I want to thank everyone for their replies to my questions, both on the list
and privately. Everyone had excellent suggestions. The Oly 65-200 sounds
like a perfect choice, so I'll keep my eyes out. Most suggested
combinations of a wide-angle, a standard lens and various short to medium
telephoto. Most also suggested not going zoom, which I understand, but the
convenience for sports appeals to me.
I don't think that I made clear that I'm already an Olympus user. I have
had an OM-1MD and an OM2-MD since the mid-70's. I did quite a bit of sports
photography back then (high school), but in black and white and could push
the film quite a bit since I did my own developing and printing. Now, I'm
using color and don't have as much latitude. I've gotten several
suggestions to use the Fuji 800 and push it one or two stops, which I'll
try. Interesting that the 800 pushed seems to be a more popular choice than
the 1600. I just shot a couple of rolls of the 1600 (before I got the
advice), so I'll see what the results were. I'm rusty, but hopefully the
skills will come back.
I like my Olympus, so I'll stick with it, even though other equipment might
make more sense if I was starting over. My 'starting point' on this quest,
meaning what I've had for years, was the 50 1.8, an inexpensive Soligar 28
2.8 and a Vivitar 70-150 3.8. I actually like the Vivitar a lot, as it is
small and light.
I've already added quite a bit to my collection, thanks to ebay, but haven't
received most of it yet. Just went a little wild, but tried to only bid
where the value was. I'll keep some and resell some after I've tried out
the combinations. I found a couple of situations, off ebay, to buy complete
setups, which was very affordable, so I have more than I want. I also
picked up an inexpensive film scanner so I could share the results with the
family.
I'm body heavy, or will be, and my new 'primary' is an OM-4 (not a T). I
like it a lot, but am aware of the battery challenges. I just added an
OM-2S, well two, more for curiosity than anything else, but I think in some
situations it will be great. I also picked up some of the 'consumer' bodies,
both as backups and to get my children interested. I'd be a lot less
unhappy if they drop a $40 OM-G than if they dropped my OM-4. I still am
faithful to the original OM-1, as there are times I like the control of the
manual body, so I ordered the battery conversion for it. Of course, if I
load them all up and use them at once, I'll look like a tourist.
I ended up with several brands of zooms, in the 80-200 f4 range. Useful for
soccer, if the quality is there. I'll keep the ones that take good shots and
sell the rest. I was also able to pick up a Zuiko 35-70f4, but won't know
until I get it if its one of the 'better' ones (still confused on that).
I also snagged an MD1, which should be interesting. I have a Winder 1, but
for reasons more emotional than practical, wanted a full MD.
So, that's my story. If anyone is looking for anything in the 'off-brand',
particularly zooms, or a 'consumer' body, or even a 2S, let me know. I'll
tell you what I paid for it and sell it for the same. If you think I
overpaid, no loss (well, except I'll be bummed).
Thanks for letting me ramble on.
Tom
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