dokdransch@watcgl.UUCP (Detlef Dransch) (06/14/85)
A few weeks ago i asked the omnipotent net about some 35mm camera features and for specific information about the Pentax Super Program and the Olympus OM-2s. Here is the promised summary. many thanks to those who responed. >Some general concerns: >- quality of equipment (body and lens) pentax lenses have somewhat lower flare T-70: Very high. Canon makes excellent lenses. The body does have this one drawback; it is made of "polycarbonate" plastic, Olympus builds outstanding cameras -- the OM2 was selected by National ... system camera -- everything works with everything else. Pentax is known for "fracturing" it's line: accessories for their low-end don't work on their high end, etc. >- availability and cost of accesories (flashes, lenses (with KA mount for > Pentax)) you cannot buy non-KA lenses from pentax without looking high and low now. ... but the nicest thing about Olympus is the depth of their accessory line. They aren't cheap, but if you need it, they have it. Olympus is especially known for macro and micro support ... It had been a bit of a pain to find KA mount lenses other than Pentax (nothing wrong with that, but their only 28-xxx zoom is a 28-135 & is a monster) and CPC. Vivitar and a couple other independents are finally coming out with KA lenses (I got the series 1 zoom last year). >- possiblility to use camera with dead batteries (a `mechanical' mode) the super program is dead without batteries. T-70: Can't; it's all electronic. The batteries last a long time, though. Pentax: Nope, I use a lithium battery for long life and low-temp reliablity -- OM-2s: There is a manual 1/60 shutter for when the batteries fail. Oddly, I've been through two sets since I got the camera. I've switched to a lithium battery and hope I get better life. >- cloth vs metal shutter (I know about x-sync differences) no inherent advantage. >The specific cameras: >- usefulness of shutter AND aperture priority on one camera Pentax: having used both for a while now, i think the flexibility of choice is, for me an important reason to get it. Not having both, I feel comfortable having only the latter. Pentax: I use program mode 85% of the time, aperture priority 12%, and shutter priority 3%. Program mode sets it about where I would put it myself anyway. I could do without shutter priority, but like it being available anyway. I DO use it sometimes. >- convenience of both f-stop and shutter speed in viewfinder Pentax: very important. i miss not seeing f-stop in my super program viewfinder T-70: It only has f-stop in the viewfinder. I find this a minor nuisance, espec- ially since it only shows the RECOMMENDED f-stop, not the one set on the ring, through the viewfinder. Pentax: I find this VERY useful. >- centre-weighted AND spot metering sometimes useful. i prefer to use a real spotmeter when i could use one. I find myself using the spot metering on the OM4 more and more I'd like spot metering sometimes, and wish the Super-Program had it, but, I manage to do without (using "standard" tricks learned by not having a spotmeter for many years). I was drawn to the OM by it's spot metering function, and have found it to be very handy. >- off-the-film metering very important only if you shoot mostly with normal to telephoto lens or use the spot metering ability of the camera. T-70: Doesn't have it. Personally I think this is a gimmick, GREAT! This is the primary reason I went Olympus! OM-2s: I like the metering system. It meters the light reflected off the film during the actual exposure, rather than locking in a setting at the start like most. >And anything else you can think of. i happen to not like the idea of olympus putting the shutter speed control around the mount. when wearing gloves, it is hard to tell where the ring is. on the other hand, it is awkward to use the shutter speed buttons on the super program. from: Herb... watdcsu!herbie --------------------------------------------- Other advantages of the T-70: it has an auto-loading feature, power rewind, and the power winder I mentioned before. The disadvantage is you can't change it for a faster one if you want a faster one. It is very flexible in terms of letting you choose manual or automatic modes. It has all kinds of nice status displays; it shows if you have film in the camera, whether the film is out across the film plane or is all rolled into the cartridge (i.e., whether the cartridge in the camera is one in use, or one you've rewound but forgotten to take out); it also shows whether and in which direction the film is moving, so you know if it's gotten stuck. The remote shutter release is also electronic, meaning you can wire up various kinds of shutter releases if you are into that sort of thing. In program mode, it tells you if the selected shutter speed is sufficiently slow that camera shake might be a problem. It has a well-designed body, with a hand grip so that you can hold it with only one hand built into the body. Disadvantages: No multiple-exposure mode. No depth-of-field preview. No display of aperture/shutter speed setting in the viewfinder. Plastic body. Runs on batteries. Fully automatic mode requires Canon lenses. No eyepiece blind lever; you have to put a rubber cover over it. from: J. Eric Roskos ihnp4!pesnta!peora!jer ------------------------------ probably no current camera has all the things on your list. (none of them had everything on my list either) I got a Canon T70, which is pretty nice, and has switch selectable center-weighted average or spot metering. The F1 has three metering modes, but you have to change screens. The olympus OM4 has a spot meter. (spot meters are rare) from: Snoopy tektronix!mako!seifert ------------------------------- I guess that if you want to do pretty normal shooting, the Pentax will do the job. It is in the fringes of photography -- macro, micro, low-light, durability, different focusing requirements, etc. -- that the Olys excel. from: Jan Steinman tektronix!tekecs!jans ------------------------------- OM-2s: The LCD display can be a little problematic. I have a tendency to put my finger over the window that provides it's illumination (LCD's don't emit thir own). The camera is small and very light, but still made mostly of metal, rather than plastic. The controls are comfortably laid out, and since I use program mode most of the time I haven't had to get used to having the shutter speed set on a ring instead of a knob. from: Mike Kersenbrock tektronix!azure!michaelk -------------------------------- Once again, many thanks to those who responded. salut ... detlef
herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (06/15/85)
In article <2046@watcgl.UUCP> by dokdransch@watcgl.UUCP someone writes: >Pentax: I use program mode 85% of the time, aperture priority 12%, and >shutter priority 3%. Program mode sets it about where I would put it >myself anyway. I could do without shutter priority, but like it being >available anyway. I DO use it sometimes. i guess this depends on the type of photography you do. in find that i use program, shutter priority, and then manual. i have not yet used aperture priority on the job except to check that it really works. >>- convenience of both f-stop and shutter speed in viewfinder >Pentax: very important. i miss not seeing f-stop in my super program viewfinder as the person who said this, i should mention that i meant in manual or aperture priority mode the f-stop doesn't appear. it does appear in other modes. >>- off-the-film metering >OM-2s: I like the metering system. It meters the light reflected off the film >during the actual exposure, rather than locking in a setting at the start >like most. it is an accepted fact that many professional photographers don't use off-the-film metering for that very reason. it can get fooled too easily unless the subject happens to fall within the metering pattern. with off-the-film metering, the pattern occupies the majority of the frame so the background must be about the same reflectivity to get proper exposure without compensation. if you are aware of this and compensate, then there will be no problem. that, however, defeats the purpose of the metering design. >------------------------------- >I guess that if you want to do pretty normal shooting, the Pentax will do the >job. It is in the fringes of photography -- macro, micro, low-light, >durability, different focusing requirements, etc. -- that the Olys excel. >from: Jan Steinman > tektronix!tekecs!jans pentax doesn't make a lot of noise about their macro equipment, although they have as much as i have been able find in the canon, minolta, and contax lines. if you're really into macro stuff, i think that nikon and leitz are the only real choices. the pentax super program is considered to be the top amateur camera of the pentax line, although many pros use it too. if you need the extended facilties like changeable focusing screens and the like, you have to go to the MX or LX. as far a durability is concerned, any camera that can take a 3.5 fps motor drive had better be rugged or else it'll fall apart very quickly. your comments here don't explain very clearly what you mean (jan). Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!water!watdcsu!herbie CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa NETNORTH, BITNET, EARN: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu
jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) (06/17/85)
I have a question about this off-the-film metering... how does it work?
Don't different films reflect different amounts of light, and in different
colors? E.g., of the films I regularly use, one is a dark buff color, one
is a very light blue, and one is a sickly pink. Wouldnt the kind of film
you use thus have an effect on the metering?
Now, don't misunderstand; I'm not saying "I don't believe it will work,"
apparently it does... I'm just curious how!
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