Today I came across an interesitng SLR Camera

Lads,
A relation of mine popped over to my place today and said that he'd found a camera in his attic and said it might be of interest to me seeing that I do abit of photography and all that.
He then opened the box and took out an Olympus OM-1 camera with a Vivitar 28-200 telephoto lens, I fought hard to hold back a big huge grin :lol:
I said sheepishly "yea, it might be able to find a use for it" ..

I went through the motions with it and the camera seems to be in perfect working order, the battery for the light level sensor is dead but the B setting on the camera works fine anyway, I'd heard about this but it was nice to see it in action, great for those long constellation shots. It's amazing how slender and light a camera it is, especially when I put it next to the 300D.

Its a fabulous camera, but the only drawback I see (and its a glaringly obvious one) is that it uses film, do I want to go back to the hassle and grief of film photography?????

But to be honest, I don't really want to take it if I am definitely not going to use it, it wont be long from now before you'll be seeing it in a museum. On the upside, vivitar lenses on ebay for it are dirt cheap.

So, has anyone out there got one and what are your thoughts on film and this camera.

The OM-1 is one of the all-time great astro-photo cameras.(I still have an old relative of it,an Olympus OM-10, which sulks unused on the shelf beside my Canon 400d)

I always wonder why some enerprising company doesnt produce a "Digital Retro fit insert" for those superb cameras.

They could fit the electronics & battery etc in the "film spool spaces" and place a thin CCD/CMOS sensor on the focal plans where the film was exposed.
Voila...instant digital camera.

Nice camera Dave - pop a roll of Ektachrome 200 through it aimed at the Milky Way - remember to take the odd normal picture in between so they can tell where your shots begin and end!

Mark, there was a company in the US who were trying to do exactly what you suggest about 10 years ago. Lots of press releases but no working product ever appeared - too many pitfalls I think.

As Peter already said, the OM1 is one of the all time greats. I have a Pentax MX - their answer to the OM1 and it's a great camera - totally roll-your-own settings... and B setting!

Digital cameras are great for our line of work, shooting the sky, but your digital images will likely die with you. That's why I've gone back to using film for important photos like family, weddings, birthdays, etc, because physical film based images last a lot longer. I have family photos going back to my great grandfather's time and before! Film is very important for historical record.

Hang on to the OM1 and start using it!

Phil.

The oldest photograph of a person is 170 years old this year:

unitedcats.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/oldest_human_photo.jpg

The anonymous person getting his shoes shone in Paris in 1838 ,and the shoe-shine boy,never reaised the moment of history they were participating in.
(The street was crowded but only people who were standing still were captured on the daguerreotype.)

Our modern digital technology will be utterly forgotten in 170 years.

do I want to go back to the hassle and grief of film photography?????

Go on Dave, you know you want to!

I still use my Cosina 4000S 35mm SLR. It is nigh on 30 years old with a solid metal (brass?) body. Heavy as hell compared to today's DSLR's. The disadvantage I find is not being able to compare an image almost immediately after taking it to know if I'm after going wrong somewhere.

But, for me there is some light at the end of the tunnel: even though I am also the proud owner of a Canon 350D(SLR), my current house plans (we're site hunting at the moment) include a dark room for 35mm processing. So I'm not giving up the ghost yet on film astrophotography!

Seanie.