Hi all,
As there seems to be a lot of us coming out of the woodwork lately, I
thought it was about time I introduced myself.
I have been using Olympus OM cameras since buying my first OM-1 in about
1980. It was actually a tough decision to make at the time because I was
torn between the OM-1 and the P*nt*x MX, a similarly diminuative,
all-mechanical jewel. Fortunately, I chose the OM and was extremely happy
with it, and an OM-2 I required later, until a fateful day about five or six
years ago when I bought my first digital camera.
At the time, this machine (Fuji Finepix 2.3 mp) was amazing. I was a total
convert and I was convinced that I would never need my OMs again; this was
the future and I was part of it! I sold almost all of my Olympus stash,
keeping only a beaten-up old 2 and a single 35/2.8 lens, which was put away
and promptly forgotten about.
As it happened, shortly after this time, I entered a period of major change
in my personal and professional life. This included embarking on a new
career, starting my own business, moving from England to the USA, getting
married, and a whole load of other things which left very little time for
photography. The Finepix was used for the few occasions that I got to take
any pictures, and did a pretty good job of it as long as I didn't want
anything larger than a 4x6 print.
Recently, however, I was asked to take a portrait of our 18 month old nephew
and I knew that the DC would not be up to producing the quality required for
a decent size enlargment. So, up I went into the loft to retrieve my OM,
initially with thoughts of selling it and my Fuji to go towards financing a
higher resolution digicam. Guess what? I fell in love with it again! I mean,
these cameras just feel so right, and I found myself rushing out to buy some
of that funny stuff in little cans again (film, I think it's called).
Since that day, there has been no looking back. Although I realise that the
latest hi-resolution DCs are capable of producing stunning results, I have
been totally taken in by my OM again. The first few rolls of film that I
have had processed since re-discovering the OM/Zuiko bug have amazed me. The
sharpness, contrast and detail is incredible, things that I had not noticed
that I was missing from my DC images until now.
Ok, ok, I'll stop rambling on. I just wanted to say hello and also to thank
Bill Barber from this list for very kindly letting me have a surplus 50mm
MIJ recently. Cheers, Bill, it is very much appreciated and has become the
first of what will be, I am sure, many new aquisitions destined for my
camera bag.
When retrieving my OM-2 I also came across my old transparanices, literally
hundreds dating back to the early eighties, and I am going to start to scan
these and put the best of them online. Although there is only one image up
there right now (actually a test shot with the 50 MIJ taken a couple of days
ago), I should be adding more pretty quickly now that I have the site
designed. The URL for anyone that is interested is:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/om2/
The MIJ test image is at:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/om2/people.html
Yes, I know it's a picture of our dog, and it's under the 'People' category,
but my wife would kill me if I put it under 'Things' or 'Other'!
Cheers,
Dave Carroll
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