What Cameras Does The Olympus Winder 1 Work With

Fans of the Olympus OM system are equally passionate and dedicated as any in the earth of cameras, and it's over the original Olympus OM-1 that these acolytes most readily swoon. Spend any amount of time chatting with classic camera geeks and the Olympus OM-1 is certain to come up up in conversation.

And I totally go that obsession. Last twelvemonth I shot the OM-2 for a weekend. On Friday I expected nothing special, and on Lord's day I had a new favorite SLR. Since then, I've shot the OM-3, OM-4, OM-2s, and the OM-4Ti, and I've encouraged countless would-exist moving picture shooters to hunt down an OM of their very own. But in all this time I'd withal not gotten my hands on the original, the progenitor, the OM-1. That is, until now.

The by ii weeks have found me shooting the Olympus OM-one, and it feels like coming home. The OM-one isn't going to appeal to everyone (it'south a photographic camera that has some potentially ruinous shortcomings) but for a certain blazon of photo geek, shooting this Olympus will be as blissful a photographic experience equally one can have.

To beginning, let's get through the basics. The Olympus OM-1 is a fully-mechanical, 35mm film SLR first produced in 1972, though back then yous'd never find an OM-i on the shelves. That's because in its original iteration it was called the K-ane, named to immortalize its legendary designer Yoshihisa Maitani. When Leica discovered that Olympus had made a meliorate camera than their identically-named and vastly inferior M-one rangefinder, the boys from Wetzlar had a tantrum and "requested" the name be changed. Olympus bowed and changed the name to OM-1, and knotted lederhosen far and broad were swiftly unwound.

[1000-1 Paradigm Courtesy of Instagram's @Wilfredjaai]

Interestingly for collectors, a number of these early G-1s still pop upwardly here and in that location, and seeking them out can exist a pastime in itself. Olympus' records indicate that but v,000 were e'er produced, but sleuthing photograph-geeks put the number significantly college. Lenses and accessories begetting the Grand-System classification are as well quite sought after, so proceed an eye out next fourth dimension you lot're in the local thrift shop. And while uncommon, it should be mentioned that these cameras tin can be easily counterfeited, with many an OM-one having been modified to sell at the much higher prices commanded past M-1s. Due diligence dictates buying only from shops you lot trust (like mine). Unfortunately, the M-one's rarity will inevitably force many folk to wade through the murky waters of eBay.

With this in heed, here are some pointers. If you're looking to get your hands on ane of these original Ms, check these external indicators outset. The bottom plate should have no ports except a bombardment embrace, as the M-one lacks the ability to mount a motor bulldoze. Other piece of cake indicators are the employ of slotted screws in the lens mount (not JIS or phillips), and a smaller movie pressure plate. The Chiliad-1's plate should measure 51.5mm ten 38mm while the OM-i's plate measures threescore.5mm x 38.5mm. Removing the pressure plate should reveal mounting studs 45mm apart, opposed to the afterward camera's 52mm spacing. Internally things are more than complicated, simply we tin can tell the departure past removing the top plate and observing the coloring of wires, inclusion or exclusion of certain resistors, differences in the metering system, and a number of other minuscule clues.

This is all rather boring stuff, suited to a more than obsessive website. M-1 or OM-one, when you lot purchase the original OM machine y'all're getting a serious shooter'southward camera. That'due south considering this camera is a precise, concise tool. There'south nothing here to misfile the procedure of photography, which is proficient, but there's also not much hither to make the process easy for newcomers, which could be a deal-breaker for some photo geeks.

Nosotros mentioned that this is a mechanical camera (it functions via levers, springs, and gears rather than being powered by electricity), but information technology's also an entirely manual camera. If you're going to apply an OM-1 you'd better sympathize (or be ready to learn) the ways that ISO, shutter speed, and aperture touch your photo.

That said, the Olympus OM-ane does have a low-cal-meter to assistance things, but in that location's no auto-exposure like nosotros find in other, more modern OM machines. And this is probable going to be the thing that keeps many photo geeks from pulling the trigger on the OM-one. Whether the manual-only nature of the car truly warrants preclusion is up to the private. For me, I welcome it. Simplifying things ofttimes leads to magical moments in photography, and some of the best photos I've e'er taken have been technically imperfect shots fabricated with manual exposure cameras whose dials and knobs were set but shy of perfect.

But I acknowledge that for some people this review just ended. The exclusion of auto-exposure is a real shortcoming. But for those who are up to the challenge, for those ready for a serious camera, this shortcoming won't matter.

So what exercise we get with the OM-1? In brusque, everything we need and zippo we don't.

The tiptop plate is delightfully thin, with nothing more than a shutter release push button, an ISO dial, a picture advance lever, an On/Off switch, and a motion picture rewind lever. That's it. There'south no exposure compensation punch, there's no multiple exposure switch or manner selector; fifty-fifty the shutter speed dial is placed elsewhere (surrounding the lens mount). On the front of the camera we detect the self-timer and previously-mentioned shutter speed selector, film rewind switch, mirror lock-up switch, and flash socket. And again, that's all!

Information technology would be easy to read the OM-i'due south spec sheet and pass it over in favor of a camera that offers more gizmos and widgets. And in today'due south digital surroundings, overlooking something on account of its quaint simplicity is practically the status quo. We compare and weigh and choose, and forever covet newer, flashier, more decadent devices. But to overlook this camera on account of its simplicity would be a massive mistake, for the unabridged allure of the OM-ane is in its ability to provide today's shooters with something we and so desperately demand; clarity.

The OM-1 allows usa to encounter the world with a simplicity that's conspicuously elusive, specially for photographers who are used to looking through the latest EVFs or DSLR viewfinders. Through its eschewing of superfluous features, the OM-1 becomes an platonic photographic tool for our mod historic period, and indeed a truly timeless object of part and beauty. And this camera is cute. Maitani and his team of engineers worked tirelessly for years to refine paradigm afterwards prototype, until finally producing what nosotros run into today, the smallest (136 × 83 × 50 mm) and most appealing 35mm SLR around. It's a quintessentially Japanese creation, with an economy of pattern that'due south intentionally reserved.

In its era, the OM-1 was a revelation, and today information technology's all the same a stunner. Identify information technology side by side to the latest and greatest Nikon, Canon or Leica and yous'll immediately recognize that we've indeed been taking steps in the incorrect management. The OM-ane is meaty, purposeful, slim, and sexy. While the well-nigh common machines of today (fifty-fifty some mirror-less cameras) are bloated, disproportionate, and needlessly complicated.

Counter-intuitively, these savings in size and weight do not forfeit quality. While stowing an OM trunk in our bag adds only 510 grams (18 ounces) to the load, these are some well-fabricated grams. Build here is first-class. The camera is tight, dumbo, and solid, and the OM feels similar a photographic camera that can have corruption and proceed on firing (a suspicion reinforced when my review camera spent the 24-hour interval photographing the New England Aquarium, even afterwards tumbling from a footpath into rocky Boston Harbor).

Functionally the camera is a joy to utilise, with a few small exceptions. Ergonomically, things are fantabulous. Controls are implemented in an intelligent and thoughtful way. The locking tab on the ISO selector (a characteristic that unremarkably annoys) is comfortably hidden in a convenient niche. The shutter speed selector actuates with a directed forcefulness that lets ane know they've just adapted something serious, and the shutter release button feels great.

These last ii components are linked to a capable, if old-fashioned, horizontally-traveling cloth focal-airplane shutter capable of speeds from 1/1000th of a second down to i second, plus Bulb mode for long exposures. Wink sync speed simply reaches to i/60th of a second, which is prohibitively tiresome for anyone shooting with a fill-wink in daylight. And while these limitations will likely merely impact certain, more than avant-garde photographers (new shooters seldom use strobes or have super-fast drinking glass) they do hamper the OM-1's operation a fleck.

One other lowlight can be institute when we advance the picture show. It just feels crude. Opposed to some other classic cameras, which implement advanced construction techniques such as self-lubricating ball bearings, advancing pic and cocking the shutter of the Olympus OM-i can almost make ane cringe. The action sounds sandy, abrasive, and sad.

Luckily, with these two qualms we've essentially exhausted our stock of complaints, and nosotros're back to heaping accolades. And no area of the OM-1 impresses more when we look through its absolutely gigantic viewfinder. A decidedly gorgeous .92X magnification finder shows 97% of the paradigm surface area, with photons passing through twelve available interchangeable focusing screens. It's amazing that on a camera and then small we would find one of the biggest, brightest, and best viewfinders in all of archetype photography.

The viewfinder too displays a "eye-the-needle" lite meter readout. Lite passing through the lens is measured past 2 CdS cells placed on opposite sides of the eyepiece, and these provide through-the-lens open up aperture light measurement. Only adjust your aperture and shutter speed until the needle rests between the plus and minus symbols in the viewfinder and yous should make a proper exposure. In reality, the light meter in the OM-1 isn't exceptional. Information technology's decent. Exposure is measured fairly accurately, though it's non every bit skilful every bit some other metering systems we've used. And the subsequent OMs amazing auto-exposure and metering systems certainly overshadow the more than primitive OM-1.

It should besides be noted that using the calorie-free meter tin slow downwardly the process of photography on account of the viewfinder lacking any indication of the selected aperture and shutter speed. Still, a congenital-in light meter is certainly useful for new shooters or for double checking more proficient photographers' judgement. I doubtable that nearly one-time-easily will ignore it completely, or never plough it on, and shoot co-ordinate to their own assessment of the light.

A camera is only as proficient equally the drinking glass fitted to it, and Olympus optics are among the best and most varied (with some reliability caveats). Their Zuiko lenses tin can produce some simply incredible images, and we've seen a few that outperform all of the competition. Optical coatings from the brand are avant-garde and capable, and practice a practiced job of mitigating unwanted optical aberrations and producing prissy contrast and colour.

Lens construction mirrors the ethos of the system, in that most lenses are amazingly small, and placing Zuiko glass next to comparable lenses from other manufacturers nearly e'er leads to wonder over why those other guys' stuff is so big.

Build quality of the lenses is superficially expert, with focus rings, discontinuity rings, and finish-down levers actuating nicely. But we've seen an inordinate number of Olympus lenses come through our shop suffering much higher rates of fungus and focus helicoid oil seepage compared to lenses of the aforementioned age from different makers. Whether this is just bad luck, a product of the habits of typical Olympus owners, or truly bad manufacturing is hard to say. But there seems to be a trouble. When looking for lenses, make sure the one you're buying is in good shape and take proper care of it.

It should also exist mentioned that these classic lenses are easily fitted to today's crop of mirror-less cameras. Those shooting Sony a7 or Fujifilm 10 series cameras will want to pick upwards an adapter and double the usability of legacy Zuikos.

What kind of shooter will almost readily appreciate the charms of the OM-1? We come across information technology most comfortably in the hands of someone who's been shooting for a piffling while, or is ready to learn more about photography. It's a more demanding camera, in that information technology does little to coddle the lensman, only that's not to say it'south an incapable photographic camera. The OM-i is a high quality motorcar that grows with the shooter. Travelers, adventurists, and those who want to document life without beingness weighed down by gear volition appreciate its diminutive nature, and those obsessed with paradigm quality will honey well-kept Zuiko lenses.

The Olympus OM-1 is the kind of heirloom treasure that tin be passed from generation to generation, and indeed many accept been. If you're looking for a masterful mechanical photographic camera to be, substantially, the only pic camera you'll ever need, the OM-ane should certainly be considered. It'due south quite just ane of the best.

Buy your very own Olympus OM-1 on eBay, on Amazon, or from F-Stop Cameras

You'll too demand some film.

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Source: https://casualphotophile.com/2016/04/25/olympus-om-1-camera-review/

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