The Olympus OM 2 is a camera from another era, which has it s roots in the seventies. Today this doesn't make the OM 2 any less of a camera. In fact if truth be known the cameras features don't necessarily make you take pictures any better. What the purchase of the OM 2 gives you is access ... Read review
(+) Fold out LCD screen, Image Stabilization, Zuiko lens quality, Picture quality, Flash options (-) Noise in low light, Too many buttons, Badly laid out, Too many gimmicks
Advantages: Can be picked up cheaply Disadvantages: Has very little bells and whistles
The Olympus OM 2 is a camera from another era, which has it s roots in the seventies. Today this doesn't make the OM 2 any less of a camera. In fact if truth be known the cameras features don't necessarily make you take pictures any better. What the purchase of the OM 2 gives you is access to some very fine lenses, which produce some of the sharpest images I have ever produced. So what do you get if you purchase an OM2.
Features ...backs and a full range Olympus lenses, not to mention a full range of good independent lenses. All second hand of course allowing you to build up a system of lenses for very little outlay.
In fact if you are lucky enough to acquire a manual you will see that you are not just buying a camera but buying into a system.
Brass vs. Plastic
The OM2 comes from the old school of camera making and is a solid construction ... more
The Olympus OM 2 is a camera from another era, which has it s roots in the seventies. Today this doesn't make the OM 2 any less of a camera. In fact if truth be known the cameras features don't necessarily make you take pictures any better. What the purchase of the OM 2 gives you is access to some very fine lenses, which produce some of the sharpest images I have ever produced. So what do you get if you purchase an OM2.
Features
In some ways the use of the OM 2 can be easier than some of the all singing and dancing machines out there. You get three exposure modes Manual, Aperture Priority and Program. A simple switch transfers you between modes on the top plate. Both aperture and shutter speeds are set with dials round the lens. Film if wound on automatically using a lever. Once used to the manual lever you can wind on fairly quickly rivalling some of the slower winders. There are plenty accessories for the OM2 including auto winders bulk backs and a full range Olympus lenses, not to mention a full range of good independent lenses. All second hand of course allowing you to build up a system of lenses for very little outlay.
In fact if you are lucky enough to acquire a manual you will see that you are not just buying a camera but buying into a system.
Brass vs. Plastic
The OM2 comes from the old school of camera making and is a solid construction of brass. Very few modern cameras are made this way now due to price constraints so you are buying a camera of sturdy build which is able to take some knocking about without doing to much damage although I wouldn't recommend bouncing it of pavements as with all cameras there are many delicate parts inside.
The OM 2SP
Originally when I set up this review I wanted to talk about this camera that I used to own and sorely miss. This was one of the last manual focus SLRs Olympus made, along with the expensive OM4, OM4ti and OM3ti that is. It was a big improvement on the OM2 and departure from centre weighted exposure systems. This camera is a cracker it exposure was almost always spot on regardless of conditions this was because of the way it read its exposures. Firstly the added spot metering, hence the SP in the model number which stood for spot program. This enabled the photographer to take a reading off a specific area in a pic allowing the photographer to get a more accurate exposure. Another clever trick was the fact that during exposure and especially with a dedicated flash it read the exposure straight off the film and adjusted the exposure accordingly. This feature would take into account changing light right up to the instant the picture was taken.
How Much?
A good OM2 should now be well under £100 pounds, when I talk about good I mean mint condition, expect it to be a lot less if its been knocked about a bit. Expect the OM 2SP to be over the £100. It's a good un and a classic. If you get it for any less than that let me know I want it.
I would highly recommend this camera for anyone willing to learn a little about photography and is comfortable with setting everything manually. This is not a point and shoot type. You set everything yourself from the film speed up. I mainly use Canons just now but if Olympus ever gets back into the SLR market I for one am interested in buying.
Advantages: Compact and simple to use Disadvantages: limited functions and expensive add-ons
My Olympus OM2 was purchased in the Mid 1970s, it was one of the most compact SLR Cameras of its day and pioneered TTL metering, this camera is best described as semi automatic with aperture priority. The OM2 still had the option for Manual mode. By todays standards the OM2 is very basic but being simple to use, offered the enthusiastic armature a professional feel. Typically there was a feast of must have accessories, from motor drive to interchangeable ... ...The most tiresome failing is if one forgets to turn off the camera the batteries quickly expired resulting in lock up. It has stood the test of time although now replaced with an Olympus E400 there is no doubt the OM2 was the best Olympus camera of its day. ...
Flashharry1955 27.04.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Olympus OM 2
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Advantages: Flexibility of use Disadvantages: You have to wait for the prints to come back
I bought my OlympusOM2 N 20 years ago and it still serves me well. I was a professional wedding photographer for 10 of those years and the camera never let me down or failed to produce crisp, clear images. The lens is a Zuiko 35 - 70 f4 zoom (also produced by Olympus) and is of the highest quality. I have used the camera in many different situations ranging from holiday snaps to portraits, modelling portfolios, and fast moving motor sport events; each different situation has called upon a different technique to capture the scene and the Olypmus OM2 N has never failed to deliver. Manual as well as automatic exposure means greater flexibility and SLR means a wide range of lenses are available. A finely engineered piece of photographic equipment that is also rugged enough to withstand harsh treatment in unfriendly environments. ...
Michael151256 29.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Olympus OM2 N
Advantages: Groundbreaking automatic exposure Disadvantages: Eats batteries, can't work without them
The OM2 was first produced in 1975, two years after the appearance of the manual-only OM1, and instantly became a cult classic full frame automatic exposure single lens reflex (SLR) aperture priority camera.
In 1979 it underwent several cosmetic changes and was renamed OM2n, and remained in production until 1984.
A further variation - the 'spot' or SP model was made, and is more collectable (and expensive).
Instead of concentrating on the technical superiority of the camera, Olympus relied on celebrity photographer endorsement - David Baily and Lord (Paddy) Litchfield being but two - I even remember David Attenbourgh being associated with them, however I don't recall seing him on an advert.
You can still get a good OM2 in second hand camera shops, although many don't bother stocking them any more, demand is dropping as people ...
dobieg 26.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Olympus OM2 N
Advantages: bomb proof, quality lenses,size Disadvantages: You may have to know basic photography to get the best out of it.
My Dad purhased a OM2n when they first appeared...sometime in the 70's when he still had hair.
It was the camera that got me into the photography bug and it went to school with me many times.
I was going to say 'I don't know why anybody would purchase this camera second hand unless they are a collector' as there are better cameras out there that are easier to use for the same money...around the £180 I think.
Having said that if you do buy this Camera you would be investing in a future antique (if its not already) and it is fairly simple to use I suppose in 'auto' mode. I just adjusted the f stops until the needle in the view finder was in the middle of the scale. Worked every time for general things.
Auto mode is the only thing here that is automatic. No autofocus, film winder/rewinder, flash etc.
You set what aperture you ...
boooon 30.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Olympus OM2 N
Fantastic build quality, superb handling, access to Nikon's legendary range of lenses, capable of virtually any assignment, total "systems"camera
Slow 1/80 sec flash sync, idiosyncratic position of hot-shoe,dull (by modern standards anyway) viewfinder, metering pattern takes getting used to, this is NOT a point-and-shoot camera. (*)
