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Olympus OM20 Vintage SLR 35mm Film Camera with f/1.8 50mm Prime Lens

£9.9£99Clearance
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About this deal

The best things in life are free, right? I’m sure many followers, contributors and readers of 35mmc can recount stories of being handed over cameras for nothing – “I’ve got an old camera in the cupboard, would you like it?” – I do like to tell people I’m into old cameras! The OM-2000 had a mechanical, vertical-running shutter in contrast to the traditional OM cameras with their horizontal-running shutter. This allowed the OM-2000 to synchronize an electronic flash at 1/125s. Many photographers found this capability an advantage for the use of "fill flash" in daylight. I then grabbed the car keys and rallied the troops (dog and partner) for a walk around the harbour and prom in our local town of Maryport. Not knowing if the camera even worked, I thought it would be best not to travel the extra 20 minutes to the lake district (on this occasion). It hit me while out on the walk how slow the process of taking pictures on film was. I instantly loved the idea of detaching from the digital age, not knowing what I had taken or if it had turned out in a usable picture. So there you have part 1 of my camera collecting conscience. I am actively using the Canon, trying different films to see what combination I like with the 1960’s glass. Hope you enjoy the photos and thanks for reading. Look out for part 2 coming soon, with three more freebies featuring medium format.

After around 12 years of digital photography, I stumbled across film. I found myself coming away from the high contrast triggering photos everyone seems to be creating on digital these days (including myself). I had moved from DSLRs to micro four thirds and still found myself striving for something more creative and challenging. For that, film was the answer.The OM-20 also features an aperture priority system when set in automatic mode, which is excellent for beginners. To change ISO /ASA, all you need to do is rotate the knob located at the top right plate. The same knob can be used to adjust exposure compensation. Vignetting is the darkening of the corners of an image relative to the center of the image. There are three types of vignetting: optical, mechanical, and natural vignetting. Practically speaking, the OM-2 is a wonderful machine to use primarily due to its small size. Through the dogged work of famed designer Yoshihisa Maitani (whose name is immortalized by the “M” in “OM”) Olympus was driven to create a new world in which SLRs could be well-made and full-featured while still maintaining a tiny footprint. They succeeded with the OM-1, and that legacy carried on to subsequent OMs. In 1972, Olympus released the first camera of the OM SLR series, the OM-1, which was followed by the OM-2, OM-3 and OM-4. In 1979, they released the first of their more consumer-targeted series, the Olympus OM-10 which was seen as a less ‘professional’ camera. Not that this mattered, as the camera did in fact go on to be a success, and I can see why.

The OM-20 came with a sensor that measured the light reflected off the film. Opposed to the previous methods that measured light entering the exposure chamber, the OM-20’s approach was more accurate. It offered an electromechanical shutter capable of speeds from 240 seconds to 1/2000th of a second (plus bulb mode), aperture-priority auto-exposure mode, plus manual exposure shooting mode, a world’s first metering mode in which the camera automatically averaged eight different areas of the frame plus a built-in spot metering mode, and the OM series’ incredibly massive viewfinder rounded out the major features.

My Olympus OM-10 Review

Despite being cheaply made, and having a slower shutter speed, the OM-20 is still an excellent camera. Speaking of more fast pace shooting, this is a shot I was so happy to have aperture priority for. I had a split second to grab this shot and fumbling with manual settings was the last thing I wanted to be doing. Once again, I felt the meter absolutely nailed it. We test lenses using a mix of both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-word testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics. The nucleus of the system was a series of compact bodies divided into an advanced series and a later consumer-oriented series. The first model was the all-mechanical M-1 which, after pressure from Leica (which already had an M1 model), was renamed OM-1. At the same time the M system was renamed OM System. The camera included a full-aperture TTL Cadmium-sulphide (CdS) exposure meter, and a bayonet lens mount of relatively large diameter. By the end of the 1970s it was joined by the semi-automatic OM-2 and consumer-oriented OM-10. Olympus continued the naming pattern with the 'professional' OM-3 and OM-4, and the consumer-level OM-20, OM-30 and OM-40. The cameras were accompanied by a series of Zuiko-branded lenses, as well as a generous selection of accessories. The majority of OM bodies and lenses were manual-focus only; the OM-707 of 1986 was the only true autofocus model.

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