The Olympus OM-1 – 1973

By the end of the 1960s the 35mm SLR had established itself as “the” camera to have. The consumer market had been gradually turning away from medium format, and although 35mm rangefinders were still popular, the big technological advances were mostly being seen in small format SLR design.  A few companies – most notably Nikon, Minolta and Pentax – had experienced tremendous success with SLRs during the preceding decade. Nikon in particular had pretty much won over newspaper pros – as well as enthusiasts with enough cash – with the legendary “F”.  Asahi’s Pentax Spotmatic-series had developed a loyal following. And Minolta had its grasp on a good portion of the market share with their recently updated SR-line with the SR-T 101.  So, by the time 1970 rolled around other manufacturers were eager to join the fray.

The company that would ultimately become Olympus was established in 1919 as a manufacturer of microscopes. In the 1930s they began producing camera lenses, and it is said that not finding suitable buyers for those lenses led them to produce their own camera by 1940.  I think that’s sufficient evidence to say that they knew they had a good product. And the next couple of decades saw them produce a variety of great cameras. The Olympus Pen became a household name for shooters of half-frame 35mm cameras.  But it wasn’t until 1971 that Olympus got into the SLR game with the M42 lens mount FTL.

In hindsight, the FTL appears to have been a stop-gap solution. Because by 1972 the FTL was replaced by a completely new system camera – the M-1.  Leitz, however, didn’t take kindly to another company’s camera being named “M”, so Olympus quickly renamed this the OM System.  And the rest – as they say – is history.

The new system delivered a revolutionary contribution to the world of SLR design. But that contribution wasn’t based on anything Olympus added – but more accurately what it subtracted – size and weight.  Remember the Nikon F I mentioned above? Well it was a pretty big camera. And if Olympus hoped to win any shooting pros away from Nikon, a smaller, lighter camera might just be the way to go. A Nikon F mounted with a Photomic Finder and 50mm 1.4 of that era tops the scale at near 40 ounces. A similarly outfitted OM-1, however, weighs in at just 26 oz!  Also consider that the body and available lenses were significantly smaller, and you have a very unique system for that time.

Beside the weight and size savings, Olympus provided a couple more reasons to choose their new SLR – viewfinder brightness and magnification size. When you first pick up an OM-1 you notice how small and light the camera is. But when you put it to your eye – ah, that’s when you say “I want one of these!”  The viewfinder provides you with one of the largest and brightest images you can find. Combine that with the standard split-image/microprism screen and you have a recipe for near-perfect focusing.

The OM-1 sports a mechanical shutter up to 1/1000 second. And the control of those speeds is something else that Olympus has made mostly their own. The shutter speeds are controlled by a ring that surrounds the lens mount (the Nikkormat also does this). The dial on the top plate where you would find the shutter control on other cameras is reserved here for ASA selection. But they didn’t stop there. Each of the OM-System Zuiko lenses sports an aperture control ring at the front of the lens. And since the lenses are relatively small, this placement makes it very easy to control.

In my limited use, though, the odd placement of the shutter control wasn’t easy for me to get used to. It has two knurled “handles” 180-degrees apart from each other – one on each side. And that’s really the only place to grip it. And depending on which speed you have currently chosen, those two handles can move around the lens mount making it an awkward stretch of your hand to find them.

Determining exposure on the OM-1 is by a single-needle TTL CdS-based metering system (powered by the erstwhile PX625 1.3v mercury battery).  In the viewfinder you’ll see the meter needle to the lower left. It swings up and down between the “+” and “-” markings. A correct exposure will put the needle in between the two.

As you may notice in the image of the viewfinder, it is quite un-cluttered. Besides the tiny exposure indicator, there’s not much else there.  Some may be enamored with the simplicity of this design. But I crave a little more information. I’d love to see the selected shutter speed, aperture – or both – indicated here somewhere. That would be incredibly helpful. In using the camera I had to continually move the camera away from my eye to double-check both shutter speed and aperture setting. I became somewhat skilled in counting the “clicks” when adjusting the f/stop to let me know which I had chosen. It’s certainly a learnable skill, but an unnecessary one, I think.

Now you might be thinking that since this is the early 70s that full viewfinder info in cameras was not that common. And I guess it wasn’t. But also around that same time, Minolta released their SR-T 102 which had both shutter speed and aperture indicated in the viewfinder. Heck, back in 1966, Minolta’s SR-T 101 had at least the shutter speed indicated.  And in my opinion, one is better than none.  But I’m not here to denigrate the OM-1. Because regardless of the few caveats it may have, it is still a lot of fun to use.

The OM-1 comes standard with a PC-Socket to connect external flash – letting you choose between X-Sync and FP-Sync (for bulbs).

A prism-mounted hot-shoe was not standard issue for many cameras of this vintage. And the Olympus here is no exception. But it does offer a simple and cheap way to add one to the camera through use of a prism-mounted mini-jack. The hot-shoe screws right on and you’re ready to go.

The camera also features a mirror lock-up and self-timer. And one more unique feature: in order to rewind a roll of exposed film, you would usually reach for the film release button on the bottom plate of a camera. Except on an Olympus OM-System camera that button is a lever on the front of the camera above the self-timer.

The original OM-1 was not designed to accept a motor-drive. But Olympus quickly went to work and corrected that oversight – which resulted in the OM-1 MD. Basically identical to the plain OM-1, the only cosmetic difference being the “MD” badge on the front of the camera.

So, how does the OM-1 stack up when viewed in the context of its rivals?  Let’s look at the prices. These were pulled from the back pages of the Apr ’74 issue of Popular Photography and include the camera plus the 50mm f/1.4 lens. The prices in parentheses reflect what those prices would be today (as calculated by the AIER Cost of Living Calculator).

• Canon F1  ……………………..  $429   ($2127.49)
• Nikon F FTN  ………………… $419   ($2077.90)
• Olympus OM-1  ……………  $369   ($1829.94)
• Konica Autoreflex T3 …. $337   ($1671.24)
• Minolta SR-T 102  ………… $269   ($1334.02)
• Pentax Spotmatic II  …… $219   ($1086.06)

While not the most expensive in this group, the OM-1 still comes in a close third after Nikon and Canon. Which makes sense when you consider that the OM-1 was meant to cater to the working pro. And – by the way – did you notice? Looking at these prices you can see that photography has always been an expensive pastime.

Overall, my impression of the OM-1 is quite favorable. I love the small size and weight. It’s very quiet, and the mirror is well-damped. The Zuiko lenses are superb (and still a little on the expensive side). And the viewfinder is no less than incredible. The placement of the shutter speed dial is a little awkward, but I could get used to it with a little more shooting time. The only thing that I would change would be to make exposure information (shutter, aperture) visible in the viewfinder. There were plenty of other cameras of the same era that were including at least one of the two. Having to take my eye from the viewfinder to confirm shutter and aperture settings really interrupts my creative process.

The bottom line: Would I recommend the OM-1? You bet. If you’re in the market for an all-mechanical film camera, you should give it a look. It’s solid and precise, small and light – and you just cannot beat the viewfinder.  Be sure to check out the pics following the camera specs.

Lenses used: Zuiko 50mm f/1.4, Zuiko 135mm f/2.8, Tokina EL 28mm f/2.8. Film used: Kodak T-Max 100, Ilford Delta 100, Ilford Delta 400. Processed in Kodak D-76 1:1.

For more info and photo shoot with the OM-1, check out the video below on the Vintage Camera Digest YouTube channel. Technical specs (and photo samples) for the camera are below the video.

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Technicals Specifications:

Original List Price (1974): $369.00
Price in 2017 Dollars: $1829.94
Manufacturer: Olympus
Model: OM-1 MD
Year Introduced: 1973
Film Format: 35mm
Lens: Zuiko
Shutter: Focal Plane
Self-timer: Yes
Shutter Speeds: 1 – 1/1000 plus B
Shutter Release: on top
Built-in Meter: Yes
Film Speed/ASA Range: 25-1600
Flash Sync: Yes, PC-Terminal (X and FP), and available hot shoe
Film Advance: Racheting, single-stroke lever on top
Frame Counter: Yes
Double-exposure capable: No
Finder: Big and bright, UN-equaled by its peers
Mirror: quick-return
Other points of note: removable back, tripod socket, many focusing screens available, mirror lock-up, film rewind lever on front, shutter speed selector around the lens mount.

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All text and photographs on this website (other than found-photography and otherwise noted) are © 2014-2021 Steven Broome. All rights reserved.