Design History
The single digit Olympus OM-series SLRs ignited an SLR revolution in the 1970s and 1980s with intense competition between the major SLR brands: Olympus, Nikon, Canon, Minolta and Pentax. Between about 1975 and 1985, there was a dramatic shift away from heavy all-metal manual mechanical camera bodies to much more compact bodies with integrated circuit (IC) electronic automation. In addition, because of rapid advances in electronics, the brands continually leapfrogged each other as they brought out models with new or more automatic features. The OM-1 introduced the compact body size that inspired similar sized SLRs of competing manufacturers (Pentax M series, Nikon FE/FM); automatic through-the-lens (TTL) off-the-film (OTF) electronic flash metering was pioneered by the OM-2 in 1975.
In this arena, the OM-4 and its mechanically controlled companion the OM-3 were conservative designs despite their very sophisticated spot-meters. They can be described as the OM-2 and 1 with electronic spot-meter controls grafted on. The OM-4's deliberately limited but tightly focused features were not intended to appeal to beginners. Instead of offering every possible automated bell and whistle, the OM-4's manual spot-metering represented Olympus Optical's ultimate expression of highest possible quality and precision of exposure control for the professional and advanced amateur photographer.
In 1986, a special ultra-durable version of the OM-4 with champagne coloured titanium top and bottom plates, upgraded electronic circuitry and improved weatherproofing, called and marked the OM-4Ti (OM-4T in the USA) was released with a US list price of $770.
The OM-4Ti also introduced a new electronic flash control system. Normally focal plane shutters are limited in their maximum flash synchronization speed, because of the way they provide fast shutter speeds – timing the second shutter curtain to close more quickly after the first shutter curtain opens. This causes a narrowing of the slit "wiping" the exposure on the film. In effect, a horizontal focal plane shutter made of cloth is only fully open and usable for flash exposure down to 1/60th second. Any faster and a typical 1 millisecond flash burst would only partially expose the film - the part open to the slit. 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 1/2000th second. However, there is a concomitant loss of flash range.
A black-finished version came out in 1990 listing for $1250 (the natural finished body remained available for $1200).
In the US market the OM-4T was ultimately renamed OM-4Ti in 1997 ($1819 list), without any feature changes before being finally discontinued in 2002.
Olympus Optical 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. Virtually all non-AF SLRs disappeared by 1989. The OM-4 and OM-3 survived because Olympus Optical had no appropriate successors. Its rugged construction also appealed to professional photographers and traditionalist amateurs liked its lack of autofocus. The Olympus OM-4 sold steadily to the fiercely loyal, cult-like Olympus clique, but more and more slowly over its lifetime as it became more and more outdated. 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. Time has proven the OM-4 to be very tough and reliable and it is now regarded as one of the finest SLRs of its generation for the serious and purist film photographer.
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