Olympus OM-1/2/3/4

The Olympus OM system was released by Olympus in 1972. The Olympus OM bodies were divided in a high range and a middle range. The one digit models were the high range. The middle range were the two digit models OM-10/20/30/40. All these bodies could take the Olympus OM lenses.

The OM-1 and OM-2

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 35mm 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 35mm 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.

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 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, you had to modify the bottom plate to mount a motor winder on the OM-1. In 1974 was launched the OM-1MD (MD standing for Motor Drive), on which a motor drive can be attached with no modification. This new version wears a small plate marked MD on the front.

The OM-2 is the automatic version of the OM-1, presented officially in 1975 at the 31st Photo Salon in Paris. An OM-2 prototype was displayed in a showcase at the 1974 Photokina in Cologne, but none of its features was announced. The body is externally nearly the same as the OM-1, but the shutter is electronic and the exposure is either automatic with aperture priority, or manual.

The exposure meter of the OM-2 is able to measure the amount of light reflected by the film and compensate for any variation of light during long exposures. It was the first time this feature, called Off-the-Film (OTF) metering, was used. This feature simplifies greatly the flash exposure, and is today used in all the cameras. The dedicated flash is the Olympus Quick Auto 310, and the system is unfortunately not compatible with the later T series flash units, introduced in 1979 together with the new OM-1n and OM-2n.

The OM-1n is the same as the OM-1 with the following modifications:

• a redesigned film advance lever
• a flash ready/sufficient flash LED in the viewfinder, as well as automatic X-sync regardless of the position of the speed ring and the FP/X switch, when it is used with a T-series flash unit mounted on Flash Shoe 4.

The OM-2n, based on the OM-2, has the same modifications plus:

• a direct contact inside for Recordata backs
• an exposure compensation warning flag
• full-frame averaging at all shutter speeds
• 120 second exposure limit on auto (OM-2 limit was 60 seconds).

All these models existed in chrome or black, except the M-1 for which it seems no black body is known.

The OM-2SP / OM-2S

The OM-2SP was introduced in 1986, after the OM-3 and OM-4. On some markets, it was called OM-2S. Although its name suggests it is a continuation of the OM-2, it has more in common with the OM-4.

Compared to the OM-2n, the OM-2SP adds:

• programmed exposure automation (camera chooses both aperture and shutter speed), added to the aperture priority and manual modes
• a spot meter for use in manual mode
• a slightly modified body, with the hot shoe not removeable
• the ISO range is extended from 1600 to 3200
• the viewfinder indicators are LCDs
• the self timer has mirror prefire.

The OM-2SP / OM-2S only existed in black.

The OM-3 and OM-4

The OM-4 was a higher end body with shutter speeds up to 1/2000, released in 1983. The body was slightly modified from the OM-2, with a new type of viewfinder including dioptric correction. With this camera Olympus introduced a new versatile light metering system. Besides the normal center-weighted metering the camera is equipped with a "Multi Spot" metering system which allows storage of up to eight measures on a 2% central spot before making an exposure. The camera's computer electronics calculates the mean of the memorized light values to determine the optimal shutter speed. If desired, the calculated value can be retained for several exposures by using a "Memo" switch. There are also two "Hi Light" and "Shadow" buttons, that are used only with spot metering. The "Hi Light" button applies an exposure correction of +2 EV, and is used when you take a spot measure on a light tone object and want a high key picture. The "Shadow" button applies an opposite correction of -2 EV 1/3 and is used when you take a spot measure on a dark tone object and want a low key picture. In addition to these two special buttons, there is a classical exposure correction knob, around the rewind knob, that can be used both for average and spot measures. The LCD display, visible at the bottom of the viewfinder, shows the shutter speed and the average or spot measures, indicates if you are using any of the features described above, and gives some info about the flash.

The OM-4 was released about the same time as the Nikon FA, which introduced the matricial metering. The two systems were innovative but quite different, with the OM-4 the photographer is assisted but has to think more, with the FA the camera begins to think for him. Of course today everyone has taken the path shown by the FA.

The OM-3, released in 1984, is a mechanical version of the OM-4, with the same metering system but with a mechanical shutter, of course without electronic shutter speed control by the metering system. It has no TTL flash automation. It was produced until 1986, and did not sell in great quantities. People who wanted a mechanical body went on buying the OM-1n, which was sold at least until 1987, and those who were attracted by the multi-spot system would buy an OM-4. On the contrary, its value today on the used market greatly exceeds the value of an OM-4, because of its rarity.

Both the OM-3 and the OM-4 only existed in black.

The OM-3Ti / OM-3T and OM-4Ti / OM-4T

The OM-4Ti was released in 1987 and replaced the OM-4. It was called OM-4T on some markets. It is the same body as the OM-4 except it is made in titanium, and it introduces a new flash system, with a stroboscopic flash unit called the F280, allowing to take flash pictures beyond the X sync speed, up to the maximum 1/2000 speed. This system was called Super FP sync. It was an answer to one of the OM's weaknesses: the low X sync speed of 1/60.

The OM-4Ti was released first with a champagne finish, and later in a black finish. The production ended in 2003.

The OM-3Ti, released in 1994, was a new updated edition of the mechanical body OM-3 that had been stopped in 1986. It has the all mechanical shutter of the OM-3, while its titanium housing and some other features are taken from the OM-4Ti. It has TTL flash automation, itself a rare feature on a mechanical body. It also has the same high-speed flash support as the OM-4Ti.

It was called OM-3T on some markets and was the last of the OM series. At the same time was released a 35-80/2.8 zoom in OM mount.

The OM-X

During the design study of the OM-1, the Olympus design team led by Yoshihisa Maitani had worked on a completely modular camera, like a 35mm Hasselblad. This fantastic camera was built as a prototype, and was called the OM-X. You can find some details and pictures here.

Links

• on M-1
• OM SLR FAQ
• OM-1(n), OM-2(n) and OM-2SP at Modern Classics
• Maitani's fan page, with some details about the OM-X

Reviews and Opinions

• Manual Camera User's Opinion:
  • on M-1
  • on OM-1
  • on OM-3
  • on OM-3Ti
  • on OM-4Ti
• The OM-4Ti at the website of Hugo Rodriguez
• A 1983 test of the OM-4 in the Italian magazine Reflex, available at the Nadir Magazine website

In Japanese:

• Olympus OM-1 page at La Chambre Claire

Repairs

• Olympus hardware resource page - online repair manuals
• OM-1 Repair - Basic shutter job
• Top Cover removal
• Prism Foam replacement

Photobloggers Using the OM System

• The Other Martin Taylor's OM2spot Pictures

Bibliography

• Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983, by D. & J.-P. Francesch, ed. Dessain et Tolra
• Olympus OM-1 OM-2 OM-10 OM-1n OM-2n, 2nd edition, supervised by G.Bouhot, Ed. VM