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Brief History of Olympus Cameras
It
was early 1970. Leica was widely recognized as
producing the best 35mm rangefinder cameras; Nikon
and Canon were battling it out to claim SLR supremacy;
and Minolta, Yashica, Contax, and Rollei were
serious contenders right behind the top dogs.
It is in this hugely competitive mix that a small
SLR was introduced. The introduction of the Olympus
M-1 (later renamed OM-1), with its compact size,
full lens system and uncompromising quality, turned
the world of 35mm cameras upside down. Overnight,
there was a new contender -- and it created a
space all its own. The other camera manufacturers
scrambled to come up with viable competition,
but it would be some years before they would catch
up.
The Olympus OM-1 was (about 35%) smaller and lighter,
and simply beautiful. It also came with a full
lens system rivalling that of Nikon and Canon.
Overnight, the Olympus legend was born.
Here
is a brief pictorial history of some of the most
popular Olympus cameras:
1919, 1921
Olympus started out as Takachiho Seisakusho
in 1919 intent on producing Japan's first
microscope, a feat which it accomplished
in one year.
The brand name Olympus started
to be used extensively in 1921.
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Semi I, 1936-1937
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Six I, 1939
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35 I, 1948
Seiko Shutter
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Flex B II, 1953
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Wide, 1955
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Wide E, 1956
Photoelectric Cell Light Meter
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S II 1.8, 1957
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Auto, 1958
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Pen, 1959
Half-frame
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Pen EE, 1961
Selenium light meter around lens
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Pen F, 1963
Half-frame SLR, F1.8
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Pen FT, 1966
F1.2
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Trip 35, 1968
35mm version of Pen EES
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35 DC, 1971
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M-1, 1972
The legend is born
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pictures
courtesy of Olympus Japan
If
you have any anecdote about any of the above cameras
that you think might be interesting to share with
other readers, please send
them to us.
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