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ken
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 10:01 am: | 
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Hi
I acquired an OM2 body which had been returned from a repairer as being beyond economical repair. Something to do with the printed circuit board, though I don't know any details. It is in a very good cosmetic condition implying it has been well taken care of. I intended using it as a source of spares for my OM1.
Following instructions from an on-line OM2 manual I unlocked the mirror. On an off chance I then replaced the batteries and took a couple of meter readings in manual mode. They agree with the meter readings from my OM1. The OM2 also seems to operate in automatic mode.
I would like to try and work out the limits within which the camera actually works and intended running a film through it, documenting everything that I do.
Are there any specific tests that I can carry out which will help me? Thanks in advance for your help.
Ken |
rick oleson
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 10:43 am: |
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One thing that you can do is to check the manual speeds. for the higher speeds you can use your TV screen as a tester, as shown at http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-135.html ... the exact speeds are less imporant than that they progress uniformly from one to the next.
Do NOT attempt to check automatic speeds without film in the camera, they will appear erratic and inaccurate. The best way to check automatic speeds is on film.
The OM2 uses silver cell batteries; it does not like alkalines very much. The reason for this is that the camera has a voltage sensor in it that shuts the camera down if the voltage drops too low. Since the output voltage of alkalines is inconsistent, an OM2 may suddenly shut down if loaded with alkalines that may still work okay in another camera. If the OM2 does quit on you, make sure you have fresh silver cells in it before panicking.
You could also test for the long-exposure limit - this can be done with or without film. In as dark a place as is conveniently available, put on a lens cap and stop the lens as far down as it will go (or just mount a body cap if you have one), set the ASA to the lowest setting and the camera to AUTO and release the shutter. I believe the nominal value is 60 seconds, and I think something as short as 30 or so might have been considered "in spec" (I do have the specs at home but i don't remember). It may stay open as long as 2-3 minutes, I can't recall what the long-end spec was either but I have an OM2N that runs 3 minutes. The cool thing about this is that if you encounter a situation that requires it, the camera will actually give you good exposures at these light levels. I have a few shots of a Great Horned Owl taken at midnight through a 400mm lens with a teleconverter on it... exposures were f/12.6 at 180 seconds and results were excellent (except that they look like daytime shots)
: ) = |
ken
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2005 - 11:14 am: |
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Rick
Thank you for the very speedy response, much appreciated.
I have visited your site and will certainly try that out, as well as the other suggestion.
When I run the film though it, I plan to use my OM1 settings as the standard (31 years of experience with it, so I know it meters accurately:-), use the same lens on the OM2 and take a photo in each of manual and auto mode. I think that will give me a good idea of the accuracy of the meter, whether the shutter speeds are accurate, and whether the auto mode is working accurately.
I will keep you informed of my progress.
Thanks! Ken |
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