Olympus OM-3

This morning I enjoyed a nice mug of Joe and admired the new-to-me Olympus OM-3. Capture with iPhone 13 Pro Max, SOOC.

It has been a day. The weather turned more wintry last night and I woke to a gray day. I made my first mug of the day using my Aeropress and some Peet’s whole bean dark roast. I sat down at the computer to contemplate the day and enjoy my coffee and noticed the new-to-me Olympus OM-3 sitting on my desk. I decided to make an image to celebrate the arrival of one of my grail cameras.

The OM-3 did not sell in large numbers. It has a mechanical shutter, which I think is highly desirable. It has a sophisticated spot metering system that it shares with the OM-4 (electronic shutter) that is very powerful. The camera will average multiple spot readings to produce a proper exposure. There is a bit of a learning curve, but not bad. I have already figured it out.

My sample has some brassing on the edges and a bit of paint loss on the back. Although these cameras are collectible, my sample is user grade and I will use it.

I have a G.Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 lens in my inventory and I affixed that lens to the body. I ran about a half roll of 36-exposure film through it yesterday and need to finish off the roll. I checked the meter with my Minolta spot meter and the camera’s meter is within a half-stop of the Minolta. That is good enough. After I use it for a while I might send it in for a CLA. I might also replace the light seals.

I have a few Olympus lenses in my inventory. Many of the Olympus lenses are very good and the system is very small. I mean diminutive in stature; not a weak system.

It will be fun to put this camera through its paces. I just want some good light.

Yesterday I noticed that my Microsoft Office 365 installation needed to be updated (on my Mac). So I permitted the updater to do the work. On starting Word, I was greeted with “Welcome to Copilot” and I nearly shat myself. I have no desire to permit any AI on my computers, especially Microsoft’s. This seems like an open door to the software scraping my systems for data to feed the AI monster. NO THANK YOU!

And that is not just a “No!” it is a “Hell No!”

I think this might be the last straw. Big Tech seems to be invading everything now and I want nothing to do with it. In texting with my son and my grandson today, I realize that it is highly unlikely that I will either be able to completely limit my exposure nor completely disconnect from the grid. But, I can take some steps to make me a harder target such that the ‘bots will tackle the easier targets instead of me.

In installed LibreOffice on my Mac this afternoon. After working with it some, I can decide if I can eliminate the Microsoft virus from my Mac. It is bad enough that Apple is asking me to turn on their AI. (I said no.) It also means that I am looking at Linux again as a possible refuge or at least a minimization of my exposure.

So I will set up a Linux computer and start doing some testing. I wonder what photography post-processing applications I can get running under Linux. I guess I will find out.