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Former Weapon of Choice

My third favorite camera out of my collection. An Olympus OM-1n.

 

The last and best full-manual, non-computerized 35mm SLR made. It forces YOU to do all the work. It won't do anything for you and that's why I love it.

 

I bought it in 2019 from the estate of a doctor who had purchased it in 1982, dropped it unopened into a filing cabinet in his office and never touched it again. I put a C.R.I.S. battery converter in it using a silver oxide battery to get the light meter working and removed the melting foam from around the pentaprism. The coating on the pentaprism hadn't yet been damaged.

 

I have the high serial number final variant of the "Made in Japan" 50mm f1.8 lens. I tried an early chrome-nose version of the 50mm f1.4 but preferred the f1.8.

 

I also have a radioactive 24mm f2.0 that had a yellowed front element due to the thoriated glass decay. I took it to work and placed it under a high output UV light for a week to correct the damage. That turned the yellow tint to an almost imperceptibly light rose color that has the effect of very slightly warming any exposure made with it.

 

I put a 49-55mm step up ring on the 50mm lens so that I can use a Minolta 55mm screw-clamp rectangular hood with both lenses. I've since stopped using the UV filters.

 

I also have an NOS T32 flash, a 35-105mm zoom and a 65-200mm zoom. They rarely get used. I prefer working with the primes and available light.

 

I've been experimenting and found that I prefer Ektar 100 and a liquid based C41 chem kit for color negative and Ilford Delta 100 for B/W. I do all my own developing at home and scan using an Epson V550 flatbed. I use the Epson negative carrier but I replaced the top half with a strip of anti-newton ring glass - it holds the negative flatter.

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Uploaded on January 22, 2021
Taken on January 21, 2021