They all used the same body configuration, but with developing aluminum alloy chassis, electronics, feature levels, and external controls and cosmetics.

Unlike most SLRs of the era, the OM-4 used a familiar OM-series shutter-speed ring, concentric with the lens mount, instead of a top-mounted shutter speed dial.

Another unique feature was the selectable option to assess the darkest or brightest part of the scene, the camera adjusting the exposure based on that measure.

It used a graduated, linear LCD shutter speed display at the bottom of the viewfinder to precisely indicate its readings versus the actual camera settings.

Instead of offering every possible automated 'bell and whistle', the OM-4's manual spot-metering represented Olympus's intention to provide precision for the professional and advanced amateur photographer.

In 1986, a special ultra-durable version of the OM-4 with champagne-colored titanium top and bottom plates, upgraded electronic circuitry and improved weatherproofing, called the OM-4Ti (OM-4T in the USA), was released, with a US list price of $770.

The OM-4Ti overcame this problem by having the new Olympus F280 Full Synchro flash pulse its light continuously over 40 milliseconds, long enough to illuminate the slit as it crossed the entire focal plane, even at shutter speeds as fast as 1/2000s.

In the US market the OM-4T was renamed OM-4Ti in 1997 ($1819 list) when the replacement 4T top cover supply became exhausted and it was deemed too expensive for Olympus Japan to create more.

Olympus failed to make the transition to autofocus (AF) 35 mm SLRs in the wake of the introduction of the landmark Minolta Maxxum 7000 in 1985.

It remained in limited production until 2002, when the rise of digital SLRs gave Olympus an opportunity to get back into the SLR camera business with its Four Thirds System.