OLYMPUS IS-1000
1990
After bowing out of the
interchangeable lens SLR business,
Olympus concentrated on a series
of models with fixed zoom lenses,
starting with the IS-1000 which had
a 35-135mm AF lens.OLYMPUSSUPERZOOM 300
1988
Thereweren’ttoomanycameradesign
trendsduringthelatterpartofthe20th
centurythatOlympuswasn’tinvolved
in,includingthe‘bridgecameras’.These
wereessentiallysuper-sized‘compacts’
designedasanalternativetotheSLR.
OLYMPUS CENTURION
1996
Olympus carried its ‘all-in-one’
fixed-lens SLR concept over to
its APS format models which
were obviously more compact
than the 35mm IS series
models.OLYMPUS CAMEDIA C-400
1996
Olympus didn’t waste any time getting
involved in digital photography
and the Camedia line (derived from
Camera digital) of compacts launched
in 1996 with three models, starting
with the entry-level C-400.OLYMPUSCAMEDIA
C-1400XL
1998
Technicallya D-SLRsinceit had
a TTLopticalviewfinder,the
fixed-zoomC1400XLwasa pretty
advancedpackagefortheday.OLYMPUS E-300
2004
In the early days of the D-SLR, the
challenge was making them compact
enough to be a viable alternative to
the 35mm film models. Of course
it’s a challenge that Olympus relished,
and the E-300 again adopted a ‘side-
ways’ reflex mirror and porro prism
viewfinder arrangement to give a more
slimline bodyshell. It also pioneered
in-camera sensor cleaning.OLYMPUS E-500
2005
Olympus returned a more conventional
SLR design with the eight megapixels
E-500 which introduced a host of
upgrades, including a bigger LCD monitor
screen, better metering and the first
availability of RGB channel histograms in
image replay/review.OLYMPUS E-400
2006
The first step towards a true
“digital OM”. The compact E-400
was initially only marketed
in Europe (perhaps to test
consumer reaction) and was
accompanied by a pair of more
compact zooms. At the time it
was the smallest and lightest
D-SLR in the world.Asit turnsout,nothavingan
autofocus35mmSLRsystemwas
somethingofa blessingbecause,
whenit cametocreatinga digital
SLRline,Olympuswasableto
startwitha blankcanvas,free
fromtheneedtoaccommodate
either‘legacy’lensesoranydesign
carry-oversfromthefilm-era.This
alsoenabledOlympustojumpto
themirrorlessconfigurationfor
itsinterchangeablelenscameras
beforeanyofitsfilm-erarivals.
Foreverybodytheearly
challengesweretomakethe
D-SLRcompactenoughand
affordableenoughforamateur
photographerstoconsider.
Olympusjoinedforceswith
KodaktocreatetheFourthThirds
Standardwiththeinitialobjective
ofbeinguniversalin termsofthe sensor size and lens mount
configuration. The consortium
attracted quite a number of
heavyweight signatories; including
Fujifilm, Leica, Sanyo, Sigma and
Panasonic, but as has always been
the case in the camera industry,
the goal of standardisation soon
proved elusive.
At that stage in the D-SLR’s
evolution, a smaller sensor was
really the only route to a smaller
camera body and, as a by-product,
more compact lenses given their
effective focal length. The Four
Thirds sensor measures 18.0x13.5
mm with an imaging area of
17.3x13.0 mm so, compared to
35mm, there’s a focal length
magnification factor of 1.97x which
Olympus continues to exploit to
this day. Olympus’s first D-SLRwas the E-1 launched in late 2003
and, because it had a clean slate
to work with, the E-1 was also the
first SLR designed from the ground
up for digital capture. On the E-1
Olympus also pioneered active
sensor cleaning via ultrasonic
pulsing and it was a much more
cohesive package overall than
what was on offer from Canon or
Nikon at the time.
Olympus then went even
further in trying to create a more
compact D-SLR body, adopting the
‘sideways’ porro prism viewfinder
arrangement it had used in the
half-frame 35mm Pen Fs from
the 1960s. The E-300 (2004) was
not only smaller but also cheaper,
while the subsequent E-330 (2006)
was the first D-SLR with live image
previewing – via a secondarysensor – and a tilt-adjustable
monitor screen. Both deserved
to do a lot better commercially
than they did, but the boxy styling
wasn’t to everybody’s taste and,
besides, by now Olympus was
working on the idea of a ‘digital
OM’. Mirrorless was still in the
future, but the E-400 (2006)
redefined the consumer-level
D-SLR in terms of its compactness
and lightness of weight. Perhaps
to test the market, the E-400
was a Europe-only model, but
the worldwide E-410 followed six
months later with a number of
performance enhancements (via
a new processor) and additional
features such as live view, now
using the imaging sensor.
Through the rest of the decade,
the E series of Four Thirds D-SLRsSPECIAL FEATURE