Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 – Random Ruminations

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 neither 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.

I 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.

I remain grateful. Life is good.

This is my recently returned Olympus OM-1 MD with a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 lens affixed.

Sometime relatively long ago, an old motorcycle friend indicated that he was selling his Olympus 35mm film kit. So, I emailed and asked him what he had and what he wanted for it. His response seemed more than fair so I sent him a check.

This Olympus OM-1 MD was one of the two cameras in the lot. It actually had the motor drive cover in place. (Many of these cameras do not have the cover.) Frank took care of his equipment.

The second body was an OM-2s Program. It actually came with a box and paperwork. There were a few lenses that came with the kit as well.

Back when Steve had his shop in Sparks, my buddy Jimmy and I used to gather there for a visit. Steve took the OM-2s to his bench and checked the meter and shutter. He looked at me, a bit shocked, and said “The meter is right on and so is the shutter. This is scary good!”

We all had a good laugh over it. The OM-1 fared reasonably well, although the meter was off by a full stop. I do not recall if it was under- or over-exposing. It does not matter now.

I picked up the camera from the shelf a few months ago and found the winding mechanism jammed. It would need a repair. So, after a bit of searching, I found John Hermosa, who runs a Zuiko repair shop and sent him an email. The repair would not be cheap, but this is a fine old mechanical camera — about as simple as cameras come.

So, I sent it to him for assessment and responded a week later with a repair bill and asked for payment. I knew it would take a month or two for it to be returned.

It arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I mounted a Zuiko 40mm f/2 pancake lens that I had in my inventory and loaded a roll of film for some testing. When in the field, I noticed that the viewfinder did not brighten up after releasing the shutter. Some investigation revealed that the aperture blades were slow to return to wide open. I saw no oil on the blades, so the mechanism must be fouled.

I emailed Steve, who moved his business to North Dakota a few years ago, but is a trusted technician. I sent the lens to him this morning for cleaning.

That meant my first test roll is probably trash. I have not decided if I will send it for development or not.

This morning I mounted a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 silver nose on the OM-1 and took it with me on walkies. I shot two-thirds of the 24-exposure roll on my walk with The Girl and will finish it up tomorrow.

The walk was lovely! The temperature has moderated this week and it was 72ºF when we reached the staging area. She was antsy to get out and so was I. There was another vehicle there, so I was watchful. But I saw no dog so let her out.

And off she went!

I donned my pack, which was a little heavier with a few small hand tools I added to the loadout. We headed up the trail. The sun felt good, not oppressive as it has the last couple of months. She had a blast running about hunting chipmunks.

I ran the little camera, using the internal meter. (It is an old-school match needle meter, just like what I learned on.) I made some adjustments by intuition or shot an extra frame with an exposure adjustment.

I can see why a lot of professionals chose these little cameras for their work, especially field correspondents. They are small, handy, have a good viewfinder, and the lenses are good.

I am looking forward to the results of the test roll. The 40mm lens will be a welcome addition to the kit because that is a favorite focal length.

I plan to keep this little camera and a handful of lenses to support it.

it was a good day. Life is good.