OM-1
Achieving the world’s smallest and lightest
With meticulously engineered quiet performance
The first model of the OM series "OM-1". When it was first released, it was named "M-1" and attracted a lot of attention as the world's smallest and lightest 35mm SLR, but due to the great impact of the product, Leica requested to change the product name, and it was changed to "OM-1" in 1973. This machine has achieved a smaller body and reduced shutter operation noise and vibration through a number of original ideas, such as a mechanism that changes the ribbon of the curtain shutter to a string, an air damper that absorbs shock when the mirror is driven, and a pentaprism that omits the concentrating capacitor and has a curved surface on the underside. In addition, the shutter has achieved high durability of 100,000 cycles, and the viewfinder screen is interchangeable from the lens mount side. In production, this led to a significant evolution of various manufacturing technologies within the company, including rust prevention technology for iron materials with the aim of reducing weight, processing technology for pentaphrism, and heat treatment and surface treatment technologies to improve durability.