Thirteen years earlier, the release of the Nikon F had made the 35 mm SLR the standard choice for professionals accustomed to Leica and other rangefinders, but it had driven the market towards heavy and bulky cameras.

The Olympus M-1 changed this and with it began a reduction of size, weight and noise of the 35 mm SLRs.

Originally, the bottom plate needed to be modified to mount a motor drive on the OM-1.

Professional photographers who used the OM-1 include Patrick Lichfield, Jane Bown, David Bailey, Josef Koudelka, Chris Bonington, and Kate Garner.

[3] Media related to Olympus OM-1 at Wikimedia Commons This article was originally based on "Olympus_OM-1/2/3/4" in Camerapedia, retrieved on 26 May 2006 under the GNU Free Documentation License.