Previously written:
>I'd like to see it turn-out that way with one of them thar
new->fangled wunderbrick (so-called) cameras! They feel sooooo
>cheaply made and full of plastic, I'll be the first time ya
>drop one of them like that you're lookin' at a *major* repair
>bill!
>
>Gimme an old and "heavy" OM camera, anyday! :-)
I wouldn't be so quick to trash the wonderbricks for toughness.
It always has been and continues to be a factor of "grade" of
equipment. C*n*n Rebels are pretty much throwaways, but not
necessarily out of wimpyness, but because of shear quantity.
They weren't meant to be repaired. The Rebels are today's
version of the AE-1 which weren't overly repairable either but
replaced more often than not. Minoltas (except for the ancient
concrete block variety the size and weight of a small car)
weren't ever too resiliant to SIS (Sudden Impact Syndrome) and
continue to be a hard camera to repair. I wouldn't call the OMs
any tougher than any other professional grade SLR, in fact it
probably wouldn't hold a shadow to a Nikon F(1-5) or the Canon
EOS-1 in the toughness realm.
Where the OMs have had an advantage in the SIS department is due
to the lower weight. Less mass means less kinetic energy that
has to be dissipated, absorbed, reflected or transmitted
elsewhere. With a big honkin kit, you are more likely to smash
a lens, than with a light kit. Believe it or not, the Rebel
does hold up pretty well to abuse. But when involved in "The
Big One" (to borrow a phrase from NASCAR--Go Johnny Benson), few
cameras will survive unscathed.
My biggest problem with the Rebel is that you can twist the
camera with your bare hands. The Elan isn't much better. The
Canon A2 is quite rugged and is based on the 600 series EOS
bodies which were incredibly strong and designed to protect the
mechanicals at all costs. The EOS-1 is solidly made and could
be used to prop up your car with. I've seen war abused (honest)
EOS-1 cameras that stood up to the most extreme banging around
in the worst conditions. I wouldn't call that or the Nikon F5 a
wimpy camera.
Ken N.
(back to my corner now)
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