Wonderful size. Excellent lenses, feels good in your hands.

The battery is very difficult to find. I have been told that the modern replacements don't have the right electrical characteristics, and the meter won't work as it should

I love this camera. It is my choice over all of the one's I have included some point and shoot Canon's, a Nikon, the Minolta and Exakta's. It is not much heavier than some rangefinders that I use
and the lenses are great. The 50mm 1.2 is very small for its speed. They seem to go for almost as much as they did when new. If you can find one, buy it.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta SRT-101
Exakta VX-IIa
Exacta VX
Olympus XA

Simple, Small, Has a light meter.

Light meter brakes often (3 times over the last 10 years).

Very basic camera. Don't trust the light meter 100%.

Customer Service

Good.

Similar Products Used:

N90s, EOS5, EOS rt, Minolta 7i, 600si, Olympus OM4Ti, Pentax K1000.

Small, simple, large system with lots of accessories, rugged.

None

Great camera and system. I purchased an OM10 in '79 and a few lenses. It bit the dust, so I purchased a brand new 20-year old OM1. Never been used! From old photographer that had it as a backup, and never used it. I love that camera! My Minolta XTSI is a great camera, but I like the feeling of being "in control" with the OM1. I will purchase more of these cameras as I find them. I have built a system with many lenses and accessories that I have purchased mainly on eBay. I have what I consider a "professional level" system without spending professional level money.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Minolta XTSI, OM10, OM2

Size, Quiet, Range of system, Reliability.

Mercury battery for meter. Can't really blame camera mfg for this, more of a battery mfg fault; no good repacement for the battery.

This camera is what the Leicaflex should have been. I have used the system since 1981 and now own 4 OM1n's an OM2S and a OM4T. I have never had a problem with any of my OM1n's and the lenses are great. I can't see buying an OM3T for $1,500 when the OM1n is to my mind just as good (you can buy them in mint condition for $200 - $250)I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

Customer Service

Never had to use. I had to take a body to Photosphere to repair because I did something stupid; only repair I've ever needed.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax SV, Leica M3, Nikon FM & FA, TOPCON Super D.

Excellent sturdy construction. Feels great in the hands. Lots of used ones available cheap on eBay or at used camera places on the web (e-mail for suggestions). Lots of lens available too. Every once in a while I'll get a lens for it and they are all very compact and excellently made. The perfect manual camera. I've had it for 25 years and I still love it.

Well... it's a manual (though the light meter works great). Flash is a pain.
By the way, about the "battery problem"... you can get a tiny adapter with a microchip for about $10 that lets you use a regular battery with this camera. E-mail me if you want a source.

Go on eBay and get one! Sometimes the person will be selling a whole system... lenses, flash. If you are a beginner, go for it! And be sure to get a tripod if you are serious about great pictures.

Customer Service

No problems... ever!

Similar Products Used:

I check out new cameras as they come on the market,and I've been tempted, but the cost factor is always a problem. (Figure $500 to get a Nikon N65 and a couple of good lens.)

Awesome durable and elegent camera. The f-stop and shutter speed controls all along the lens axis, along with dof preview on all zuiko lenses. Mirror Lock-up, and great match-needle meter indicate 2 stops over or under exposed. Plenty of VF info.

1/60 flash sych. Stupid shoe design.

Best manual only SLR hands down.

Customer Service

There still exist great repair/CLA people out there.

Similar Products Used:

OM-4t
Canon AE-1

Well-made, small size, mirror lock-up, simple on-off switch, interchangeable screens and large system.

Older and slower CDS metering cells, only 1/60 flash synch speed, no aperture or shutter speed visible in the viewfinder, unconventional shutter speed selector and ASA dial,

Good, elegant, compact mechanical SLR. It just falls short due to lack of exposure information in the viewfinder and slow flash synch speeds. If at least the shutter speed was shown in the viewfinder, the unique shutter speed selector would make more sense just like the Nikkormat FT2/3.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FM/FM2/FE2, Minolta SRT 201

Well-built, simple, dependable, compact, system camera, mechanical shutter, smooth wind lever.

X-sync 1/60, top shutter speed 1/1000, CDS meter, Mercury battery, match needle hard to see in dark, cloth shutter, weak removable hot shoe.

I own 2 bodies and despite some design limitations, would recomend this camera highly to traditionalists, beginners, and advanced amateurs. It looks like Olympus is abandoning the 35mm market. The OM-4 & OM-3 are rediculously expensive as are the lenses and related accessories. Quality used equipment is available, but parts and repair capabilities are getting scarce.

Customer Service

After 3 yrs use sent for repair of wind lever. Technician said gear was worn due to misalignment during assembly. Repair not covered since warranty expired. No problems in the past 10 years.

Similar Products Used:

OM-2S, OM-PC, OM-G, Pentax ME Super, F-3T, FA, FE-2

A brilliant but simple design. Compact, easy to use. Capable of results on par with any of today's AF, auto-everything wonders (albeit slower to use in some situations).

Large, bright viewfinder. Many accessories available (but you should look for them on the used market, for the most part).

Nice used examples are commonly available at bargain prices.

Hot shoe design is not so brilliant.

People with large hands may find the camera a bit too small. (This can be solved with the installation of a winder or motor drive.)

Hasn't been made in over 12 years. As with any used camera, you should evaluate it carefully before making a purchase.

Mercury batteries are disappearing, so you will need either to get your camera converted to 1.5 volt silver batteries, or use the zinc/air cells.

This is a fine camera, but, unlike today's techno-marvels, it makes you participate in the process of photography at a level beyond the pushing of a button. If that is not you cup of tea, look elsewhere. The shutter speed control is different than the "standard" position (or what used to be the standard position, in the pre-pushbutton era), but it's easy to adjust to the different location. Overall, the camera exudes a level of quality and craftsmanship that is missing from most of the new cameras.

After using this camera for a while, you may begin to wonder why people think they need all the gadgets and gizmos attached to the "wonderbricks." Either that, or you will decide that focusing you lens and setting your own shutter speed and aperture are too much work and go back to your auto-everything camera.

Customer Service

No need for it yet. Mine was bought in the 1970's, and is still working fine.

On a broader note, Olympus seems to have given up on the OM system in favor of digital and P&S cameras. Trying to order new OM gear is expensive and often difficult (with many items requiring VERY long backorders to obtain).

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE1, Minolta SRT-101, Nikon FM

Precision!!
Durability
Defines elegance
Nothing is wasted; absolute use of "space"

Only used available

I just picked up a perfect example of this great camera. Back in '79 a black OM-1 was my first serious camera. I used it until the local Nikon snobs talked me into trading it in on Nikons and Nikkormats (which were/are fine cameras). Since then I've owned about 3 or 4 more OM-1's down through the years. I even had the OM-2S Program (another fine camera). I've swayed around and left photography and come back a few times, always into a different system and with different interests, and now eBay has opened the world as far as used equipment is concerned. I have always found the Zuiko lenses to be superb (Herb Keppler once tested them and compared them to Nikkors and found the sharpness equal, possibly a slight difference in coating warmth). Folks can whine all they want about what it doesn't do or have, but it revolutionalized the world of 35mm SLR photography, setting the stage for all advances since. Someone had to do what Olympus did, and probably no other company could have pulled it off so materfully. These cameras are solid, silent and the controls are laid out perfectly. Yes they are small, but many of the key features are actually larger than conventional cameras designs. After nearly 30 years on the market, they still are a marvel to use and behold. These cameras hail back to a time when "you could still impress women" by taking their picture with available light to paraphrase and quote one of my photo heros (Bill Pierce, http://digitaljournalist.org/). If you desire a camera about the same size and shape of the Leica M series, with through the lens viewing and high precision and a fraction of the cost, check out the OM-1.

Similar Products Used:

Canon FD and Eos, Nikon AI/AIS/AF, Minolta MD/MC