Another Haul

Have you put a battery in the OM2?
 
Yes. The batteries were still in it and oxidised. I've cleaned it up and installed fresh batteries. The power is there, but the mirror remains stuck in the up position with the shutter curtains open. A bit annoying, but fixable. I've taken quite a shine to the Minolta, actually. That was in a similar condition, but was triggered by the self timer, and seems to be working well now. It's all good fun. :D
 
I assume you know this and have tried the reset procedure for the OM2

https://www.mir.SPAM/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/om2/om2manual/index.htm
 
Plain Nev said:
Stephen, you're a genius! Worked first time.

Signed. A happy bunny. :cool:
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In my experience the film plane metering on the OM2 is hard to beat, never gets it wrong even under challenging circumstances.
 
Barney said:
In my experience the film plane metering on the OM2 is hard to beat, never gets it wrong even under challenging circumstances.
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Yes, I'm looking forward to trying it out. I do try and put all my cameras into use. At some point. :D
 
Plain Nev said:
Yes, I'm looking forward to trying it out. I do try and put all my cameras into use. At some point. :D
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So many brilliant cameras, so little time. :)
Life would be boring if we only stuck to the best ones.
 
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I wish I could find a charity shop with some cameras in. Grrr.:headbang:
 
I can highly recommend volunteering to handle donated cameras for your local charity shop. Trust me, they'll be very grateful to have someone who knows what they're doing. For my local charity shop I pop in once every couple of weeks to see if anything has come along, then I bring it all home, check what's working and not working, fixable or non-fixable, clean it and price it, then drop it off again for them to sell. I price cheap enough for local photographers to feel like they've found a proper bargain.

Of course I buy a few bits an pieces for myself as well, always paying the fair market price since it's a charity after all.
 
Should the battery run out and you don't have a spare, the 1/60 shutter speed will still work. It's marked in red to indicate it's different.
 
Tavitonian said:
I can highly recommend volunteering to handle donated cameras for your local charity shop. Trust me, they'll be very grateful to have someone who knows what they're doing. For my local charity shop I pop in once every couple of weeks to see if anything has come along, then I bring it all home, check what's working and not working, fixable or non-fixable, clean it and price it, then drop it off again for them to sell. I price cheap enough for local photographers to feel like they've found a proper bargain.

Of course I buy a few bits an pieces for myself as well, always paying the fair market price since it's a charity after all.
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My son is currently working as assistant manager at the local Red Cross, he does see a few cameras come in but few of them are as interesting as an OM2. That said he did buy a Nikon FG20 from another charity shop which sparked his interest in all things Nikon.
 
zx9 said:
That said he did buy a Nikon FG20 from another charity shop which sparked his interest in all things Nikon.
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The FG20 nearly turned me off Nikon for life!

Mind you, it wasn't a good idea to mate it a heavy long zoom lens...

FG20 With Vivitar 70-210 zoom.JPG
 
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zx9 said:
I have never been a Nikon fan but I have to admit the FM2N and FM3a that he subsequently bought, not from charity shops, are rather nice with good viewfinders and a solid feel.
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I never liked Nikon cameras or lenses, but the FM, and later versions were nice cameras.

Unfortunately the cameras I'm after don't seem to ever turn up in charity shops, Wood & Brass, early SLRs, higher end folders, etc, but they are or were easy to find at camera fairs :D

Ian
 
lindsay said:
I wish I could find a charity shop with some cameras in. Grrr.:headbang:
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Should you attend the Photography Show, you'll find dozens of cameras on the disabled photographers' stand. A few years ago, I got an Exa500 (sentimental reasons - an Exa IIB was my first SLR) with the 50mm Domiplan, 135mm Zeiss, 30mm Lydith, 200mm Travenar and the coupling rods used with extention tubes and bellows to preserve automatic diaphragm operation. The camera was in its original leather ever ready case. £35 the lot.

This year, there were just as many cameras, lenses, odds and ends to choose from.
 
I'd forgotten about that stand at the show - I remember being unable to get to the table thanks to the number of people trying to nab a bargain!
 
My problem isn't with buying interesting cameras, lenses and etc - it's with selling the things and regretting it afterwards.

Still, if you've got two cameras, you can always take a picture with one of the other. What's more, if you have three cameras...

Leica and Nikon with enormous coffee at Costa Cirencester.jpg
 
zx9 said:
I have never been a Nikon fan but I have to admit the FM2N and FM3a that he subsequently bought, not from charity shops, are rather nice with good viewfinders and a solid feel.
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Well I've been unlucky with Nikon.....my first F4 I couldn't get it working, my 301 had to use a hacksaw to get the lens off, the expsure meter on my Fm has now stopped working, my 401....I threw in the bin because it wouldn't take a shot for my shutter/lens selection that I chose WTF...I want to be in charge NOT the camera.
 
lindsay said:
I'd forgotten about that stand at the show - I remember being unable to get to the table thanks to the number of people trying to nab a bargain!
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The good items sell quickly, but I've bought Leningrad light meters for £1 there.

Another place, near the OP, is the regular Antique, Collectors and Flea Fairs at the 3 Counties Show Ground, near Malvern, and of course there are similar events in other parts of the country. In the past I've done well, a Rolleiflex in great condition for £70, an 8" Petzval for £20, and more.

Ian
 
I have yet to discover if there is anything similar here in Northern Ireland
 
Ian Grant said:
A quick Google search maybe not as large though.
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Thanks - general antique fairs there, in a couple of places that are relatively accessible, so may give them a try, but antique fairs tend to have higher prices for cameras as "objets d'art" in my experience
 
lindsay said:
I'd forgotten about that stand at the show - I remember being unable to get to the table thanks to the number of people trying to nab a bargain!
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The trick is to be quick. I was there when the doors opened, went straight to the stand (thanks Photography News for the map online in advance) and found it almost deserted. I was in and out before the crowds arrived.

I was disappointed this year and the one two years ago that they no longer seemed to have the stand of old books that I've found so useful in previous years.
 

Ian Grant said:
Unfortunately the cameras I'm after don't seem to ever turn up in charity shops, Wood & Brass, early SLRs, higher end folders, etc, but they are or were easy to find at camera fairs :D
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The tragedy is that they are probably being donated, but just chucked away as junk because there's nobody in the shop who knows what they are or what to do with them. That was certainly happening in the Oxfam shop I help out at before I started there. A good example is the glorious Kodak No.3A that turned up a month or two ago: it had the Ross London lens, the shutter worked, even the rangefinder (the world's first ever coupled rangefinder) still worked. 3¼×5½ inch negatives on 122 film. The bellows needed replacing so I put it in the shop very cheap and it got snapped up. Hopefully the buyer will replace the bellows and actually use it.

Before I got involved I can guarantee that it would have been thrown away, and that's probably happening in charity shops all around the country right now.
 
Tavitonian said:
Before I got involved I can guarantee that it would have been thrown away, and that's probably happening in charity shops all around the country right now.
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Interesting, my default assumption has been that the dearth of cameras in local camera shops these days was a "corporate" realisation that they can get better prices by selling them off online centrally. Maybe it's a combination...
 
The trick is to find those charity shops that will have cameras. Some never will, but others often do. Then keep going back. I've always found antique and bric a brac fairs to be fertile ground as well. I've come across tables of Exa's, and others specialising in Russian cameras, before now.
 
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