Olympus OM-1

Photography visit

Olympus OM - 1 SLR camera

The Olympus OM - 1

The very first model was presented at Photokina in Cologne in 1972 and was called the Olympus M-1. Thirteen years earlier, the release of the Nikon F had done much to make the 35mm SLR the standard choice for professionals and higher-spending amateurs who would previously have used 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 35mm SLRs. It was designed by a team led by Maitani Yoshihisa, who had already created the Olympus Pen and Pen F cameras, noted for their compactness.

Very soon a complaint from Leica forced Olympus to rename the M-1 to OM-1, and apart from the name the two models are identical. Today bodies and lenses with the M name are reputedly uncommon and are sought after by collectors. A rumour, usually attributed to the Olympus company, says that only 5,000 bodies were made. However research by Mark Dapoz led to an actual production estimate of 52,000.

The Olympus OM - 1

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, whose form was retained in later models.

Originally, oldest OM-1 bodies would not accept motor drive. The bottom cover had to be replaced (meaning a new serial number) and the md switch added to mount a motor or winder. The entire slow speed governor, along with some brass speed cams had to be replaced. Oldest OM-1 body castings required holes drilled in 2 locations. Newer "old" OM-1 might only require the addition of the md switch and new bottom cover (switch calibration required). A total of 19 different modifications were made to the original OM-1 to create the OM-1MD. In 1974 the OM-1MD was launched (MD standing for Motor Drive), to which a motor drive can be attached with no modification. This new version wears a small plate marked MD on the front. Oldest OM-1 MD had the MD sticker on the top cover, next to the rewind release lever. 

Here are a couple of photos of my own from when I've used this camera before. This is showing also how the whole camera is manual so you have to change the shutter speed and aperture but not the ISO unlike DSLRs as this is dependant on the film which is used. 

- James H