Olympus History

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  • 1936-1970
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1936 Semi-Olympus I (Fitted with COMPUR) - The first Olympus camera - Body made by Proud Company, Auto Compur 0 shutter 1937 Semi-Olympus I (Fitted with KOHO) - Equipped with an Olympus-made Koho 0 shutter 1937 Olympus Standard - (Prototype) 1938 Semi-Olympus II - Lateral body shape 1940 Olympus Six I - Body design inspired by Ikonta Six, Koho 0 shutter 1948 Olympus Chrome Six I -- 1948 Olympus 35 I - Ancestor of compact 35mm lens shutter cameras - Originally with 24x32mm format, changed to 24x36mm a year later - Fitted with Seiko shutter 1948 Olympus Chrome Six II - World's first camera with film surface stabilizer 1949 Olympus 35 III -- 1949 Olympus 35 IV - Equipped with 1/200 sec. Copal shutter 1951 Olympus Chrome SixIIIA -- 1951 Olympus Chrome SixIIIB - Olympus Chrome Six III with F2.8 lens 1952 Olympus Flex I - Top Japanese-made twin-lens reflex camera, fitted with F2.8 lens 1953 Olympus 35 Iva - World's first camera with film pressure plate made of glass 1953 Olympus Flex BII - Synchro contacts on Olympus Flex B updated from F to X type contacts with German-type plug 1954 Olympus 35 IVb - Fitted with Seiko Rapid 1/500 sec. shutter 1954 Olympus Chrome Six IV - Olympus Chrome Six III body with standalone rangefinder attached 1954 Olympus Flex A3.5 - Entry-level twin-lens reflex camera with F3.5 lens 1954 Olympus Chrome Six RIA -- 1955 Olympus Chrome Six VA -- 1955 Olympus Chrome Six RIIA -- 1955 Olympus Chrome Six RIIB -- 1955 Olympus 35 S2.8 -- 1955 Olympus 25V -- 1955 Olympus Wide - World's first 35mm lens shutter camera designed specifically for wide-angle photography 1955 Olympus FlexA 2.8 -- 1955 Olympus 35 S3.5 - First Japanese-made camera with lever winder and self-cocking mechanism 1956 Olympus 35 S1.9 - Camera with crank-type rewinding system 1956 Olympus FlexA 3.5II -- 1957 Olympus Wide E - Japan first 35mm camera with photovoltaic cell exposure meter 1957 Olympus 35K -- 1957 Olympus Wide Super - Camera designed for wide-angle photography, fitted with F2.0 large-aperture lens 1957 Olympus SII 1.8 - Equipped with bright frame finder and light value shutter 1957 Olympus SII 2.8 -- 1958 Olympus Wide II -- 1958 Olympus SII F2 -- 1958 Olympus Auto - Top-of-the-range camera with exposure meter synchronization 1958 Olympus Ace - World's first lens shutter camera with support for exchangeable lenses 1958 Olympus Eye-Flex - (Prototype) 4x4 twin lens reflex EE camera 1959 Olympus Auto B -- 1959 Olympus Pen - Camera designed to take half-size pictures on 35mm film - World's first rear winding system 1959 Olympus SII 1.8 -- 1959 Olympus Ace E - Created by building an exposure meter into the Olympus Ace 1959 Olympus Eye44 - (Prototype) 1960 Olympus Auto Eye - World's first 35mm camera with genuine shutter-priority EE system 1960 Olympus Pen S -- 1961 Olympus Pen EE - Half-size EE camera with Circle Eye selenium cells - The ideal pocket-size snapshot camera 1961 Olympus Zoom 8S - High-end 8mm camera with zoom lens 1962 Olympus Pen EES - Fitted with world's first program EE shutter 1962 Olympus Auto Eye II -- 1962 Olympus S -- 1962 Olympus Pen D - Fitted with F1.9 large-aperture lens 1963 Olympus Auto Scope - 8mm projector 1963 Olympus Pen F F1.8 - World's first half-size SLR camera with exchangeable lens capability - First focal plane shutter camera with full-speed flash synchronization - Rotary metal shutter 1963 Olympus SC -- 1964 Olympus Pen D2 -- 1964 Olympus Pen W - Pen-Series camera specifically designed for wide-angle photography 1965 Olympus Pen S3.5 -- 1965 Olympus Pen F F1.4 -- 1965 Olympus Pen EM - The world's first all-electric camera, with power winding and rewinding 1965 Olympus Pen 8EE - 8mm snapshot camera designed to be held in one-hand 1965 Olympus Pen Rapid EES - EE camera for use with rapid film 1965 Olympus Pen D3 -- 1965 Olympus 35LE - Fitted with program electronic shutter - World's first camera with flashmatic mechanism 1966 Olympus Pen Rapid EED -- 1966 Olympus Pen FT - World's first half-size SLR camera with T-number exposure control - F1.2 large-aperture lens added to line-up - Built-in TTL exposure meter 1967 Olympus Pen FV -- 1967 Olympus 35LC -- 1967 Olympus Quickmatic EES - Instamatic camera with program EE shutter 1967 Olympus Quickmatic EEM - Instamatic camera with fully automatic film loading (activated simply by closing the rear panel) 1967 Olympus Pen EED - Fitted with large-aperture lens and program EE shutter 1968 Olympus Pen EES-2 -- 1968 Olympus TRIP 35 - Long-selling camera - developed as 35mm version of Pen EES 1968 Olympus Pen EE-2 -- 1969 Olympus 35SP - Large-aperture lens shutter camera with built-in spot and averaged metering systems 1969 Olympus 35EC - Compact EE camera with electronic shutter 1970 Olympus 35RC - Shutter-priority 35mm compact camera with rangefinder 1971 Olympus 35DC - Program EE camera with large-aperture lens - Flashmatic system used for both flash bulbs and flash unit 1971 Olympus FTL - Entry-level 35mmSLR with Practica mount 1971 Olympus 35EC2 - Electronic camera with automatic release lock that operates when the battery weakens 1972 Olympus M-1 - World's smallest and lightest full-featured system SLR camera - Capable of photographing everything from stars to bacteria - triggered SLR miniaturization war - Marketed as OM-1 from May 1973 1972 Olympus 35SPN -- 1973 Olympus Pen EE3 -- 1973 Olympus OM-1 - SLR camera - name changed from M-1 to OM-1 - Version with motor drive introduced in October 1974 1973 Olympus 35UC -- 1974 Olympus 35ED -- 1974 Olympus 35DC(BC) - Equipped with battery checker 1975 Olympus 35RD -- 1975 Olympus OM-2 - World's first SLR camera with automatic exposure system based on TTL direct metering of light in front of the shutter and on the film surface - Also equipped with revolutionary autoflash system linked to TTL direct metering 1979 Olympus OM-1N -- 1979 Olympus OM-2N -- 1979 Olympus XA - World's first barrier-type ultra-compact 35mm camera - Coupled rangefinder - High-spec model with aperture-preferred EE and other features - Detachable flash 1979 Olympus OM10 - Entry-level SLR camera with manual adapter - OM-10 Quartz launched in November 1980 1980 Olympus XA2 - Entry-level XA camera with zone focus - Good Design Award winner 1981 Olympus Pen EF -- 1981 Olympus C-AF -- 1982 Olympus XA I -- 1982 Olympus OM20 -- 1982 Olympus OM30 - AF SLR camera with "Zero-In Focus" system (automatic shutter operation as soon as the image was focused) 1983 Olympus AFL - World's first camera with lithium battery for rapid flash charging (approx. 1.5 seconds) - Version with quartz date function launched in November 1983 1983 Olympus OM-4 - Top-of-the-range AE system SLR camera featuring multi-spot metering with memory and calculation devices 1984 Olympus TRIP AF -- 1984 Olympus OM-3 -- 1984 Olympus OM-2 SP -- 1985 Olympus OM40 -- 1985 Olympus AFL-S -- 1985 Olympus XA3 QUARTZDATE -- 1985 Olympus XA4 MACRO QUARTZDATE - XA-Series camera with 28mm wide-angle lens 1986 Olympus AF-1 QUARTZDATE - World's first weatherproof compact camera - Version without quartz date system launched in April 1986 1986 Olympus OM-4Ti - 35mm focal plane shutter camera, world's first system SLR camera with all-speed flash synchronization - Titanium exterior - Black version introduced in April 1989 1986 Olympus AFL-T -- 1986 Olympus OM707 - World's first system AF SLR camera with built-in flash 1987 Olympus AF-10 QUARTZDATE - World's first fully automatic compact camera compatible with both lithium 123A batteries and AAA batteries 1987 Olympus TRIP MD -- 1987 Olympus AM-100 QUARTZDATE -- 1987 Olympus AZ-1 ZOOM QUARTZDATE -- 1988 Olympus OM101 POWERFOCUS - SLR camera with dial-type speed-sensitive power focus - Quartz date version introduced in June 1988 1988 Olympus IZM300 - World's first lens shutter camera with high-power zoom lens over 105mm - Equipped with zoom viewfinder capable of showing true images - Intense interest in novel form 1988 O-product - Made from aluminum, revolutionary design, limited edition (20,000 worldwide) 1988 Olympus AF-1 TWIN QUARTZDATE - Twin-focus compact camera with twin-lens system and weatherproofing 1989 Olympus IZM400 QUARTZDATE - All-in-one SLR camera with built-in 35-135 lens (approx. 4x) 1989 Olympus IZM200 QUARTZDATE - 2x zoom camera with world's first red-eye reduction mode based on repeated preliminary flash firing 1989 Olympus AF-1 SUPER QUARTZDATE - Upgraded version of AF-1 1990 Olympus TRIP MD2 QUARTZDATE - Easy-to-use, high cost-performance camera 1990 Olympus IZM330 QUARTZDATE - Upgraded version of IZM300, with wireless remote control designed to be used as lens cap 1990 Olympus AZ-100 ZOOM QUARTZDATE - Genuine 2x zoom camera with built-in 35-70mm zoom lens, affordably priced at just ¥37,000 1990 Olympus TRIP JUNIOR QUARTZDATE - Affordably priced and easy-to-use automatic compact camera 1990 Olympus AF-10 SUPER QUARTZDATE - The AF-10 fitted with the latest flash system 1990 Olympus TRIP AF SUPER QUARTZDATE - A full-spec AF camera providing excellent cost-performance 1990 Olympus L-1 - A new-concept SLR camera with a built-in 35-135mm zoom lens - L-shaped body with ED lens, folded light path, dual flash and other features

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