Olympus E-1 Manual

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Christopher

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Aug 5, 2024, 2:00:18 AM8/5/24

to ruscofoby

Thisis my first messagge to this forum, i am also quite a newby in the analogic photography. Recently start to experiment with Olympus om 10 machine and i got really intrigued by it so i thought i might buy myself also a manual adapter in order to have a manual control over the shutter time control.

I believe that the reason for the manual adaptor is for complete control of the settings. If you don't have a manual adaptor, you can only choose one, and the camera chooses the other. I mean - if you choose the f.stop, the camera chooses the shutter speed and vis versa. So for COMPLETE control, where you choose both f.stop and shutter speed, you need the adaptor. I have had an Olympus OM10 for some 30 years, and i bought the manual adaptor when i bought the camera and i have never regretted it.

It's been a while since i have used the adaptor so others might be able to give more more uses. I seem to remember something about using the adaptor to change the shutter speed for the flash settings too, but it's too vague for me to really describe.

Think of a circumstance where you want to take a photo with the sun in the frame. The sun will trick the meter and the shot would be underexposed. So you would frame the shot off to the side without the sun in frame, set the exposure and then re-frame the shot you wanted to take.

I think I've got an udea, the manual adapter allows better control than the "cheating Iso" tecnique (which maybe have also some defects on the quality of the image) i guess i will buy it as soon as possible,

having said that, the OM-10 with manual adaptor is cumbersome because of the position of the dial and the fact that the viewfinder won't indicate when you have the correct exposure it will just give you the Aperture Prioirty recommeded shutter speed. It's a frustrating arrangement.

My wife's OM-10 has the manual adapter for it, and she never used it. Whenever I used the camera I did use it. As others have said, it gives you full control of the camera, and this is what photography is all about.

I also agree with the comments about the OM-1. I have this camera and an OM-1n. Both are excellent, and you can get batteries for the light meter again now, as I understand it (must be 1.3V). Since the battery lasts for about 5-10 years, this is not a big deal. I currently have a Varta V625PX in my OM-1.

So any good life hacks from other (experienced) TG-6 users: how do you get the camera to focus really close up (that sweet spot before 1 cm), especially in difficult light and motive situations? What camera settings do you use and what are other tricks?

Buy the FD-1 Flash Diffuser. More light will give you a greater depth of field, and the finer grain that comes with a lower ISO (The LG-1 LED Light Guide is a different accessory, and not as useful in my opinion).

Whilst they focus on underwater, the team at Backscatter.com have lots of really useful videos on the TG6 and you can learn a lot about the quirks of the camera there. The Oly supplied manual is pretty hopeless, tbf.

Did you try manual focus (MF) instead of AF? I think for static objects like mushrooms it should be a valid way to set the manual focus real close and then just move the camera back and forth as you need it.

Overall though, I still love the little TG cameras! I also like the 4K video for faster and flightier creatures. Often the best hope is a solid frame grab. (Though shooting video in manual focus is usually much tougher than a still.)

I have owned 2 TG6 systems for about 4-5 years now, and while they sometimes give us a little difficulty with focusing, we use these cameras twice a week for hundreds of photos of mostly (very) small Andean plants, lichen, fungi and insects and manage to obtain (what I consider) generally get acceptable results, at least not excessively out of focus, with minimal adjustments required.

I've recently acquired a XA rangefinder which came with the more powerful A16 flash instead of the puny A11 I had before and never bothered to use. I'd be glad to hear of your own experiences of using A16 particularly with other XA models (XA2, XA3, XA4). There are three other flash models available (A9, A11, A1L) for XA cameras but these instructions are for A16 only. I don't have a manual for A16 and my XA manual covers only the A11. The information described here is collected from various sources or simply found out with trial and error. Better take it with a pinch of salt before you try it by yourself.

Let's start from A16 specs. The GN (guide number) for the A16 is surprisingly 16 for ASA100 in meters and the equivalent GN number in feet is 53. I'll use meters from now on but that shouldn't be a show stopper for anyone who's interested in the subject. Flash modes available for A16 are automatic (thyristor) and manual mode "Full". Available ASA's for automatic mode are 100 and 400. The mode switch is really tiny at the left side of the flash front. The automatic flash mode defaults at f/4 and the shutter speed is fixed at 1/30s. The maximum working distance for automatic flash mode is 4 meters for ASA100 and 8 meters for ASA400.

1) Normal flash and fill flash

Use 100 or 400 ASA film. If you want to use some other film speed you are on your own. Set the flash to "100" or "400" ASA according to the film used. Set the camera to flash mode using the aperture lever (pull it up!). The flash indicator pops up. Shoot away. Note that the camera will use fixed 1/30s shutter speed so don't drink too much espresso before your flash session. If you want to use fill flash just return the aperture level down to f/5.6 for one stop fill and f/8 for two stops fill. Keep in mind the distance restriction, 4 meters for 100 speed film and 8 meters for 400, probably less than that for fill flash.

2) Manual flash use

The manual flash mode is activated when you switch the flash mode lever to "Full" and activate the flash as described above. The flash will give a full blast every time the shutter is triggered. Manual flash is useful when the photographer wants to use smaller apertures than f/4 or a faster shutter speed than 1/30s. XA's lens is best stopped down so there is a good reason to use manual flash. Note that in manual flash mode XA does not fix the shutter speed to 1/30s but meters in a normal non-flash way. You'll see the shutter speed in the viewfinder as usual. I don't know what is the sync speed limit for XA's shutter but for the sake of convenience I assume there isn't any (if someone has information about the sync speed please let us know). You can use any shutter speed within the normal limits. For manual flash we need to know the relation between the estimated distance to our target and the aperture we need to use. I have prepared a small table for that:

Film----ISO 100---ISO 400

Aperture and Distance

f/22-------0.7M------1.5M

f/16--------1M--------2M

f/11------1.4M-------3M

f/8---------2M--------4M

f/5.6-------3M--------6M

f/4---------4M--------8M

f/2.8-------6M-------11M

Auto (Max)--4M----8M

The table is really handy when taped in the back of the flash. For example if you are shooting with 400 speed film and your target is approximately 3 meters away you should set the aperture switch to f/11. Keep an eye on the shutter speed that it stays above 1/30s.

The manual flash mode is not to be used in very low light situations because you risk that the shutter speed will be too long, unless you are using a tripod and the self timer of course. In low light and hand holding your camera use the normal flash method described above.

I hope this helps those who use A16 with their XAs.

2:32AM, 29 November 2010 PDT(permalink)

Hey I just wanted to say thank you. This is very informative. One question I had though, when I pop the flash, and then move the aperture lever down to f4, is it still locked to 1/30th of a second for shutter speed? Or is that only with the lever in the up most position where it activates the flash? Basically, is the 1/30th defined by the setting on the flash or by the aperture lever?

Also when you push the aperture lever to flash (with the flash removed) and you look at the far side you will see a small pin slide out. Does this pin cary any kind of electrical current? Does it need to remain in the out position for the flash to work?

Originally posted ages ago. (permalink)

bowbles edited this topic ages ago.

Hi everyone, I've got an Olympus OM10 with manual adapter but there's a problem: a few days ago the manual adapter wheel became very stiff so as making it difficult to move it, so I had to remove it from the camera and to unlock with a contact cleaner. Now it turns normally, but once I attached it to the camera again I tried to shot in "Manual mode" and the shot blocked (and the viewfinder remained black) and I had to shift from "Manual" to "Auto" to complete the shot. However, if I choice to shot in "Auto" there are no problems and the camera works normally. It is as if the manual adapter didn't work together with the camera anymore. Can anybody does help me?

Thanks

9:55AM, 3 March 2013 PDT(permalink)

Ian H's:

I was thinking to do this but I don't understand why the camera doesn't work in "manual mode" now: maybe by removing the manual adapter and then attaching again, it has lost its electronic contact with the camera?

ages ago(permalink)

It's a simple jack plug. Like a small headphone plug. It's possible it's not making contact, but from the fact you've had problems with the adaptor I suspect it's the internals of the adaptor that have gone faulty. I believe in reality it is just a potentiometer.

ages ago(permalink)

This might be a good excuse to upgrade to one of the single digit pro bodies. An om-1 will give you the fully mechanical, manual experience, and you can keep your om-10 for auto exposure work, or just look into the om2/4 for everything your om10 does now and then some. On the other hand, om10s are super cheap, so if you wanted to give the DIY camera repair a try, you won't be out much dough if you mortally wound the 10 in the process. Could be fun! I don't know anything about camera repair, but you could start by removing the top plate and checking for obvious damage there. A voltmeter might be useful?