus fans, the OM-4 and OM-4T are getting rather long in the tooth. More specifically, the electronics are often unreliable and the only replacement for them is from another used camera.</p>