I was having a look through ebay in September, mostly checking up on prices for popular cameras, when I came across an Olympus OM-1n with a 50mm f/1.8 lens for not a lot of cash. I did my usual due diligence to check the vendors rating and feedback history and decided to bid for it. You never know when you might get lucky, so I placed my bid, sat back and let it run.
Yes, I already have an OM-1, but it's had a hammering and really needs a Clean, Lubricate and Adjust. Could I land another in reasonable condition for less than the price of a CLA? I am also saving up to buy a Nikon F2 or an FM2 and this could eat into my savings if I am not careful. I needed to stay below my max bid even if it meant missing out.
A few days later I got an email, I was the highest bidder and now had to pay £49 plus £3.99 postage and packing. This was well below my maximum bid and I duly completed the purchase. The camera looked ok in the pictures, but you never know for sure until you get the item in your hands to really see if those pictures are a good indicator of the condition. I didn't have long to wait to find out, a few days later the OM-1n arrived.
On first look I could see the vendor had accurately described the camera. It was in really good condition, much better in my hands than in the photos and the lens was free from fungus and scratches on the glass. Olympus OM cameras do have a history with the prisms losing some of their silvering thanks to the foam around them decaying over time. This one was not bad at all, a little dirt was evident through the viewfinder, but no de-silvering at all.
The vendor had declared the shutter worked at all speeds and the meter was indicating a reading, but they couldn't be sure of the accuracy of either. A little honesty is always appreciated and there was really only one way to find out if the camera worked properly. I fitted a new SR44 battery in an adapter and installed it into the camera. I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 into my "new to me" OM-1 with 50mm f/1.8 lens and went for a wander in my local countryside.
I was pulling double duty on this walk as I had Baldy the Baldax with me so I could get my Frugal Film Project roll of HP5 for September sorted out. I was also cross referencing my meter reading with my Gossen Trisix against my OM-1n to see how accurate that meter was. My first few photos were just checking the shutter was firing at a few speeds, the aperture on the lens opened and closed properly and would the built in meter correlate with my Gossen Trisix.
It didn't take long to find out the built in meter in my OM-1n was in agreement with my Gossen Trisix light meter. They weren't absolutely identical, but close enough to make me happy. Anything within half a stop isn't going to make much of a difference, this was definitely my lucky day. I took photos of the trees on The Wash, a few of the derelict car that was dumped there several years ago and also photographed the horses as I made my way towards home, happy with my newly purchased OM-1n.
I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+400 a few days later using Kodak HC110 1+31 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius, stopped the developer with Ilfostop, fixed my film with Fotospeed FX30 and hung it to dry. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, K&F Tripod, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size LED light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.
How did I fare with the new addition to my collection? Rather well indeed. Once I had gained confidence the camera was working as it should I was able to work quickly. The film was nicely exposed and, after digitising it, I didn't have to do much editing on my photos. Just a few basic tweaks and removing dust spots and scratches were needed.
I have got used to doing quick edits with Affinity Photo 2, the invert, auto level and contrast features are often all I need along with a couple of other tweaks, and that was the case with this first roll of film in my OM-1n. I am very happy with my decision to bid for it. The vendor is a decent chap who accurately described the camera as best he could and yes, I got a bargain.
Here's a few photos from my first roll of Ilford HP5 shot with my OM-1n and Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
Olympus OM1n - Ilford HP5+ 400
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