1 - gnuyork
- Platen Punisher
Offline - Registered: 03-10-2017
- Posts: 88
Olympia shades of green
How many shades of green did the SM3 come in? As I mentioned in another post, it seems like most online photos I see are actually a few shades lighter in appearance (with darker green sparkled keys) than my newly acquired Olympia. Mine is more of a dark green with black (or very dark keys). I have also seen mention of a lime green color.
Also what is the official green color name? Was is Spruce? Aspen? Both?
- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,011
Re: Olympia shades of green
You sure that what you're seeing isn't a result of the lighting and camera's exposure setting? I think only of the green/olive color (that the SG1 was also painted in, exclusively it seems). If there was indeed a lime green, I sure haven't seen it.
- gnuyork
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 03-10-2017
- Posts: 88
Re: Olympia shades of green
Fleetwing wrote:
You sure that what you're seeing isn't a result of the lighting and camera's exposure setting? I think only of the green/olive color (that the SG1 was also painted in, exclusively it seems). If there was indeed a lime green, I sure haven't seen it.
No, I'm not sure. Could be camera/lighting.
But I have seen a video of a lighter green one described as a "pale light green".
What is the official green color? I may have read it described as Aspen green. Is this true?
- •
Thread Starter- gnuyork
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 03-10-2017
- Posts: 88
Re: Olympia shades of green
oops- "pale lime green"
- •
Thread Starter- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
Offline
- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,011
Re: Olympia shades of green
Well, and this may be a little awkward, but I've always referred to it as "feldgrau" (field gray), which is really more of a gray olive. I say "awkward" because that was the German army standard uniform color back during more unpleasant times. Take a look at this and tell me that this isn't the same color as your SM3:
- DanS
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- From: New Virginia, IA
- Registered: 18-10-2017
- Posts: 68
Re: Olympia shades of green
My SM-3 looked blue-gray in the craigslist pictures but in person it's definitely gray.
Photos do that. My beige colored car is light blue in a photo.
- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Olympia shades of green
There are a number of factors that play into achieving accurate colours when taking a photo, but most people take "point and shoot" photos, so wild variances in colours can be expected. And even if you've set up everything perfectly and have come very close to capturing a colour as it appears in real life, it can still end up looking very different because the person viewing the picture doesn't have his monitor set up correctly.
Those variables aside, there were a large number of different colours (both single and two-tone) used for the SM3, and at least two that I'm aware of for the SG1 (). Is the first SG1 in that post the lime green in question?
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- gnuyork
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 03-10-2017
- Posts: 88
Re: Olympia shades of green
So, yes. I am a photographer with a calibrated monitor, and even I was having trouble capturing the color of what my eye sees. Even the slightest WB change drastically changed to green tone. It's uncanny. So that explains it!
Here are some examples of what I am talking about with these photos from the web:
This appears to be much lighter in shade than my own. Notice how the keys and space bar have a very dark green, rather than black...
update: I just now did notice that if I shine an LED flashlight on my keys, they are in fact dark olive green...
Another example:
And here are my photos:
I tried to adjust these to as close as ,y eye sees (according to my monitor). I can now see how wildly varying this green/gray color can be.
As far as the lime green... I"m not sure... but it could be this? 
Anyway...
- •
Thread Starter- gnuyork
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 03-10-2017
- Posts: 88
Re: Olympia shades of green
Well, and this may be a little awkward, but I've always referred to it as "feldgrau" (field gray), which is really more of a gray olive. I say "awkward" because that was the German army standard uniform color back during more unpleasant times. Take a look at this and tell me that this isn't the same color as your SM3:
Yes, I do think the colors are similar... I sense a tinge of green in the gray though, almost a deep forrest pine green... maybe it's my head though, because I originally perceived these as a lighter shade of green before ever seeing one in person. I want it to be green, lol
- •
Thread Starter- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Olympia shades of green
One final note from me regarding your machine. You'd be surprised how much the colour of a machine can change when you give the paint - especially crinkle paint - a deep cleaning. Years of dirt and other contaminants such as cigarette smoke can really alter the true colour of a typewriter. Sometimes the difference is shocking once you begin to really clean the thing.
All of these things aside, the colours did change over the model years. Compare this green '54 SM3 against the '58 SM2 in the background, and the '58 SM3 in the photo below:
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
