Olympus OM-1

An Olympus OM-1 in chrome with a 50mm Zuiko lens. Next to the Nikon F it looks almost dainty, and that was the whole idea: a full 35mm SLR shrunk to roughly half the weight of the professional system cameras of its day. Yoshihisa Maitani's team unveiled it at Photokina in 1972 as the M-1, and the M honored his name. It soon became the OM-1. The shutter speed ring sits around the lens mount rather than on top, so you set speed and aperture without moving your hand from the lens. It is fully mechanical, with the battery only for the light meter, and it remains one of the nicest SLRs to carry all day.