Jim, I can't speak for the entire list, but here's my take on the 35SP. Of the
three quality Olympus rangefinders of its era, the SP, RD, and RC, it's the
biggest. In fact, its size and weight are comparable to an OM1 with a 50/1.8
attached. For this reason, I don't use mine very much. The 1.7 is an excellent
lens and fast enough for candids. However, I find the RD having the same speed
lens to be better suited to this kind of work. It gives you the stealthy
shutter sound of an RF in a smaller package. The SPs spot meter is quite useful
as is its uncoupled manual metering, albeit a bit clunky. You can use this
feature to check the camera's meter against sunny 16 or a known good meter. I
assume you did this and brought along a good mercury battery or suitable
substitute. One thing to check on this camera is the shutter. The Seiko shutter
quite commonly develops oily blades that result in sluggish opening and
closing. Examine it closely, you can see the oil as a film on the blades and
try the shutter at all speeds.
>>> Jim.Timpe@xxxxxxxxx 08:06:53 02/26/2001 >>>
Saw a very nice 35 SP at a pawn shop this weekend. Had the 1.7 lens (don't
know if they all did). All seemed to work. Wondering what the general
consensus of the list is re: this camera.
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