Olympus OM-1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Olympus OM-1 is a manually operated 35mm single-lens reflex camera, part of the Olympus OM system.
[edit] History
The very first model was presented at the Photokina of Köln in 1972 and was called the Olympus M-1. Thirteen years earlier, the release of the Nikon F had made the 35 mm SLR the standard choice for professionals accustomed to Leica and other rangefinders, but it had driven the market towards heavy and bulky cameras. The Olympus M-1 changed this and with it began a reduction of size, weight and noise of the 35 mm SLRs. It was designed by a team led by Yoshihisa Maitani, who had already created the Pen and Pen F cameras, noted for their compactness.
Since Leica's flagship rangefinder cameras are known as the M Series, Leica complained about the name of the M- 1 forcing Olympus to rename it as the OM-1 to further clarify between the brands. Because of this, today bodies and lenses with the original M name are rare (5000 bodies were made according to Olympus) and sought after by collectors.
The OM-1 is an all-mechanical SLR. It has a very large viewfinder with interchangeable screens but a fixed prism. It also has a through-the-lens exposure meter controlling a needle visible in the viewfinder. It has a very compact body, essentially retained on later models.
Originally, the bottom plate needed to be modified to mount a motor drive on the OM-1. In 1974, Olympus launched the OM-1MD (MD standing for Motor Drive), to which a motor drive can be attached without any modification being required. This new version has a small plate marked 'MD' on the front, and a small circular cover with a coin slot (covering the motor drive coupling) on the underside of the body.
The OM-1n is the same as the OM-1MD with a redesigned film advance lever, a flash ready/sufficient flash LED in the viewfinder, and automatic X-sync regardless of the position of the FP/X switch, when it is used with a T-series flash unit mounted on Flash Shoe 4.
[edit] References
This article was originally based on "Olympus_OM-1/2/3/4" in Camerapedia, retrieved on 26 May 2006 under the GNU Free Documentation License.
- Foo, Leo (2000). Modern Classic SLRs Series: Olympus OM-1(n). Photography in Malaysia. Retrieved December 16, 2005.
- Axford, Robert Ian. Olympus OM-1 shutter. Robert Ian Axford's Camera-Works. Retrieved December 16, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Olympus History : OM Series Olympus Corporation History Page.
