On Tue, 4 Mar 2003 11:02:36 -0500 Joe Wilensky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Thanks for the info! > > BTW, was the Olympus's built-in flash actually part of some kind of > > slide-on grip for the camera? I know it was located over on the > side (above the grip?) Actually, you do have a point there. There were two grips - grip100 and grip 300 - available for the OM77. The batteries were for sure in the grip (a grip is required for the OM77, it doesn't work without). Let me see, grip 100 had no flash (100M was an odd macro-derivative of the 100) and power grip 300 came with a flash..... So yes, the flash was in the grip....Olympus catch-phrase was something like "With the Power Flash Grip 300 mounted, the OM 77 AF is the worlds first SLR with build-in flash"..... > > And I think Pentax's SF1 was not only the first RTF flash on a 35mm > > SLR, but the first built-in TTL flash as well. Does that mean the > Olympus OM77AF's flash was just auto? Manual? > Uhmm...If I recall correctly, the apeture is set according to the distance as seen by the AF system, and then the camera fires the flash if the shutter speed goes below 1/100. No TTL with the internal flash. Thinking about flash-stuff, actually the OM77 does also do full-synchro flash with the Olympus F280 flash.... Never had a Pentax SF1, though.... With many more apologies for being more OT....maybe we should move this to the olympus-list? --thomas > Joe > > > > > >Well, several things, I assume. Olympus released the OM77 in 1986, > >targeted as an amateur camera. Olympus hessitated to make anything > >that came even close to "professional grade", having the attitude > >of"Bah - AF is just for amateurs, pros know how to focus manually > >better than any AF system". And so, they were quickly taken over > >by C*n*n and N*k*n, who took both pros and AF seriously. I always > >maintain, that an AF version of the OM4 would have kicked some > >serious ass, however that never happened. > > > >Nevertheless, the OM77 was so underspeced that many amateurs (such > >as myself) found it to be too lacking to be usefull. It came, for > >instance, without DX film speed override or exposure compensation, > >without a fully-manuel mode etc. > > > >The hessitation to consider the pro marked a target area for AF > >also caused Olympus to never release any serious AF lenses (IIRC, > >no primes longer than 50mm were released as Zuiko AFs and only > >moderately bad zooms could get to about 200mm). So to use good > >glass, I would have to still do manual focus. By the way, with non > >AF lenses, no viewfinder info available and only apeture priority > >exposure available. In that context, an OM10 would be a better > >camera:) > > > >So Olympus released their AF camera targed at amateurs, never > >released any good glass for it and furthermore ensured that when > >using it with MF-glass, it would be on par with (but more > >cumbersome) their lowest-level body, the OM10. > > > >The biggest innovation from Olympus with the OM77 was, that it was > >the first body to come with a build-in flash.... > > > > > >Sorry 'bout the long OT post. I am still a zuikoholic, although I > >have added a healthy amount of pentaxianism to my medical > >journal.... > > > >--thomas > -- ------------------------------------------- Thomas Heide Clausen Civilingeni�r i Datateknik (cand.polyt) M.Sc in Computer Engineering E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW: http://www.cs.auc.dk/~voop -------------------------------------------
