Olympus OM 2S vs OM 2n and Cold weather shooting

[dan_ling]

I'm on the fence I've read the reviews. I've seen the spec sheets now

I want the good word.

 

This will be my first step away from point and shoot which i have

found too limiting. I'm broke and realize the advantages of being

able to hop into a decent system for under 200.

 

My question comes in that the OM 2n which I have shot with <borrowed

from a friend> preforms fine in the cold. I would like the spot

metering capability of the 2S but I am worried about the preformance

of the viewfinder meter in sub 30F temps.

 

also general comments are appreciated. And additional suggestions are

always appreciated.

[erv]

Hi Dan, I don't know if my experience will be of any help but here it goes. I used a Pentax Spotmatic without autoexposure but with built in lightmeter and a more modern Pentax ZX-50 in temepratures reaching -30C (around -20F). The all-electronic camera didn't present any problem and all the automatic exposure features worked well. As far as the Spotmatic goes, the first time I used it in very cold weather the mirror got stuck in the up position so I shot everything without looking through the eyepiece and focusing at infinity when possible. The mirror came back down when the temperature went up. Before going my second trip to the cold with that Spotmatic, I had it relubed for cold weather (different greases I suppose?) and it performed flawlessly.

I don't think +30F (around -1C) is that cold though.

Good luck!

[douglas_green1]

I'm a big Olympus fan, but the OM-2S has a definite reputation for unreliable electronics in general. You are much better off to either get an OM-4, or an OM-2n.

 

BTW, I have owned all the Olympus OM bodies. IMHO, the OM-2n is most under-rated one of the bunch. I prefer it (along with the OM-1n) to the OM-2S and the OM-4, but the OM-4 does have a more sophisticated metering system by far. But in real life, it doesn't make it easier to use than an OM-2n

[graphicjoe]

Dan,

 

I�m another Olympus fan and still own a couple of them, an OM-1 and an OM-2n. I like them both, but prefer the OM-1 for its simplicity and freedom from any auto features. Your wishes may differ.

 

However, before buying any OM body be sure to check the X synch because it seems to fail fairly often and it costs about $125 to repair because the whole camera has to come apart in order to make the repair.

 

Also, I think the f 1.8 is a better 50 mm lens than the f 1.4. The additional speed makes for a heavier and more expensive lens that is not as good at most working f stops. The best 50 mm OM lens IMO is the f3.5 macro. There aren�t many of them left and they tend to be expensive, but if you find one at a good price, grab it. A good price is less than $200. The f 1.8 lens is typically available for around $50, and it�s a very good lens.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Joe Stephenson

[frank_oddsocks]

With one caveat I cover below, I think it should be fine. I have the

OM-2SP but use the OM-3 and OM-4 in the cold. Internally, the meters

are similar (same LCD technology in the display) so I can't see a

problem.

 

Now the caveat is that there are good OM-2SP's and OM-4's and bad ones. Bad ones draw a high current just sitting there on the shelf

(unless you move them to speed B, which is the undocumented off

switch). This will weaken the battery so that the first time it

gets in the cold it will die. An acceptable draw with the display

off is 20 microamps.

 

I wouldn't choose the OM-2N if you find a *good* OM-2SP and prefer

that. They must vary in their current draw - my OM-2N is actually

a pig and the worst of the lot in cold weather.

[frank_oddsocks]

Sorry, I made a REALLY bad slip in my previous posting. It should say "even if you turn it to B" rather than "unless". To give you

an idea of how serious the problem can be, a bad OM-4 will kill a fresh set of batteries in 3 weeks with no shooting at all.

 

A good camera is about 7 microamps.

 

A very big point in favour of the OM-2SP is that it has a 1/60

mechanical backup speed. When the battery dies in an OM-2N, the

camera is totally dead.

[richard_oleson]

As noted above, the OM2S's weakest point (in common with the OM4) is battery drain. My particular one draws 13 microamps on the shelf, which is enough to be (to me) unacceptably hard on batteries but I think not enough for Olympus to have considered it defective. However, the general ruggedness and good performance of the camera are things that I haven't wanted to give up over a set of batteries.

 

My solution has been to make a AA battery pack that attaches to the baseplate of the camera to provide power. Since making this (maybe 2 years ago?), I have never had to change the batteries. The down side is that the battery pack prevents attachment of the power winder, so to use that I have to revert to silver cells temporarily.

 

If interested, there are notes on this project here:

 

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-100.html

 

rick :)=

[greg_mason]

i have owned an olympus om2n for over 20 years and it still gets regular use. i wont bother repeating the om2n praises and i agree with them all. i would be careful about the om2s though. according to my camera repair person, the om2n has point to point wiring and is still servicable while the om2s has a circuit board that is no longer available and can no longer be serviced. i would not get overly concerned about the meter. most caameras will do fine until you are subzero. all of the major camera manufacturers have similar cameras that can be found used within you $200 budget. check out keh.com they are good people to deal with.

[dan_ling]

Follow up:

 

On the advice from friends and this board and the gentleman at camtech I bought a om 2n and a 50 1.8 from KEH it arrived last week and was more than i could ever hope for.

 

thanks everyone for the input.