What’s in a name ? Or, more precisely, a model number? Well, if it’s ‘OM-1’, quite a lot. Olympus wasn’t exactly unknown when the original OM-1 was revealed in 1972, but the revolutionary down-sizing of the 35mm SLR propelled it towards becoming a major player in the camera market. By the end of the 1970s, Olympus was one of the ‘big five’ Japanese camera makers along with Canon, Minolta, Nikon and Pentax.
Yoshihisa Maitani’s remarkably compact design – which was largely achieved mechanically as this was before microchips were widely used – set the trend towards smaller 35mm SLRs and Olympus basked in the glory of the OM-1 for many years. With the OM-2 and later OM-4 series – and to a lesser extent with the OM-3, which was the OM-1’s all-mechanical successor – it made some inroads into the professional sector and attracted a veritable who’s who of ‘big name’ photographers, among them David Bailey, Patrick Litchfield, Uwe Ommer, Terence Donovan, Ernst Haas, Eric Hosking (best known for his stunning images of birds) and Don McCullin (who participated in early testing of M-1 prototypes). It was the camera system of choice for National Geographic’s photographers and there were plenty of celebrity users too, including F1 champion James Hunt, mountaineer Chris Bonnington, and decathlete Daley Thompson.
So the original OM-1 has a lot to answer for and, according to OM Digital Solutions – which is what Olympus’s camera business is now called under its new ownership – it’s “time to do it again”. The occasion is the launch of the first camera under the OM System branding, so it seems fitting to start again with ‘OM-1’ except, as you’ve probably already noticed, the new camera also says ‘Olympus’ on the front. Well, this is a one-off that’s been permitted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original camera’s unveiling, and it won’t be happening again… so this also helps make the new OM-1 a bit special too. And the renewed emphasis on balancing compactness with capabilities is helping OM Digital Solutions again make a point about the M43 sensor size and its benefits, particularly in terms of enabling much smaller telephoto lenses.
“Small is not a compromise, ” runs the promo for the new camera. “It is an advantage. Big doesn’t mean pro, big means bulky. Out in the wild bulky can mean sacrificing on the experience. And your frame can only be as full as the experience [which, you’ll agree, is a pretty clever line]. And, out there, small is a big thing.”
If you’re getting the idea that OM Digital Solutions is specifically targeting the outdoor, adventure, action, nature, and wildlife photography markets with the new OM-1, you’re spot on. Faster (significantly so) and more rugged than the E-M1X, but a whole lot smaller and lighter, the OM-1 is all about resetting the balance between performance and mobility so, again to quote from the promo, “you can now have it all”. In fact, there isn’t a comparable combo of size and speed, or, for that matter, pricing, and OM System draws further ahead when you take into account the longer focal length M.Zuiko Digital lenses such as the ED 300mm f/4.0 PRO (effectively 600mm) and the ED 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS (200-800mm).
“SMALLER AND LIGHTER THAN THE E-M1X, THE OM-1 IS ALL ABOUT RESETTING THE BALANCE BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND MOBILITY.
UP TO SPEED
For the first time in a long time, there’s a significant update to a Micro Four Thirds sensor, which of course can’t change its size, but adopting the stacked BSI arrangement that’s now becoming common in the larger formats can deliver other key performance benefits, most notably a faster read-out speed, an improved dynamic range and lower noise levels. Announced a bit later, the Panasonic Lumix GH6 also introduces a new generation M43 sensor.
The sensor in the OM-1 also has a revised architecture on its receiving surface to deliver a new autofocusing system called Cross Quad Pixel AF. Under each pixel point are four photodiodes rather than one, which collectively – by comparisons between each’s read-out – can determine depth
