I‘m Thomas and this channel is about photography and camera gear! So come follow me!
... born in 1975, I have been crazy about photography since I am 6 years old! I'm an avid photographer as well as a gearhead like almost any other photographer. I also love classic camera and photography stuff and history as well!
Thanks for visiting and of course I hope you will check back soon!
Contact & business inquiries: instagram.com/my7views
I was wondering about who to trust in terms of purchasing a TLR Rollei. I have been recommended Kamerastore. Do you know of any others who also issue guarantees and a detailed report on their restored cameras for sale? Thanks, David
Really helpful. My only thought is the background thempty thump music. Not that is clashes with the vintage cameras. But it is distracting. Natural sound would be better in footage about street photography and the right camera for that.
Hello Tom, I didn't understand you when talking about the shutter. Just a hint - use several shots - the one with these old people and covid masks is "not best"
@@tomscameras I don't understand why this is a "fast" lens and why the electronic shutter option would be better. Wouldn't a ND filter not be the better solution?
@@dakrisi3520 Yes, the ND filter also works! The electronic shutter option on the Fuji cameras has the advantage that you don’t need to handle with the ND filter, for example when the lighting changes suddenly ... the camera can just adjust the speed automatically all the time and you don’t need to care for anything and can concentrate on your subject.
Late on the ball here, but what a wonderful and interesting analysis Tomas! It’s almost as digital photos are like Rembrandt and analog photos are like van Gogh.
This is the official page from 7Artisans with all product information: 7artisans.store/products/50mm-f1-8-af-lens I don’t think there have been any firmware updates yet as the lens is still very new and the firmware should be up-to-date still? Have you run into any issues that are related to software / firmware?
No. Manual lenses and AF lenses are completely different in every detail. Optics, mechanics, everything. That means if they want to make an AF lens they have to start from zero again. The closest in terms of specification is the Sony AF 50/1.8. it’s really basic and cheap and it’s AF is very slow, but it is nice nonetheless. Here’s my review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tMqCmWZjB1Q.htmlsi=AZXRu_b0BS0t1TSG The 7Artisans 50/1.8 also has the same specs on paper … but it is a totally different beast. It’s huge, but AF is fast and the optics are fantastic. It’s in a totally different league than the tiny TT Artisan lens! For what the 7Artisans AF lens offers, it’s a real bargain! My review is here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6pIxYhSFw7E.htmlsi=zOBTlzbnUzXZxhac
Friend, I have very good Nikon's but by looking this video I started to remember 1977 when my grandpa give me my first Nikon. as a high school graduation gift (the FM)... I because this video, I have decided to get me a Nikon FG, I already have a good collection of Old Nikkor AI and Nikon series E lenses.... That way I can satisfy my nostalgia for Film Photography.... I do enjoy very much manual focusing even with my Z50, D500 and D750.
All my photos are shot in RAW and edited. but "editing" means: White balance, saturation & hue, contrast. All these are settings that you HAVE to decide on anyway. Either it's done in-camera ... and then every manufacturer does it differently anyway ... or you do it in the RAW converter. What I do NOT "edit" is things like: vignetting, distortion, chromatic aberrations. If I correct for any of these in any of my photos, I put in a note / some text in the video so you know it. This way, you can always see the original optical quality of the lens, especially with these manual lenses!
Not sure why Tom didn't emphasize the HUGE and brilliant viewfinder ! - Seriously, it's simply stunning Not to mention that it's one of the MOST COMPACT SLR's ever made (The Pentax MX & ME Super were just a bit smaller). Finally, the OM-1 and OM-2 were truly Pro level cameras (they were designed to use 5 frame per second motor drives)...
You are absolutely right: Maybe I should have talked about these characteristics more clearly. But then, there’s also my Olympus OM-1 video. Maybe I should have positioned this OM-2 video more as a sequel to that first video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jvQtmhFMHWM.htmlsi=ctrFZI1IaX1KKQNS
Yes. It works well. My advice is that you should check that infinity setting first because then you know that all the other distance markings are correct as well. And best use it at f/5.6 or f/8. Then depth of field will cover slight focus errors!
Thanks so much. I tried today with Peaking set at high and at F8. Everything in viewfinder is highlighted in bright red (peak color) so far so good!!!!
I just finished putting new light Seals in my Spotamatic SP11 the light Seals were old and needed replacing i used supplies purchased from Walmart for few dollars
Yes, these foam light seals are used in so many old cameras and after all those years they need to be replaced. Hope you are having a lot of fun and good results with your Spotmatic SP II !
You have tested a lot of these fast lenses in this budget category and I have watched your every review multiple times yet still cannot decide, I am looking for a large aperture (around f1.0) lens, what would you think which would be the best trade-off between sharpness and aperture (as wide aperture as possible without sacrificing sharpness too much)?
The best budget super-fast lens in terms of optics IMO is the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95! Its optics are better than all the other f/0.95 lenses that I have tried out so far. So if the 35mm focal length on APS-C is okay for you, that is the one to go for!
I've got two first-generation OM Zuiko 50/1.4 (silver nose) and a few 50/1.8 ... the f/1.8 is overall better = sharper at open apertures, yes! Once you stop down to like f/4, you won't see any real world difference anymore. They say that the very last generation 50/1.4 are optically improved, but I never tried that out so far ...
I had a OM2, had. Beautiful camera. I said 'had' because I bought a OM40 for 20% of the pricer of the OM2. I used the OM40 and sold the OM2. The OM40 is underestimated. It hase everything the OM2 has, only more and better. Like the spot metering for instance. Only the price is less.
The double-digit OM's are a bit lower-grade in terms of design and finish, but they're definitely built to similar standards internally. So I can't say anything bad about them! However today I see the OM-10/20/40 often offered at pretty high prices ... but the market for vintage SLR cameras is very volatile. Always pays out to spend some time to find a bargain!
I took this to Europe with me and tried using zone focus on a Sony nex5 camera. Either I was not understanding how to zone focus or the lens was not marked correctly for zone focus. Having said this, I went to camera settings, and used the focus peaking indicator in red to assist determining focus and this seems to have corrected whatever focus issues were encountered. As an inexpensive travel lens it did the job.
Zone focus is a bit tricky if you don't have any experience. And also pay attention to those "depth-of-field" markings. They are all wayyyyyy to "generous", they indicate that you get a huge depth of focus which in reality just isn't there. Generally speaking, if you shoot at f/8, you really have to use the markings for f/2.8 on the depth-of-field scale!! The reason for all this is that those scales were made at a time when people normally made tiny 3x4 inch prints instead of looking at their photos on a huge screen as we do today! I made a video about manual focusing some time ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-43UlxsU3Eno.html
I've always shot Canon, but a friend of mine back in the '70s shot Olympus and I have to say that I was very impressed with the quality of the cameras he was using.
Yes, there is no such thing as a "bad" brand: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta, Pentax, Chinon ... even vintage Cosina or Praktica ... they all do their job really well!
@@simonlyons5681 I guess that depends on the size and shape of your hands. I wouldn't have continued with them if I didn't find them comfortable to use.
You really like to tempt fate: loosening tiny screws outside, among rocks and grass. You must live a charmed life, have a guardian angel, or have an endless supply of small parts.
Truth to be told is that I wanted to show how easy it is to adjust these lenses. But as you saw, it wasn't. 🤣 The tiny screws are really not the problem there BTW as you're not supposed to fully unscrew them! They won't end up in the grass!
Auf der Contessa 2 von und mit meinem Dad hab ich gelernt - bin seit Neustem mit einer OM -1 unterwegs - grossartig - aber bei dem ganzen Geraffel vermisse ich manchmal dieses aufgeräumte fotografieren - Blende, Zeit, Entfernung wenn Du Dein Baby kennst weisst Du was es tut und gut is.
Danke für Deinen Kommentar! Irgendwie ist die Contessa so ein Modell was sehr unter dem Radar fliegt ... obwohl die Kamera wirklich gut ist und genau das kann was man heute gern von einer analogen Kamera erwartet! Hast Du die analoge oder die digitale OM-1? Weil die analoge OM-1 ist ja auch sehr aufgeräumt ... daher mag ich die besonders!
@@tomscameras Es ist die digitale OM-1 in die ich völlig schockverliebt bin- ich bin vor Jahren nach eben Vadders Contessa, einer Yashika und eine Minolta auf Digital umgestiegen - wobei ich die Entwicklung von Blende, Verschlusszeit und Fokus manuell einstellen ( die Contessa hat ja einen großartigen Belichtungs- und Entfernungsmesser - und bei der Yashika vom ersten Lehrgeld dachte ich dann WTF wofür brauche die eigentlich eine Batterie) - dann die Zeitautomatik eben der Yashika und erst dann kam die Minolta mit Vollautomatik - allerdings auch alles auf manuell umstellbar - nicht missen möchte. Was das Digitale betrifft da sticht für mich zum Analogen, dass ich nicht auf 36 Bilder pro Film festgelegt bin und in der digitalen Dunkelkammer selbst gut nachbearbeiten kann. Ich hatte mal ein SW Labor mit dem ich nie wirklich weit gekommen bin, aber bei Farbe war ich raus. Ansonsten: Irgendwann lad ich wieder einen Film in die Contessa - einen SW und ich weiss, dass das Baby nach 60 Jahren immer noch zuverlässig funktioniert - auch bei Stromausfall kurz vorm Weltuntergang - wenn meine OM-1 schon längst den Fisch gemacht hat -was ich mit aufgeräumt meine ist ganz puristisch: 3 Einstellräder am Objektiv - alles schön über analoge Skalen ablesbar - that's it. Wobei ich das nicht gegen mein High Tech Geraffel auspielen möchte, dass auf jeden Fall seine Vorzüge hat und ich heute erst Fotos schießen kann, die ich früher niemals hinbekommen hätte.
I shot an outdoor event with this lens, mounted on a Fuji X-Pro2 with a focal reducer, on the weekend. Hand held, no IBIS, at shutter speeds of 1/80 to 1/500. No problems (but I have been shooting manual focus lenses for 50 years). Use your feet to get the OOF working to good effect. I really like it.
Thanks a lot for your comment! You shot an outdoor event with the TT Artisan 250mm mirror lens? Wow ... that's unusual! It's a really long focal length for an event!
@@tomscameras At an outdoor event spread out over a large area I typically have two cameras. One with a long lens (generally a 70-300mm zoom rather than this mirror lens) and one with something shorter, around 50mm. APS-C. The mirror lens was great with it's shallow DOF and funky OOF to get some striking long distance shots of individual scenes in the crowd. I'll use it again like that for sure.
Well , Wiki says the super TL1000 was actually build between 1980 and 1984 ( although it really looks like a Camera from 1969). It is very similar to the MTL3 built at the same time but without the selftimer. I like your Videos very much .
Hi Thomas, thanks for your comment. Maybe I was not very precise in my video. You are absolutely right: The "Super TL 1000" arrived in 1980. But what I intended to say is that the whole camera series (the Praktica L series) was launched in 1969 and there were very little changes throughout the whole production run. Basically the 1970 Praktica LTL was already exactly the same as the 1979 MTL 3, I think the only real change is that they went to an LED readout for the light meter at some point. The last one of this "middle-of-the-range" L series lineup was the MTL 5 B which was made from 1985 to 1989. But in the end, they all were the same thing since 1969 ... The Super TL 1000 was a bit of a cheaper version, hence no self timer. Similar to the Pentax K1000 compared to the Pentax KM.
Danke für dieses Video! Du hast mich dran erinnert das ich eine OM2 im Schrank hatte und die passenden Batterien bestellt hatte, aber vor zwei Jahren komplett vergessen habe sie endlich mal zu nutzen. Jetzt ist ein Film drin und die kommenden Tage wird der erste Film durchlaufen. Einfach danke! Herrlich ist das Ding. 🙏
The entire time you were standing next to water without a strap I was on egg shells. In 2016, I bought a "like new" M6 TTL for US$2500 for my spouse, who used it regularly until it was damaged when the tote bag it was in fell off a table. Fortunately, only the rewind knob was damaged and I was able to get a new official Leica spare for US$100 and an official Leica service shop in Bangkok fixed it for ~US$200. Of course, now my spouse will not use it -- too valuable -- and instead carries a prewar Leica II with a Canon 50mm lens. The Leica II is also much smaller, so that's another reason. That Summicron is also a very nice lens. I bet replacing that setup would be more than 4000€. Good video. Very nice camera.
Of course, we take some care when filming that you don't see - usually I want to show all the details of the camera when we produce the video, so that's why on that day the camera is not in a half case, for example. And then yes I am aware to take extra care to not scratch or drop it. Also when we place the camera on some surface for a product shot, there's often a tiny piece of tissue or something below. You won't see it in the shots. I really make sure nothing is scratched in any way. Last not least I carry every equipment in a camera bag at all times except when I take it out for a video scene. When I'm using a camera regularly for myself, I always use a half case and then very often also a camera bag. And yes the one thing I really personally hate is camera straps. Don't ask me why. They totally annoy me ...
The OM line-up are my favorite cameras. I rarely use my OM-3t - just too valuable, but I use OM-4t's frequently. That is really is my go to, but I have almost all of them, even an M-1. I currently have a roll in my OM-2SP. I really like the features of the Leica R6.2 -- and it has nice glass -- but it is far too heavy and bulky. The Nikon F3/T is also feature rich, lighter than the Leica, but still substantially bigger than the OMs. For SLRs, I keep returning to my OM cameras. Great video. Thanks.
The OM-3 Ti is a fantastic classic, but as you say ... sadly it's a rare collectors item so you won't really use it on a day-to-day base. However the OM-4 Ti is a very nice alternative :) One thing I'm not so sure about: The F3 is less weight than the Leica R6.2? I always thought the R6 is pretty compact (and nice looking) for a mechanical SLR camera. But I admit I never shot a Leica R6 myself and it is ages ago that I had one in my hands. The really huge one is the Leica R8 ...
Fabulous video Tim! It’s a beautiful camera and your photos are fantastic! 😍😍 It makes me sad a dear friend of mine talked me into giving him my lovely OM-2N. Then again I was hardly using it and he is, so it lives in!
@@tomscameras Based on your video, I bought an OM-2. It's working great so far. I haven't had my film developed, but it appears to be working flawlessly. It came with a 28mm F/3.5, 50mm F/1.8 and a 135mm F/3.5. I especially like the 28 & 135, the 50mm feels really janky
These cameras are real gems. I own an OM-1 from 1978 and an OM-2n from 1982 which I used until 1998 and I wouldn't think of giving either away although I am not using them anymore. But I am still using the Zuiko 50 mm/1.8 "kit" lens after more than 45 years on my OM-E M1 Mk II, mostly for close-ups of flowers, with incomparable bokeh. That lens also I would never sell.
I totally agree! And I used some of my OM Zuiko lenses a lot on digital cameras. They are really nice! And I'm still using the OM Zuiko 50/3.5 Macro lens for all the black&white scans that you see in all my videos. (I have my color photos scanned externally cause I really hate to do that color adjustment stuff myself ...)
Oh, thanks for pointing out! So I googled this and here's a link to a Brett Weston book with some shots taken with the Rolleiflex SL66: www.lodima.org/shop/brett-weston-europe
Thank you for the video, makes me want to dive into OM-System once more. If I hadn't inherited a lot of Minolta gear from my parents, this would be my analog SLR-System. So beautiful and compact, also the lenses.
Some friend of mine, who also has a lot of great Minolta gear, said exactly the same ... but truth to be told, there are some gorgeous Minolta cameras and lenses as well. I still have to produce a video about Minolta SLR cameras ... :)
Thanks for a great video. I bought my OM2n in 1981 to replace a Praktica PLC2 that came off worse than me in a bike accident. I loved it and used it regularly with the kit lens, a Zuiko f/1.8, and two Zuiko zooms until they were all stolen in 2006. Twenty five years of use! I seem to remember that my OM2n had a single mechanical shutter setting of 1/125 sec that could be used if the battery died. I used it occasionally and it was in addition to the Bulb setting that I never used.
Hmm. I know for sure is that both the OM-2 and OM-2n definitely don't offer any mechanical backup times except B. But several later Olympus bodies such as the OM-4 or the OM-2 SP (in the US the latter one was called OM-2S) have such a mechanical backup time, but it is 1/60 second. The Pentax ME / ME Super or Nikon EM and a lot of other cameras from the same era with automatic shutters also offer mechanical backup times.
@@tomscameras It must be a false memory but an odd one. I did not replace the OM2n that was stolen - digital was coming in - and I have never used an OM4. I recently purchased an old OM1, which was what I had originally wanted but could not afford when I bought the PLC2 instead back in 1977. I went for the OM1 recently because it has no electronics other than the light meter.
@@keithwilkinson8310 Check the light meter accuracy before running film through it. Mine was badly off when I got it. I had it calibrated and used it successfully for years with no problems. I recently dusted off the old 1 and 2 and see that the 1 is again a bit off (maybe 1 to 1.5 stops) whereas the 2 has always been bang-on.
Sadly, it could well be that all, or at least some of the pictures, are lost ... but you can still have the film developed and see if some photos are maybe okay!
Hi, Tom, thanks for bringing back so many memories. I was using those cameras in the 70s and 80s, when OM cameras were so special, as they were crafted for artists, and not just technical tools. I used the OM1, OM2n, 30, and 4. The spot metering and the averaging of multiple spot readings in the OM4 was also bleeding edge and unique to Olympus. Another space-age technology we had then was in a film, when Ilford released the XPS-2 film in 1980/81. It had phenomenal exposure lattitude (dynamic range). You could set ASA 50, 100, 200 or 400, even 800, and it just would not let you over-expose, even with a wide aperture on a sunny day! When "over-exposed", the film would just make your image duller, and with no loss of details or resolution. The image would look more flat, greyish with lower contrast, but all the info would still be available, and can be adjusted back when printing, e.g. using filters. It's like compression, and the adjustment in printing de-compression. Imagine getting very fine details, instead of coarse grains, when using high ASA. So, we would use a high ASA for fast actions with no fear. It was superior when compared to film pushing for demanding tasks.
I do not dissagree with anything you have said - BUT the FM2 is not the last mechanical analog SLR from Nikon. I think you forgot the FM3a that is both all mechanical AND electronic. It can shoot all mechanical as the FM and FM2, but also have the electronic mode like the FE and FE2 all in the same camera ! :-)
Yes, I guess I have a very controversial opinion here ... in my eyes, the FM3a is an electronic camera that adds a fully mechanical mode as well. My reasoning is that in case that the electronics fail, yes you can still shoot the FM3a with no problem, but still you'll eventually want to fix it ... whereas the FM2 just has a simple light meter circuit. I see the FM3a more as a successor of the FE2. They're all awesome, sadly the FM3a's are rare and expensive today!
I've just caught this video, Tom, & I have to laugh at your friend who considered the FM as a "fashion accessory"; honestly, people really have no clue as to the build quality & performance of these workhorse camera systems; sure, the pictorial results are not immediate, however, if you're comparing pixels vis-a-vis silver halide crystals, the latter will seriously challenge the digital format for resolution & (colour) saturation. Don't misunderstand me, I own two Nikon DSLR's as well, but their reliance on a power source & cost-benefit can be overshadowed by their analogue counterparts; generally speaking, optical quality in those early lenses sometimes outclasses the modern equivalents, & with the added advantage that 98% of F mount lenses can be utilised on modern digital bodies, giving incredible results. To own at least one manual camera body & lens (whatever your brand procllivity), for me, is a no-brainer. Thank you for the excellent overview ! Best, Andrew.
Thanks a lot Andrew for your comment. And yes, I also love these classic lenses so much, they're awesome even on all the modern digital camera bodies! Just timeless!
Indeed so, Tom. I have yet to step into the realm of Mirrorless - personally, I don't think they have finessed (that) technology - there are too many iterations on one theme, tho' I suspect that one day they shall acomplish what was intended. Enjoy your day ! Andrew.
