That was very enjoyable. Brief but concise. Your photos at the end demonstrate how well the cameras meter works. Very well exposed and bitingly sharp too. Thanks
Two additional notes: The little black button on the right side of the lens mount (seen from behind) illuminates the indicator in the viewfinder for 10 seconds which is really needed in low light situations. Also, the self timer switch silences the beep sounds when pushed inwards. The beeps can be quite disturbing when the camera warns for overexposure (one still has this blinking "OVER" warning in the viewfinder). I'm sure you know this -- just thought these two features needed an explanation. And I fully agree with you regarding the amazing eight point spot metering! It's a truly unique feature not even found in the OM-D series, or in any other modern digital camera as far as I know. Oddly enough, one might add.
Sorry but you have it wrong as to how the highlight and shadow buttons work. the point is that a camera meter is always looking to turn everything into a mid grey so these buttons are a quick way to compensate for this so in fact they do the opposite to what you are saying. If you meter on a dark area and then press the 'shadow' button it will underexpose the image by 2 stops to keep this area dark. If you meter for a white area it will then over expose by 2 stops to keep the area white. I have had this camera for over 30 years so I know my way around it. A fantastically accurate metering system but not one for beginners as you really need to understand what your doing
If you want to release a lens from the camera body you don't need to press the two buttons of the lens, just the located in the upper part with shallow lines (known as lens release button). The lower button with no lines is the button used to check the depth of field in the picture.
Used to have one of these back in the 90s. The best SLR I ever owned. When I first bought it it had electrical problems where it would beep on and off constantly for no reason. Thanks for this piece of nostalgia!
Thanks ...OM-4 did have electrical issues - I think mine eventually ended up using up my batteries so I had to take them out all the time - OM-4T was much better
The OM4Ti is the best SLR for 35 mm Film Cameras, among all Japanese made Cameras, including Canon, Pentax & Nikon. Using the Flash F280 TTL System you can shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/2000 Second. It also has automatic exposure with aperture priority up to complete 120 Seconds, which is great for Night Photography but you need a professional Tripod. The Spot Metering system and average metering system are second to none and are really top professional, reading the light exposure off the film plane. Many Thanks for the nice review and assessment of this legendary camera from Olympus.
Maybe the best non Autofocus camera but not even close to the best SLR overall. This crown definitely goes to the Minolta Dynax 9 which has beside other insane features a 1/12000 of a shutter speed and the most advanced metering system for film cameras.
For me this is the Ansel Adams camera. No other camera lets one learn the zone system as quickly as this, with its wonderful horizontal shutter-speed scale and diamond-shaped indicators.
You are so absolutely right. The OM-4 has one of the most intelligent multi-spot meter system ever made. Maitani was one hell of a genius. I have an OM-4, and an OM-4ti. The OM-4 sadly suffers of that infamous drain battery problem; even if I rest the camera on B or 1/60 they will still die quickly. Solution? I just take them out and reinsert them each time I need to. As for the OM-4TI, that's another story. I put the batteries approx. 2 1/2 years ago and still goes strong.
Great shame he did not discuss the OM flash system. It is TTL Real Time, and up to six T32 flashes can be daisy-chained to produce perfect exposures on Auto. This was one of the main reasons I originally got an OM2. The flash heads also produced a lovely quality of light, and by default, on-camera flash would fully cover a 24 mm lens view. Frankly, the flash system would be a great CZcams item on its own. And then there was the T280 flash, that would provide shutter sync up to 1/2000 second! In a number of ways, the OM2 and OM4 film cameras could perform in ways that no digital camera can yet do.
Thank you for your comments. I don't do much if any flash photography, so I did not know much about this ...but I always look for the community to add to the video and make it better for everyone.
The socket with the cap is for external TTL flash. The PC flash socket is on the bottom left of the lens mount, near the button that allows you to select Bulb and manual 1/60th.
Minolta 9000 also had multi spot metering. The high and low key is not complicated. Remember it us using film and is not digital. If you would like to take a picture of something including a black subject you measure with the spot meter on the black subject and then press the low key. The result is a correct exposed black subject. The same goes for high key for white subjects. The white subject will be white. It is working really good and can still today outperform digital cameras with much more advanced exposure systems.
@@paulqueripel3493 From wikipedia "The exposure meter provided the user with the usual range of automatic exposure modes: automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual mode. As metering modes, it was capable of centre-weighted integral metering and spot metering; spot metering could be further refined with light and shadow corrections, which used an exposure memory to correct exposure by up to 2.3 EV. Furthermore, an optional back "program back super 90" (PBS-90) provided multi-spot measurements, with optional automatic weighting by average (AVERAGE), mean (CENTER), highlight (HIGHLIGHT) and shadow (SHADOW), as well as user-definable program curves. The backs also provided automatic bracketing."
I used two OM-4's professionally for ten years. I never had battery drain issues, but mostly used SR44 , silver oxide batteries. They lasted over a year. So I don't understand why people say it drains batteries. A modern myth from non pros?
Hi David. Mine did but I am sure not every one would. Also it may be a function of time. In mine, 2 weeks in and they were dead. I used silver oxide batteries.
There is NO drain battery issue in the OM4Ti. This behaviour only appears in the OM4 (and it’s not a problem if you bear a couple of spare batteries in your bag)
As an alltime manual user of cameras, even digital cameras, I do not understand the lightmeter in OM-3 and OM-4 as any thing than a gimmick, if you learn to use a camera fullly manual it cannot be any easier to use a camera ! I do not like the larger prismhousing on the OM-3 and OM-4 cameras, it is more difficult to quickly see the shutter time.
Don't know what the fuck you're talking about. What's your fucking point ? If you don't know how to fly a plane, does that mean the plane is a gimmick ?
That was very enjoyable. Brief but concise. Your photos at the end demonstrate how well the cameras meter works. Very well exposed and bitingly sharp too. Thanks
One of my all time favorite cameras. I still have a OM-4T that is my most used camera.
Two additional notes: The little black button on the right side of the lens mount (seen from behind) illuminates the indicator in the viewfinder for 10 seconds which is really needed in low light situations. Also, the self timer switch silences the beep sounds when pushed inwards. The beeps can be quite disturbing when the camera warns for overexposure (one still has this blinking "OVER" warning in the viewfinder). I'm sure you know this -- just thought these two features needed an explanation. And I fully agree with you regarding the amazing eight point spot metering! It's a truly unique feature not even found in the OM-D series, or in any other modern digital camera as far as I know. Oddly enough, one might add.
Sorry but you have it wrong as to how the highlight and shadow buttons work. the point is that a camera meter is always looking to turn everything into a mid grey so these buttons are a quick way to compensate for this so in fact they do the opposite to what you are saying. If you meter on a dark area and then press the 'shadow' button it will underexpose the image by 2 stops to keep this area dark. If you meter for a white area it will then over expose by 2 stops to keep the area white. I have had this camera for over 30 years so I know my way around it. A fantastically accurate metering system but not one for beginners as you really need to understand what your doing
Thank you.
@Tranzor Z It means you now have an overpriced OM-1. Just use a handheld spotmeter and transper the readings onto your camera.
The shadow button actually under expose by 2-2/3 stops.
@Tranzor Z did you ever try a light meter app on your phone? I wonder if they're any good.
I was about to say the same thing. Thanks for doing my work for me. 🙂
If you want to release a lens from the camera body you don't need to press the two buttons of the lens, just the located in the upper part with shallow lines (known as lens release button). The lower button with no lines is the button used to check the depth of field in the picture.
Used to have one of these back in the 90s. The best SLR I ever owned. When I first bought it it had electrical problems where it would beep on and off constantly for no reason. Thanks for this piece of nostalgia!
Thanks ...OM-4 did have electrical issues - I think mine eventually ended up using up my batteries so I had to take them out all the time - OM-4T was much better
@@stevantontichphotographyvi9358 put the camera in B mode when not using. It acts as an off switch and doesn't drain the batteries
The OM4Ti is the best SLR for 35 mm Film Cameras, among all Japanese made Cameras, including Canon, Pentax & Nikon. Using the Flash F280 TTL System you can shoot at shutter speeds up to 1/2000 Second. It also has automatic exposure with aperture priority up to complete 120 Seconds, which is great for Night Photography but you need a professional Tripod. The Spot Metering system and average metering system are second to none and are really top professional, reading the light exposure off the film plane. Many Thanks for the nice review and assessment of this legendary camera from Olympus.
Maybe the best non Autofocus camera but not even close to the best SLR overall. This crown definitely goes to the Minolta Dynax 9 which has beside other insane features a 1/12000 of a shutter speed and the most advanced metering system for film cameras.
@@edding6210 How often do you need 1/12000th of a second 😆
For me this is the Ansel Adams camera. No other camera lets one learn the zone system as quickly as this, with its wonderful horizontal shutter-speed scale and diamond-shaped indicators.
You are so absolutely right. The OM-4 has one of the most intelligent multi-spot meter system ever made. Maitani was one hell of a genius.
I have an OM-4, and an OM-4ti. The OM-4 sadly suffers of that infamous drain battery problem; even if I rest the camera on B or 1/60 they will still die quickly. Solution? I just take them out and reinsert them each time I need to.
As for the OM-4TI, that's another story. I put the batteries approx. 2 1/2 years ago and still goes strong.
Late OM-4s and all OM-4Ts lacked the battery drain horror.
Just for the record. The right hand side tab on the lens is a depth of field pre view mechanism that operates the aperture blades
Fantastic review for a great camera
nice review! great camera too! as for the batteries, try to use sr44, they tend to last longer.
Thanks for the tip.
Great shame he did not discuss the OM flash system. It is TTL Real Time, and up to six T32 flashes can be daisy-chained to produce perfect exposures on Auto. This was one of the main reasons I originally got an OM2. The flash heads also produced a lovely quality of light, and by default, on-camera flash would fully cover a 24 mm lens view.
Frankly, the flash system would be a great CZcams item on its own.
And then there was the T280 flash, that would provide shutter sync up to 1/2000 second!
In a number of ways, the OM2 and OM4 film cameras could perform in ways that no digital camera can yet do.
Thank you for your comments. I don't do much if any flash photography, so I did not know much about this ...but I always look for the community to add to the video and make it better for everyone.
The socket with the cap is for external TTL flash. The PC flash socket is on the bottom left of the lens mount, near the button that allows you to select Bulb and manual 1/60th.
Thanks for the correction, Jon. Not much of a flash guy ...so good to know.
Lol I laughed so hard when I saw that your pgotos where taken I chicago. I was just in Chicago taking photos with my OM
Great stuff thx mate!!
genoddd444 thanks. Just got OM-4T Really like it.
Minolta 9000 also had multi spot metering. The high and low key is not complicated. Remember it us using film and is not digital. If you would like to take a picture of something including a black subject you measure with the spot meter on the black subject and then press the low key. The result is a correct exposed black subject. The same goes for high key for white subjects. The white subject will be white. It is working really good and can still today outperform digital cameras with much more advanced exposure systems.
Thanks for the info! Good to know.
Are yo sure the 9000 had multi-spot not single-spot metering? The later 9xi only had single spot unless you bought the multi-spot card .
@@paulqueripel3493 From wikipedia "The exposure meter provided the user with the usual range of automatic exposure modes: automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual mode. As metering modes, it was capable of centre-weighted integral metering and spot metering; spot metering could be further refined with light and shadow corrections, which used an exposure memory to correct exposure by up to 2.3 EV. Furthermore, an optional back "program back super 90" (PBS-90) provided multi-spot measurements, with optional automatic weighting by average (AVERAGE), mean (CENTER), highlight (HIGHLIGHT) and shadow (SHADOW), as well as user-definable program curves. The backs also provided automatic bracketing."
I used two OM-4's professionally for ten years. I never had battery drain issues, but mostly used SR44 , silver oxide batteries. They lasted over a year. So I don't understand why people say it drains batteries. A modern myth from non pros?
Hi David. Mine did but I am sure not every one would. Also it may be a function of time. In mine, 2 weeks in and they were dead. I used silver oxide batteries.
Some would not turn off the meter and therefore drain the battery. There is a simple test for the battery drain (you have to look it up).
It's not a myth. It's a reason I don't use it much and bought an OM1.
I do not remember exactly, but in some parts of the world the delivered OM-4 had problems, get the latest productions numbers of the OM-4
What is a safe battery type to use with the OM4Ti. Apparently modern Lithium batteries will not work proper;y because of the constant power drain,
Sr44 silver oxide by Varta are my favorite. I don't think drain is an issue on Om 4ti. Only on some Om 4 older model.
There is NO drain battery issue in the OM4Ti. This behaviour only appears in the OM4 (and it’s not a problem if you bear a couple of spare batteries in your bag)
He not only loveshisOM4, he loves dust too!
Yeah ...as much as you try to clean them ...dust seems to find them.
@@stevantontichphotographyvi9358 yeah, I seem to dust it off every time I pick it up with my lens brush, but the dust always finds its way back
As an alltime manual user of cameras, even digital cameras, I do not understand the lightmeter in OM-3 and OM-4 as any thing than a gimmick, if you learn to use a camera fullly manual it cannot be any easier to use a camera ! I do not like the larger prismhousing on the OM-3 and OM-4 cameras, it is more difficult to quickly see the shutter time.
Don't know what the fuck you're talking about. What's your fucking point ?
If you don't know how to fly a plane, does that mean the plane is a gimmick ?