Cars, Cameras and Classics

A few things have come together over the last couple of weeks that have got me thinking. So this is one of those “Andy Thinks” posts – so beware!

Cameras are like cars!

Occasionally I walk past a parked car that is in terrible condition, and I wonder how it’s got through it’s MOT, for those not in the UK, that’s a safety inspection test that one’s car must pass to stay on the road! The owner obviously doesn’t care about how pleasing it looks, simply it’s functionality of getting them from A to B. Sometimes referred to as a “beater car”. My own car is approaching the early stages of this! Then there are the cars that one sees out for a Sunday drive or at a car show, that may be twice the age of the “beater” but be in perfect condition and polished, even someone not overly into cars would appreciate the beauty and function against the age. If something mechanical were to happen to the beater, it would be easy for the owner to say that a repair would not be economical, scrap it, and spend the money on another car that will give more years on a similar basis. The owner of the “thing of beauty” would of course have other ideas, and spend the money, perhaps even with pleasure. Would that make the car a “Classic”? Would there have to be more to it? Would it have to have something in it’s function that is either unique or very unusual? Would it need something about it’s design? Would it have to be “best in it’s class”?

Now lets call the “beater car” Spotmatic and the “thing of beauty” OM2n.

You can see where I’m going with this… I’ve recently replaced the light seals in my OM2n, having done this, a reader here let me know that there is also foam around the prism, that will decay too! Then I read Johnny Martyrs “Stop the light Seal Replacement”. It’s a good read, and I agree with every word – but, and there is a but. Rather like the “beater car” if replacing the light seals with a $10 foam kit, keeps the camera in use, being used, and it’s owner taking great photo’s, is that bad? True, it’s not a long term investment, rather a quick fix to keep one on the road, until the owner either scraps it or pays up for a proper service. That also poses the question “Is the Olympus OM2n a classic”? Does it have something in it’s function that is either unique or very unusual? Does it have something about it’s design? Is it “best in it’s class”? Is a full professional service economically viable? Does the fact it contains “$10 foam” inside that can damage the prism as it decays, exclude it from being considered a classic? In fact does any of this matter, should we all just be reading Ansel Adams and spending money on film/memory cards and making photo’s?

For the record, I’ve decided that I like the camera enough to have it fully serviced, in fact I may embark on a “doing one a year” process starting with my favourite cameras. That may mean that the OM2n may not be on top of the list – so perhaps my amateur light seal replacement might keep it going for a year or two until it gets there!