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By the 1980s, Olympus had moved the goalposts and decided to offer cameras more suited to the amateur market. The OM-30 could be considered more of a 'Ford' - functional, but not quite as special.
The OM-30 body is physically 138x84x50mm and weighs 450g. Compared to the 136x83x50mm and ... Read review
(+) Fold out LCD screen, Image Stabilization, Zuiko lens quality, Picture quality, Flash options (-) Noise in low light, Too many buttons, Badly laid out, Too many gimmicks
Advantages: Compatibility with manual OM series lenses, perfectly adequate exposure system Disadvantages: Lacks the character and elegance of earlier OM cameras
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By the 1980s, Olympus had moved the goalposts and decided to offer cameras more suited to the amateur market. The OM-30 could be considered more of a 'Ford' - functional, but not quite as special.
The OM-30 body is physically 138x84x50mm and weighs 450g. Compared to the 136x83x50mm and 520g of an OM2 – it’s 85% of the weight, and only marginally larger, but due to restyled body covers, feels as though it’s a much ‘bulkier’ ... ...camera body.
Olympus had identified that for the mass market, there was no real need for such exotic features as mirror-lockup (as on the OM-1) interchangeable focusing screens and exchangeable film backs.
They did think that an auto focus facility would probably be comforting, and even included a ‘bleeper’ inside the camera body for various functions, for the life of me, I can’t think why!
The OM-30 (or OM-F as it was known in some localities) was one of the ‘second generation’ OM series, signified by a ‘two digit’ model number.
It's a 35mm format Single Lens Reflex camera with automatic exposure - what you see in the viewfinder is pretty much what will reach the film when you press the shutter.
The OM-30 was essentially an OM-20 with an auto-focus capability (although special motorised lenses were needed) it still supported complete ‘backwards compatibility’ with ‘first generation’ lenses with a standard OM mount, as well as maintaining the same specification for motor drives etc etc.
When the first generation OM systems were launched in the early 1970s they were significantly smaller and lighter than those of their competitors, but were firmly aimed at the semi-pro market. I’ve heard them compared to the SAABs of the SLR world.
By the 1980s, Olympus had moved the goalposts and decided to offer cameras more suited to the amateur market. The OM-30 could be considered more of a 'Ford' - functional, but not quite as special.
The OM-30 body is physically 138x84x50mm and weighs 450g. Compared to the 136x83x50mm and 520g of an OM2 – it’s 85% of the weight, and only marginally larger, but due to restyled body covers, feels as though it’s a much ‘bulkier’ piece of equipment.
In terms of performance, it uses a broadly similar aperture priority automatic exposure system to the OM-2. Manual override is also available as standard (unlike the OM-10 which needs an extra adapter), the controls are rather ‘neater’ being better integrated onto the camera body.
Olympus had identified that for the mass market, there was no real need for such exotic features as mirror-lockup (as on the OM-1) interchangeable focusing screens and exchangeable film backs.
They did think that an auto focus facility would probably be comforting, and even included a ‘bleeper’ inside the camera body for various functions, for the life of me, I can’t think why!
It isn’t a BAD camera, and results from it are every bit as good as you’ll get from a similar condition OM ‘single digit’ series system, however it lacks the character of the earlier models.
To give you a bit of background, around six years ago, my original and trusty OM-1 went to the big repair shop in the sky – it simply wore out after about 30 years use, and it didn’t owe me anything!
A colleague at work was having a tidy up, and offered me her OM-30 system for a very reasonable price, and having a considerable investment in OM lenses I decided this was about the most economical way of replacing my camera body – besides, Ebay had hardly taken off, and the local camera shops were still looking for ‘stupid’ money for original OM bodies.
I used my OM-30 body for several years, and was reasonably happy with it, however it wasn’t long before I returned to my ‘first love’ of OM-1 and 2 bodies.
As a spare, or an inexpensive means of reusing your existing manual focus lenses, it performs perfectly adequately, the viewfinder is clear and bright. The electronics entirely reliable, and batteries are reasonably easy to come by (it’s hard to get the right cells for OM-1 now).
It just lacks the character and versatility of the earlier models.
Not my top choice, but a perfectly useable camera.
Advantages: Sturdy and reliable Disadvantages: Heavy
I bought my Olympus OM-30 back in 1984 and it has lasted well ever since. Although not used frequently, it remains a great single lens reflex camera suitable for use in lots of situations.
It is certainly a bit bigger and heavier than modern cameras, but you would expect this of something over fifteen years old, but its facilities and ease of use are permanent.
Its novel (at the time) focus "guidance" system is almost invariably ignored, as manual ...
markedwards 03.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Olympus OM-30
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