OM Heaven ......

[Simon Bee]

......my Holy Trinity

Just acquired a lovely 28mm F2 to go with the 50 F2 macro and 85 F2 I already have. The classic three lens outfit .... 28/50/85-90 ... itching to get out and use it now, hopefully next weekend.

As much as I like my OM-D I "LOVE" my OM3-Ti and this trinity, I was weened on film and it's in my blood, digital is great but film is wonderful.

I recently bought a new enlarger and other related hardware as I am going to once again set up a 'permanent' B&W darkroom .... can't wait to do my own D&P again and see the look of wonder on my children's faces when they see the magic of their first print appearing in the tray

Regards Simon.

[greyhound]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Although I still do the majority of my shooting with film cameras, I don't have the patience to work with a wet darkroom any more. Perhaps if I had a dedicated room it would be different but every time I wanted to do some printing I had to dismantle the kitchen and set up a temporary darkroom, so it's scanning for me. However, there's nothing like the feeling of producing a really good traditional print so I wish you well.

The outfit you've put together is a great one. I'm envious of your OM3Ti. Most OM cameras go for reasonable amounts except the OM3Ti which seems to make crazy money. The lenses you've chosen are a wee bit out of the ordinary too. Most people (myself included) went for the 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8 and 135mm f3.5 as these were reasonably priced at the time. If you do decide to scan some of your results I'd love to see some on here. Good luck!

[David M]

Re: OM Heaven ......

My OM trinity was 24/50/135. The 135 later being replaced by the Tamron 90mm macro.

I keep thinking about getting an E-M5 and 12/25/50 manual focus lenses, a digital retro trinity.

[Simon Bee]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Hello Greytop,

Thank you for your comments, I am lucky enough to once again have the space for a permanent darkroom, if I didn't I think like you I would find it too bothersome to set up for an hour or two and then pack away again.

It will likely be a couple of months before I am "up and running" as the room needs to be completely converted and I want to do it right with separate wet & dry work areas, room for a drying cabinet etc, install proper electric extraction/ventilation and possibly also a "darkroom revolving door" as I have the chance to purchase one for a good price. Once the room is converted I will post some images of it if you would be interested in seeing the set up.

I was "very" fortunate with the purchase of the 3-Ti, I will not divulge the actual price I paid but it was an offer I would have been mad to refuse

The lenses you mention are very good too and like you I also have a 50 F1.8 and 135 F3.5 but I have always had a "thing" about fast lenses and these three are rather nice. I have got my eye on a 21 F2 but am not sure it would see enough use to justify its purchase so for now it is just a "consideration".

Once the darkroom is complete if there is enough cash left over I will aim to get a quality scanner such as a Nikon 5000 ED but they are not cheap and Nikon no longer provides support for it either. A short term solution will be to get a pro lab to scan the film but if I get through a fair amount of film the scanning costs will soon add up.

Regards Simon

[Simon Bee]

Re: OM Heaven ......

I keep thinking about getting an E-M5 and 12/25/50 manual focus lenses, a digital retro trinity.

Hi David,

The OM-D is a great camera for using MF legacy lenses with, I find it very easy to focus either with or without magnified view. The attached thumbnail was taken with the OM-D and "OM" 50 F2 macro wide open, as its a low res file for uploading to this site, enlarge it and zoom in once, twice at most to get an idea of what can be achieved.

Regards Simon

[greyhound]

Re: OM Heaven ......

For scanning colour print film I use Photo Express in Hull. For £5 they will process your film and scan it (return postage included). Their scans are pretty reliable and you will get good A4 prints with ease. I have printed up to A3 but you can sometimes see some banding in regular toned areas such as blue skies. I've always taken the view that if I need bigger prints I can get the chosen negs scanned at a pro lab but I have never bothered.

For slides I use E6processing.co.uk. Their scans are more expensive but they are better quality. Yesterday I got some 18"x12" prints which I had made from their scans and they're not bad at all, so I could recommend them.

For B&W I've never had any success with lab scans. I seem to get better results by converting from colour film. (Fuji Provia 100 scans beautifully). If you are only going to do B&W work you are probably better doing it yourself as you suggest.

[Seonnaidh]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Once again DavidM and I seem to be in agreement.
The general rule of thumb was each lens should be double the focal length of the
previous one. Therefore 24/50/135 was considered to be about right with a 300mm for special occasions. I worked for years with just these three.
Today my ideal holy trinity would be 12mm 24mm 75mm.

[Bikie John]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Sound words Jon, but there is also the factor of how much you like particular lenses. I really liked the OM 85mm f/2 - very compact with nice handling and good image quality, and not too expensive. A bit of an unsung hero, I think it was rather overshadowed by the 90mm f/2 macro which was an excellent lens but a lot bulkier.

Ciao ... John

[Seonnaidh]

Re: OM Heaven ......

John I couldn't agree more.
back in the days of film I couldn't bear to be parted from my 28mm Zuiko.

[David M]

Re: OM Heaven ......

I must confess, my 135mm was the Tamron f/2.5 chosen for that extra 1/3 of a stop and the much better close focus. Olympus Japan obviously couldn't tell the difference as they published a shot taken with the Tamron.

[Naughty Nigel]

Re: OM Heaven ......

I didn't even know there was a Zuiko 28 mm f 2.0.

I have the Zuiko 35 mm f 2.0 which is a superb lens, and have recently acquired a Zuiko 21 mm f 3.5, which I have yet to use in anger.

Agree about OM3Ti prices. I think it is because it is an entirely mechanical camera, which I suppose has its advantages, although I personally prefer the convenience and security of the OM4Ti.

I bought my first OM4Ti new from Jessops in London in 1998 if I remember. That is well used, but still looks almost like new. However, I was fortunate enough to be offered a new and unused OM4Ti for a reasonable price about three years ago, which only goes out on special occasions.

[cariadus]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Very jealous Simon.

And at the other end of the scale I've just put some new batteries in my Olympus XA.

[Iansky]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Ah Simon, I can sympathise to a degree as cut my teeth on analogue!

Not sure I really miss the stained fingers and pungent smell of acetic acid - the joy of seeing the image appear in the tray cannot be beaten though.

Good luck with setting up and I do quite often see good quality darkroom kit/enlargers going cheap.

Have to admit to being totally digital now though!

[cariadus]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Not sure I really miss the stained fingers and pungent smell of acetic acid - the joy of seeing the image appear in the tray cannot be beaten though.

Personally I love the smell of fixer.
I don't have a darkroom, though. I develop and scan. I do have a room that could easily be turned into a darkroom but not sure I can justify the cost at the moment - probably going to be bankrupt after new kitchen, bathroom and other building work as it is.

Would be great to do it at some point in the future, though.

I totally agree with you about film, Simon. Just having a quick look through my Tumblr blog, of the last 20 photos I've posted 13 have been taken on film, which is probably a fair reflection of where I am at the moment with film vs digital. And I don't think we're alone - it seems to me that just as vinyl records are making a resurgence so is film, and it's not just oldies like us. My daughter is 21 and for her and many of her friends film is 'cool' (but then she is an Art student so not representative of the population generally).

By the way, can I suggest you check out the Film Shooters Collective?

I was an OM-1 man myself. I still have it but I lent it to my daughter and now I don't think I'll get it back!

[Naughty Nigel]

Re: OM Heaven ......

Not sure I really miss the stained fingers and pungent smell of acetic acid - the joy of seeing the image appear in the tray cannot be beaten though.

I always enjoyed the smell of the darkroom. There is something rather evocative about it, rather like the smell of Castrol R on the Isle of Man or at Cadwell Park.

I still do some home processing, which is easy enough with a changing bag and developing tank. You don't need a darkroom for that, and for me, the greatest joy is seeing the freshly developed transparencies as they come out of the tank.

I used to print with Cibachrome (now Ilfochrome I think), and had some success on those rare occasions when I managed to get exposure, development and colour balance right all at the same time.

I tend to scan my films these days, but I do still hanker after a good darkroom setup.