Last night, in a fit of lunacy, I opened up the OM bag and just did a
little fondling of the artifacts inside. All this talk about Tina's
Leicas got me into a pretend mode where I backed up 25 years.
I started out in the OM system with the OM-2S, 35/2.8 and 100/2.8.
That was my "golden kit" for a long time. I leaned how to see what it
saw. Then I got gear acquisition syndrome (GAS) and over time lost the
simplicity of the kit. At some point, due to financial constraints, I
filtered the kit back down to bare minimums. It was actually a very
sparse and humble thing. But I had lost a lot of interest when
finances prevented my taking pictures.
In recent years, thanks to the gifting of others, and the occasional
purchase, I have a golden OM kit that I could only dream of.
In the bag, was an OM-4T, OM-3Ti, 28/2, 100/2, 50/1.4 and 200/4.
Still, way too much equipment. I popped the 28/2 on the 4T and just
roamed the house. Then I put the 100/2 on the camera and went roaming
again. The realization hit me that I could make an entire career out
of just one body and those two lenses. If that was all I had, I would
still have more than I ever needed.
It really is a glorious experience. These lenses and bodies have stood
the test of time and still rise like cream to the top. Limitations?
Some. But I am limited in other regards, too, so it really doesn't
matter too much. If all I had for the rest of my life was that simple
kit and rolls of B&W film, I could never exhaust the possibilities.
It's also a visually beautiful kit. Those lenses and bodies are like
sculptures with perfect proportions. The Marilyn Monroe of cameras. Or
"David".
The quality of my pictures has always been limited by ME. Not the
TECHNOLOGY. There are those of us who have gone off and bought the
latest/greatest of whatever. (just count the OM-D, Fujifilm, Nikon and
Canon systems among us). But have these camera systems actually made
us produce better images? In some cases, yes. But have they resulted
in a distinct and overarching style that is "interesting to look at"
or "art"? Rarely. Every time a new camera comes out we buy it thinking
that "this will be the last one I buy", but six weeks later we're
drooling over the next latest/greatest.
So, pretend with me for a moment: Olympus announces a new camera
system that is full-frame 35mm eq. Is proportioned exactly like the
old OM system and has this new-fangled OM mount that is 100%
compatible with the old OM mount. Along with it, Olympus brings out
some top-grade F2 lenses. Lastly, they decide to even make this a FILM
camera! Yes, talk about ballsy. Film. Turns out that their market
research shows them that young Japanese females are into film, so they
bring out a film camera. This new camera is exactly like the OM-4Ti.
Even has a horizontal cloth curtain and OTF auto-exposure control.
Who among us WOULDN'T be standing in line getting this fantastic new
camera? Even Michael Johnson would be crowing about it at the TOP of
his lungs. (sorry).
I'm already there. This is what I'm experiencing. A falling in love
all over again. It's like dating that cute girl that you married a
zillion years ago.
The OM system is alive and well and living in Iowa (and Colorado). I'm
sure I'm not alone in this, but I am as excited as I've ever been.
I'll still be getting a FF digital camra at some point, but in the
meantime, I'm as giddy as I was 25 years ago.
See? I warned you, Moose.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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