Almost 40 years ago, Olympus made a great leap forward in SLR camera design with the introduction of the OM-1 camera (initially they called it the M-1, but Leica didn’t like that and threatened to sue.) It wasn’t a camera for everyone, with many pros complaining it was too small and too light to be serious, and certainly it didn’t have the tank-like qualities of some of the rival models. It was relatively small and light and came with a superbly bright viewfinder and a pretty decent set of lenses, some of which made the big guns look pretty sick.
The OM1 had its faults. It didn’t show the aperture in the viewfinder. Photographers used to having the shutter speed dial on top of the camera didn’t like the far better placement around the lens mount which meant you didn’t have to lose your grip on the camera to alter the shutter speed. It’s a shame it didn’t catch on. Probably its weakest point was just a slight ‘iffiness’ at times about the shutter release, which could sometimes mean nothing happened when you pressed it the first time (something we are rather more used to when cameras have autofocus, but there was no reason for it in the manual days.)
By the time it had developed into the OM4 it was a real classic, and I had two of them together with a pretty comprehensive lens set in a very much smaller and lighter bag than I now need for the two Nikons. The OM4 had what was certainly the best metering system ever made for any film SLR, and was great for those who liked to think about exposure, allowing you to place an area on a particular zone with ease. Or you could just leave it on automatic, and it seemed to do better than the rather more complex electronic systems manage now.
Now Olympus are sending out teasers about a new OM series camera, the OM-D, supposedly a digital successor to the OM series. I think it has come around 10 years too late, but I hope I won’t be too disappointed. You can read more about the likely spec at 43 Rumours.
I’m afraid the similarity will largely be cosmetic, an attempt to trade on the old reputation. Of course it won’t have anything like such a good viewfinder – it will be electronic. I suspect too that the dial we see a little of on the top plate is a shutter speed dial.
We already know more about another new camera, the Fuji X-Pro1, also with a 16Mp sensor, though the slightly larger APS-C format, and one that promises to produce sharper images with a different sensor layout which cuts down the effect of moire. That looks rather more interesting as a camera, and is obviously aping Leica – just as the Fuji X-100 was. The X-Pro1 with its interchangeable lenses looks very much like the camera the Leica M9 should have been, so I’m waiting with rather more interest the first detailed reviews. So far the various ‘hands-on’ pieces although interesting really tell us only a little more than the press release.
But I’m already getting the feeling that this might just be the year I jump ship from Nikon to something smaller and lighter, at least for much of my work.
Fond memories of the OM series here, too. An OM4Ti and Kodachrome 25 (plus Benbo tripod) made a superb combination for flower and insect photography.
As you say, the new beast will probably be nothing like those jewels of cameras.
> this might just be the year I jump ship from Nikon to something smaller and lighter
Same here. I’m keeping an eye on reviews and prices for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and the Sony NX-7.
Roger
As usual I saw the announcement and got all excited especially when they said an M mount adaptor was pencilled in. Now, I’ve never been to this chaps site before, at least with KR you know what you get, but he does give a hands on and points out some drawbacks, hunting AF, and good points, shutter lag noticeably absent. http://vladdodan.ro/blog/fuji-x-pro-1-hands-on-preview/
Well, for street shooting with film I never focussed for individual shots, there just usually isn’t time. So I would have the 28mm set at 1.8 metres most of the time, manual focus and manual exposure, and know what the DOF would cover. A 35mm isn’t quite as good (as I’ve found with the x100) but still usable, though with the smaller sensor almost.
Lots of people have complained about slow focus in the X100, but I haven’t found it a great problem, not the kind of camera that would do well with fast moving objects though.
The Fuji EVF isn’t bad, but certainly the optical viewfinder is usually my choice. But an EVF comes into its own with close-ups, and also with the X-Pro1 it will possibly make using longer lenses possible. So while I thought the 90mm Elmarit was a real pain on the M Leicas, it might be much more usable on the Fuji.
My favourite OM lens was the 35mm f2.8 shift that I probably used for around 90% of my film photography. I also have a 28mm and a 20 or 21mm, both of which made the corresponding Nikkors of that time look pretty hopeless. I had both the 200 mm lenses as well of course as a 50mm, and a Tamron 105mm that was excellent too. I tried both Olympus and other zooms, but none quite satisfied me.
More:-http://www.pbase.com/hpicckcy/fujifilm_xpro1
Excellent low light quality. But it’s handling I want to know more about, and things like write times etc.
If it matches the glacial progress of the M8 count me out. I would be more enthusiastic if it was going to be full frame to utilise my Leica glass the new OM Olympus is now rumoured to be full frame.
Apologies for extending the comments to six on a “gear” thread I do read for the images and know that no matter how good the saucepan it is the cook that counts.
Everyone expects it to be Micro Four Thirds.
Everyone? :-)
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2012/01/a-guess.html
I think everyone including Olympus given the lens line-up they have given some details about.
As someone comments on TOP, the suggestion it would be full-frame was a great PR stunt, and not really a serious suggestion. And those people who say that nothing says anything about the format have simply failed to read the headlines of the various articles which say “A new Micro Four Thirds camera from Olympus”.