Olympus-35 SP
Some make the argument that this is one of the finest cameras Olympus ever made.
Let's begin with the lens: a 42mm f1.7 Zuiko. Most reviews you read on this camera rightly highlight its qualities. It is a stellar lens, even wide open. The 42mm focal length is an odd one and is often referenced as being more akin to actual human eyesight in terms of field of view. We don't know if that is why Olympus built it to this focal length, or if that became a handy selling point after-the-fact. But this is not the first camera this lens appeared on. You can also find this seven element Zuiko on the earlier Olympus-35 LC camera. You also gotta love that the filter thread on this lens a nice, common 49mm.
Behind that stellar lens is a mechanical leaf shutter that will keep working no matter which remote corner of the world you find yourself in when/if your battery dies. And then there is the spot meter that gives the camera the "SP" in its name. Yes, this camera has both a center-weighted meter as well as a spot meter, toggled via a simple push of a button. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only 35mm rangefinder ever made with a dual metering system. Meanwhile, exposure can be set either in full manual or program AE. Pretty nifty for a camera first produced in 1969.
So why wouldn't you want this camera? Sure, it doesn't have an interchangeable lens. Also, the meter eye is above the lens, so filter compensation must be done manually. The ISO range only goes up to 800, which means manual adjustment if you are a big Delta or TMAX 3200 user. And the program exposure is limited to shutter speeds 1/15th or faster, so its low light capabilities are a tad limited in that sense.
But all that feels like splitting hairs on what we introduced as the camera claimed to be the finest Olympus ever made. There is some stiff competition for that title, so you know the Olympus-35 SP has to have more going for it than against it. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
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