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Re: [OM] Least Useful/Used Oly Piece

Subject: Re: [OM] Least Useful/Used Oly Piece
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 23:25:34 +0000
I gotta agree with Lex.  The 135/2.8 is an underrated portrait lens.  I
won't knock the 100/2 which is a superb piece of glass, but I find the
135/2.8 and 85/2 combination more useful.

Other than portraits, if you want a good length for shooting a wedding
available light from the back of a church, try the 135mm.  Just used mine
for two "practice weddings" done with a pro friend.  On tripod at the very
back, horizontal, vertical (using the Bogen "L" bracket), with and without
a 4-point star-cross.  Turned the star-cross so the apex of flares from all
the candles meet dead center over the couple's head.  Looks great (if you
like the star-cross effect).

Based on doing this twice, I plan to have the OM-1n loaded with ISO 400
Portra NC and prepositioned with the tripod at the back just for this.  The
OM-4 will be on a flash bracket for the few flash shots I can take just
before it starts and right at the end so I don't have to fumble around
during the service.

My least used piece of gear?  The soft case for body, lens and winder!
Actually I use it like a pouch to hold the winder and remote release in the
camera bag.  I think I actually put it on a camera with winder attached
once!  Found it worse than a never-ready (which I do use).

-- John

At 06:41 10/21/00 , Lex Jenkins wrote:
>I don't have that much OM gear.  But whenever I've been struck by that 
>feeling of "Why did I buy this?" I almost immediately sell it or swap it for 
>something different.  (A Canon T50 was like that - an oversized P&S 
>disguised as an SLR.  Okay, actually I bought it for my mom to use so she 
>could borrow my lenses, but she's too nearsighted to focus manually, so now 
>she has an iS-2.)
>
>But if I owned a 100mm prime, it would qualify.  Tried 'em, used 'em 
>regularly at work, never felt compelled to own one.  I prefer the little bit 
>of extra magnification and/or subject distance the 135mm allows.  I'll bet 
>we could drag out a mighty debate over the "perfect portrait lens" dead 
>horse.
>
>I also suspect that if I owned a 500mm or longer telephoto it would soon 
>qualify after the novelty wore off.  There's no substitute for getting 
>closer, and I note most top nature photographers manage with teles shorter 
>than 500mm.
>
>And I keep thinking a 1-10 grid screen would be useful.  Then I wonder why.
>
>Lessee, what else?  Oh, yeh...complicated flash gear.  I guess I'm just too 
>thickskulled to understand much more than a clip-on flash.  Ever since I 
>figured out the walk-back-zoom-in method of fill flash, I'm not sure I even 
>want to understand TTL flash.
>-----------
>Lex Jenkins


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