Olympus M-1

The Olympus M-1 is an SLR camera. At the end of 1972, Olympus introduced the M-1 at the Photokina in Cologne. At that time, it was the smallest and lightest SLR for 35mm cameras on the market. The model was developed under the direction of the Japanese Yoshihisa Maitani. According to the rumor mill, the designer also gave his initial letter for the name.

But the name M-1 was not to be the end of the story. The Leitz company, which had been using the letter M for its products, including the Leica M1, since 1954, protested. As a result, an O was added to the name of the system. From May 1973, the Olympus M-1 was sold as the Olympus OM-1. The cameras already produced without the O are now a popular item for collectors.

The Olympus M-1 comes with interchangeable lenses. Lenses with an Olympus OM bayonet can be used. The Zuiko Auto-S 1:1.4/50 mm is often found with the 35mm photo camera. You have to focus the lens manually.

The Olympus M-1 has a built-in light meter. It can be used to set the exposure for film with a sensitivity of ISO 12 to ISO 1600. The correct exposure is measured through the lens. The exposure time and aperture can be freely selected.

The camera has a Bulb setting. With this setting, the shutter remains open as long as the shutter button is held down. An external flash unit can be used via the hot shoe or PC flash connector.

A tripod can be attached to the bottom of the camera. A cable release can also be used with the camera. Additionally, the self-timer can be used to take photos. The camera’s housing weighs 510 grams. The dimensions are 13.6 x 8.3 x 5 cm. The power needed for the camera comes from a PX 625 battery.

Films for the Olympus M-1

Exposures are made in the Olympus M-1 cartridges with 35mm film. There is still a good selection of material for color and black and white images for this film format. Nice films for black and white or color images are the Kodak T-Max 100* and the Fujifilm Superia 200*.

The color film is processed using the C-41 process. C-41 film can be developed by most photo labs. For example, you can take your film to most drug stores for development.