Olympus 35 RD Overview
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- An overview of the Olympus 35 RD. This is a great little walk around camera, with a beautiful 40mm F1.7 lens. In this video I go over all the features, cover who this camera is for, and compare it to the Leica M6 and other Olympus 35 series rangefinders.
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If you make a point by point comparison, the RD is almost exactly the same as the Canon QL17 GIII, right down to dimensions and weight. The 40mm 1.7 lenses on each are outstanding. The Canon does have a couple of extra features, the only one of significance being its "quick load" system, which makes it easier to load film, not that the RD is difficult to load. Today, a used RD sells for somewhat more than the Canon, possibly because there are far more Canons than RD units available. Being from the age of mercury batteries to power the meter, neither camera has an "off" switch on the meter circuit. On the Canon, you can effectively turn off the meter by switching from auto-exposure to manual exposure. I do not know if the RD does the same.
The RD can be used in manual and does not need a battery. The olympus auto only line had different model names like UC, ECR etc. I'm sure the Canon is a fine camera. After having a Leica M6, I decided to keep the RD and sell the M6. There's something very special in those old Olympus Cameras that just seems to resinate. But the camera is less important than the images it creates. Thanks for suggesting the Canon.
Right. My query was whether the meter circuit in the RD can be turned off by setting the aperture selector from "auto" to any specific f-stop. The Canonette models are often criticized for not have a specific "off" switch for the meter circuit, thus causing the battery to exhaust fairly quickly (when left on "auto"). Oddly, Canon's comment on this was if you put the lens cap on the lens, which also covers the metering cell, the lack of light reaching the meter effectively turned the meter "off". That worked okay in the age of mercury batteries, which were far more robust than the options available today. The RD and the Canon are so alike that you might wonder if a bit of industrial espionage was at play when they were designed.
@@randallstewart1224 This is the case with RD, to my understanding. If one was to use Auto, you just turn it to an aperture setting to turn it off. Adding an additional switch or button seems pointless, as if you forgot to turn it off it would run out anyway just as with the aperture ring. It would require additional space. I wonder how many of the critiques are thinking from a modern perspective. Olympus ethos of the time/70s, was to save space and be efficient where possible.
I must agree, these are wonderful cameras for street photography. I have the SP which was so dirty when I bought it that the focus was completely stuck, then the shutter mechanism failed after a week. These cameras are worth to repair, however. Being a student I didn't had any money to pay someone for getting it fixed, so I took it apart (of course very carefully and slowly) and managed to fix it after trying to understand how the mechanism works (I still would recommend sending it for repair tho). Man it was a hard 3 day but totally worth it, now it works like a charm.
Szil Bo Well done for trying it yourself! The RD is my favourite camera, I prefer it to my M6! The SP is a beautiful camera, especially in black. -Sly.
I've no experience with the SP, but I did recently buy an RD for a steal because it had the dreaded sticky shutter problem and I saw how rare they are. Thought it would be an easy clean up job like other cameras I've worked on, but it was a solid few days of nerve-wracking deconstruction, no thanks to Olympus's habit of putting threadlock on EVERYTHING. Miraculously got it all back together, cleaned and oiled and it's good as new. I'd definitely recommend getting it CLA'd professionally if you don't want the stress, but I do like the accomplishment of fixing it myself.
That skate park at 4:23 is in London hey? I was recently there visiting from Australia and shot it on my Olympus Trip 35. I'm picking up an RD today!
Fantastic! Yes it's on South Bank not far from the Eye wheel. Whereabouts in Australia are you from?
@@slyelessar I’m from Sydney
@@mattsanasi2144 love Sydney. I very briefly lived in Newcastle NSW.
Your pictures are wonderful, but can you tell me which film did you use for the picture at 4:50 ? Thank you so much and keep going !!
I think that is Ektar 100. It is from my other 35RD video with that film _ Sly.
Is this a good starter camera for someone interested in film photography or is the olympus om-1 or canon ae-1 better?
Hi Matthew, that is a good question. I would say the Olympus OM1 or other SLR would be the best place to start. Moving onto the 35RC would then be a good idea as a first range finder (see my other video).
The 35RD may be more awkward if you have not used a rangefinder before, however it is a lovely camera. I hope this helps - Simon.
slyelessar thank you so much for that. Cheers!
@@Mattleads You are most welcome. Have a good one!
Hey, could u tell me how to check the auto mode is still functional?
Put a fresh battery in, set it to auto and take some pictures. If they come out okay it works fine, if not it is broken.