Olympus OM 101

Well, this is quite a departure from our other Olympus OM models. It's big. It's heavy. It's totally automatic. It has power focus. One thing's for sure though, it's a lot of fun.

The OM 101 was released in 1988. It is very much aimed at the consumer market as there is very little to think about except what to shoot next. Loading the camera is easy. You put the film canister in place and then pull the leader to the orange mark. Close the back of the camera and it does the rest for you, automatically advancing the film to frame 1. Beyond that all you can control is the focusing.

If you attach a power focus lens then focusing is done via the power focus dial on the back of the camera. This is incredibly easy and focus can be achieved very quickly through the split image viewfinder. Two lenses were made without focusing rings especially for this camera: the 50mm f/2 PF and the 35-70 f/3.5-4.5 PF. You don't have to use power focus lenses though. The camera will take any OM mount lenses, including the manual and auto-focus ones. The OM 101 has no autofocus function, so you'll have to rely on the power focus. It's not that big a burden really, particularly as it means the camera will still work with a huge range of lenses.

The camera is also compatible with Olympus flashes, though much of the rest of the OM 'System' is not compatible, such as the auto bellows and motor drive group etc. You can use T-series flashes (not T45) or full-synchro flash F280. You can still do macro photography with this camera. The auto extension tube 7/14/25 and Telescopic Auto Extension Tube 65-116 can be used with manual focus OM lenses. The same goes for the T10 Ring Flash 1, T8 Ring Flash 2 and Macro Flash Shoe Ring. 

When it comes to apertures and shutter speeds, it's all left to the camera to decide as its primary mode is Programme exposure. I say primary because there is a workaround if you really want full creative control. Olympus made a "Manual Adapter 2" for this camera (the original "Manual Adapter" was for the OM-10). When attached you can shoot the camera in either aperture priority or fully manual mode.

In programme mode you receive absolutely no information whatsoever about the chosen aperture or shutter speed. If you attach manual focus lenses to this camera it will work in aperture priority mode, but you still won't know what shutter speed it has selected.

All that is displayed in the viewfinder is the letter P. This flashes if the picture will be underexposed. In aperture priority mode this changes to an A, which does the same thing. In manual mode you see under- and over-exposure arrows. The exposure is correct when the up and down arrows appear together.

Other features of this camera include a 12 second self-timer mode, dx code reader that will read speeds from ISO 25 to 3200 (it defaults to ISO 100 without a dx code), a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 and a minimum of 2 seconds, automatic film advance, automatic rewind, hot shoe mount, led shake warning, backlight control button, and centre weighted TTL direct OTF metering. It also runs on four AAA batteries, so these are pretty easy to replace if you run out of juice.

If you see the camera shake warning, it means the camera will fire at 1/60 or slower. You can avoid potential camera shake by placing it on a tripod or attaching a flash. The viewfinder display remains on for 30 seconds, after which you will need to 'lightly' tap the shutter release to turn it back on.

If you aren't paying attention to the frame counter and reach the end of the film the camera will beep to let you know you are out of frames.

When you press the backlight control button you may feel frustrated as absolutely nothing happens. That's because it sends a message to the camera warning it that the subject of the photo has a very bright background behind it, so it adds +1.5EV compensation. Basically it is to avoid backlit subjects turning out too dark. It does not work, however, with ISO 25 film.

To make the self timer work you have to press it and the shutter release at the same time. Pressing the self timer button again will cancel this mode. Turning the camera off also cancels this mode.

As this camera automatically sets the ISO there is no way to override this if you want to downrate some expired film. I wouldn't call this a huge deal breaker though.

The Manual Adapter 2 allows the camera to be used in bulb mode for long exposures. It will also allow the camera to function with conventional auto flash units. To do so, set the shutter speed dial to X. Note: if you use manual focus lenses with the camera in manual mode, it will always select the aperture indicated on the aperture ring of the lens. It will ignore the aperture setting on the manual adapter. So select the aperture on the lens and select the shutter speed on the adapter.

Considering the circumstances in which we came to have this camera we are pretty lucky it's in such good condition. It was one of many that was handed over in a bucket by someone who wanted rid of them because "no-one bothers with film cameras any more". We handed over a few pounds and took our bucket of cameras home. They had been stored in a loft for a long time and predictably about half of them were broken. Many of the lenses were battered and had fungus. It was a sorry sight. This OM 101 however sprang to life the moment we put fresh batteries into it. It isn't in perfect condition. Its manual adapter contact cover is missing and it has a couple of scuffs, but otherwise it is fully functional. The only possible criticism is the rate at which it can get through film as it's so easy to shoot.

Seriously this is a fun camera. If you are in the market for a consumer level camera with a huge range of available lenses that you can just point and shoot, with the option of fully manual control should you want it at some point then this is a fantastic camera. It's an Olympus. They didn't make bad SLRs.