Olympus OM707/OM77AF users group

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About Olympus OM707/OM77AF users group

Post your pics taken with these underdog cameras!
The Olympus OM-707 was released by Olympus in 1986, and was their first attempt to make a fully autofocus SLR body. On some markets, it was called OM-77. It maintained the OM bayonet mount and could mount all the Olympus OM lenses, but the new lenses specially designed for the autofocus did not have any manual focusing ring.



The OM-707 dropped compatibility with nearly all the accessories that made so much for the success of the OM system. There was one OM System accessory released specifically for this camera however: its partner the F280 Full-Synchro stroboscopic flash, syncing with this up to 1/2000 of a second. This flash/camera combination was reportedly the first in the world to offer such high speed syncing. The F280 also features a high-power AF illuminator lamp to aid low light focussing.

Another 'accessory' released for the OM-707 was the option of two grips with which to hold the camera. The Power Flash Grip 300 is powered by 4x AAA batteries and features a built-in pop-up flash; the alternative Power Grip 100 is again powered by 4x AAA, features no flash, but is far less bulky to operate. Both grips feature the shutter release switch: without a grip attached the camera is unusable and un-powered.

The market failure of the OM-707 led Olympus to take the problem in another way. They made one last camera using the autofocus/powerfocus lenses, the OM-101 and then began to develop the IS series bridge cameras. Today Olympus continues this strategy of producing cameras somewhat different from the other makers with the Four-Thirds and 'E' systems.

Source: Camerapedia OM707 Article