678 VINTAGE CAMERAS
  • Store
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About
  • Policies

Not-so-random thoughts

Tips, tricks, history, etc.

Olympus OM-1: The SLR Game Changer

5/8/2021

6 Comments

 
Picture
A late-production example of the diminutive OM-1 MD with even later-production OM Zuiko 50/1.8

  Updated May 21, 2021

  Game Changer. An overused phrase nowadays to be sure, but when applied appropriately it conveys an unmistakable break with the past and an opening up of previously unthought-of possibilities. So it was with the Bobby Orr of SLRs - what came to be called the Olympus OM-1. Bobby Orr??? It's like this, eh. Like Bobby Orr totally changed hockey forever, eh. Like, before Bobby Orr, defensemen didn't lead the rush, eh, or score more than 21 goals a season, eh (he did so for 7 consecutive years, topping out at 46 in 1975), or like score more than 60 points in a season, eh (he scored over 100 for 6 straight years, winning two scoring titles along the way, something no defenseman has done before or since). Or win MVP, eh (three years consecutively, only one other defenseman has won MVP once in the last 50 years). Or win Best Defenseman in the league like eight times in row, eh. And he did all that on like, one knee, eh (his left knee was first seriously injured in his second year in the NHL and he would have 13 or 14 surgeries on it over the course of his career). But his effect on the game was far more pronounced than just the record books. Offensively-minded defensemen (paradox, anyone? ;-)) became indispensable in hockey. Arena construction went nuts in New England as thousands of kids were turned on to hockey by "numbah foah, Bawbee Oah". He turned casual or non-fans into hockey lifers. GAME. CHANGER. In the same era, the Olympus OM-1 did likewise for 35mm SLRs. In this article we will concentrate mostly on the features, operation, and handling of the OM-1 and how it changed the SLR landscape and 35mm photography forever.

Read More
6 Comments

    C.J. Odenbach

    Suffers from a quarter-century and counting film and manual focus SLR addiction. Has recently expanded into 1980's AF point and shoots, and (gack!) '90s SLRs. He even mixes in some digital. Definitely a sick man.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Buyer's Guide
    Camera Comparison
    Camera Profiles
    Canon
    Contax/Yashica
    Film
    Filters
    Flash
    Fuji
    History
    Kodak
    Konica
    Leica
    Lenses
    Mamiya
    Minolta
    Nikon
    Olympus
    Pentax
    Point & Shoots
    Rangefinders
    SLRs
    Tips
    Topcon

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

​© COPYRIGHT 2016 - 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Store
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About
  • Policies