> I remember reading a remark on the N*kon list a few years
> ago from a woman who said that she had tried an OM once but
> it was too light for her. She didn't feel that it had
> enough weight for her to hold it quite steady.
Actually, that isn't far fetched. I believe that the OMs are
more susceptable to shutter induced vibration because of the
lack of mass. Also, there comes a point of diminishing returns
in size. I find most mid and low end digitals to be
uncomfortable to hold because of the lack of vertical height.
With an OM body without motor drive or winder you hold it
differently than you hold any camera with a forward protruding
grip. These grips force the stability of the hand-camera
interface downward into the palm. If the camera is not tall
enough the lower palm (and pinky) is unable to provide the
leverage that is required. This forces you to squeeze the
fingers tighter on the grip which fatigues the hand and wrist.
The "solution" to this has been the auxillary battery packs that
mount on the bottom of the camera and extend the grip downward.
The feel of the camera suddenly becomes very solid and the hand
no longer is required to squeeze the grip. The tradeoff in
weight gain is easily made up for with a more holdable camera.
I experienced this yesterday with the new black Rebel with
battery pack. Wow! It actually felt good! Not as good as my
Min*lta, as there were other nits to pick, but the grip shape
problem was adequately addressed for me.
With the OM body, without winder/md, you support the weight of
the camera with the left hand (under the lens) and the right
hand is used to guide the camera and operate controls. Rarely do
you hold an unwindered OM with the right hand. Once you stick a
winder or motordrive on an OM body you've provided a grip for
the right hand it it now becomes the primary load-bearing hand
while the left hand is used to focus and guide the camera.
I also experienced this a few years back when I almost bailed
and went Nikon. I found the F5 to be a more comfortable camera
than the F100 because of the grip length and overall balance of
the camera. I believe that nearly all DSLRs have been a major
step backwards in this area. Just because the manufacturers have
steered us in this direction doesn't mean that it's the best
way.
Olympus, with the E-1, truely created a comfortable camera. I
wouldn't want it one millimeter smaller than it is.
AG
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