Olympus Auto Eye
It's been a strange week. First, I dropped the Olympus XA onto the tile floor in the kitchen. Part of the body cracked and the meter no longer operates. Why couldn't I drop the XA2? Sure, it's an OK camera, but I really like the XA. Dunno if I can fix it.
Then I opened up the Rollei 35S and found more corrosion. This camera truly is 10 pounds of s@*t in a 5 pound sack, so I probably won't do anything more to it. I may send it off to a specialist, but there's no hurry on that.
Finally, the good news. These photos are out of the Olympus Auto Eye. It's the first roll of film from that camera, and I just have to say that I'm very happy with it. The lens is adequately sharp and it handles color well. These shots were from the local Trail Days carnival, and were taken early in the morning before the crowds arrived. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed was peeved that I didn't take her to the fair and buy her some cotton candy. "But you can't have that much sugar!" I said. It didn't matter. I was still a putz.
This was cropped from a slightly larger photo. I liked how the light was just catching their noses while their bodies were still in the shade.
In all honesty, I like this camera very much too, partly because it doesn't require batteries. It seems very solid unlike some more modern rangefinders. But it is a bulky, heavy beastie. I was looking forward to carrying the XA unobtrusively in my cargo shorts. This Auto Eye is just too big for that. It would probably yank my shorts down around my ankles, making for an outstanding photo op for someone else!
Labels: olympus autoeye, owasso trail days
posted by Ed W at 7:12 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, funny thing finding your Blog while searching Google for Olympus Auto Eye. I too live here in Tulsa, and just bought one yesterday while working in Dallas. I found it on Craigslist for $10. It appears to be in almost mint condition, complete with cap, case, strap, manual, and flash bracket. The meter is about one stop off, but that is easy to fix by just setting the ASA to half of the film rating. Hoping to run a roll through this weekend. It's a lovely, solid, and clever camera.
I'd love to see your Auto Eye images, as they wont load on this page. Do you have a Flickr account or other photo hosting site?
- Daniel
I have to assume you'll receive this update, but just in case, I'll put a comment on your blog too.
You made me think about the rangefinders I've been using, and in fact, I had just loaded a roll of film into the Olympus OM-1. Inspired, I sat down to write a longer piece about the cameras and what I've learned about them. To accompany that, I'll post some photos taken with them, and I'll start a new folder on my Google+ page devoted to film photography. Look for it in the next couple of days, along with the appropriate link.
Thanks for gettin' me thinkin'!
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