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 Posts

My New Olympus Pen EE, 1964 – What’s in the Box?

RW Jemmett Mar 13, 2020 5 min read
Olympus Pen EE

I bought an Olympus Pen EE, see what I got in the box and my first thoughts on this wonderful 1960s camera and where to…

Olympus OM-1, SLR 35mm Film

RW Jemmett Feb 9, 2020 3 min read
Olympus OM1

The Olympus OM-1 was introduced in 1972 and came into the shops in 1973. It is a small compact, all manual, film all-mechanical Single Lens…

My New Camera the Olympus TG-6

RW Jemmett Jan 7, 2020 3 min read
Olympus TG-6 submerged

My latest camera the Olympus TG-6 seems to have more Pros for the pound than most. My first thoughts.

Four Types of Camera, Which one Works Best for You?

RW Jemmett May 31, 2019 10 min read
Four Types of Camera, Which one Works Best for You?

Have you wondered what camera would be best for you when in the outdoors? Should you use a smartphone or upgrade to a compact, DSLR…