Olympus

Olympus introduced its first camera in 1936, the Semi-Olympus I, fitted with the first Zuiko-branded lens. The first innovative camera series from Olympus was the Pen, launched in 1959. The half-frame format, allowing 72 pictures of 18 × 24 mm format on a standard 36 exposure roll of film, made Pen cameras compact and portable for their time.

The Pen system design team, led by Yoshihisa Maitani, later created the OM system, a full-frame professional 35mm SLR system designed to compete with Nikon and Canon's bestsellers. The OM system introduced a new trend towards more compact cameras and lenses, being much smaller than its competitors and presenting innovative design features such as off-the-film (OTF) metering and OTF flash automation. Eventually, the system included 14 different bodies, approximately 60 Zuiko-branded lenses, and numerous camera accessories. This category aims to describe some of those Olympus cameras.

Olympus Logo

Olympus now manufactures compact digital cameras and is the designer of the Four Thirds system standard for digital single-lens reflex cameras. Olympus is also the largest manufacturer of Four-Thirds lenses, under the Zuiko Digital brand.

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Olympus Camera Reviews

Olympus XZ-1

RW JemmettFeb 21, 20240 min read
Olympus XZ-1 front with lens cap

Olympus Pen F

RW JemmettFeb 19, 20240 min read
Olympus Pen F

Olympus Posts

A Simple Guide to Olympus Digital Camera Model Names

RW JemmettJul 15, 20247 min read
Simple guide to Olympus camera range

OlympusOlympus introduced its first camera in 1936, the Semi-Olympus I, fitted with the first Zuiko-branded lens. The first innovative camera series from […]

Where can I buy a Great Used Digital Camera? 

RW JemmettDec 29, 202313 min read
Buying digital camera

Check out these marketplaces for a used digital camera. We have listed the Pros and Cons for each as well as tips. […]

Olympus AZ 330 Super Zoom

RW JemmettSep 15, 20224 min read
Front view Olympus AZ 330

Overview The OlympusOlympus introduced its first camera in 1936, the Semi-Olympus I, fitted with the first Zuiko-branded lens. The first innovative camera […]

Olympus AF10 Super, an Easy to use 35mm Compact Film Camera

RW JemmettSep 9, 20202 min read
Olympus AF10 Super

The Olympus AF10 Super (Infinity Junior in the US) was released in 1987, a fully automatic 35mm film camera. It inherited the sliding cover design…

Olympus Pen EE – LinkPage. Information and help about this wonderful 35mm camera

RW JemmettAug 15, 20201 min read
Olympus Pen EE

My New Olympus Pen EE, 1964 – What’s in the Box? (Blog Post) Olympus Pen EE – Results and Feelings about this […]

Olympus Pen EE – Results and Feelings about this Film Camera

RW JemmettJun 21, 20204 min read
tree lined path

You may have looked at my first post about my 1964 Olympus Pen EE – What's in the box. This post is […]