This Olympus manufacturer review includes some history on the Olympus Corporation, some of the most popular Olympus cameras ever sold, and information on some Olympus cameras manufactured today such as the Olympus Stylus, Olympus Camedia, and more...

Prior to taking on the name of Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. in 1949, the Japanese optical products company went by the name of Takachiho Optical Co., Ltd. and before that Takachiho Seisakusho when it was founded in 1919. These names are all linked to mythology, either Greek or Japanese, which were chosen because the company hoped to "illuminate the world with its optical devices."

In 2003, the company made an official change to Olympus Corporation which better reflected the link between the manufacturers and the well known brand they produce. Olympus has focused on "Opto-digital Technology" in recent years, which has resulted in technological strengths that have far outpaced the competition.

When Olympus was first established in 1919, the company specialized in microscopes and thermometers. The company's founder, Takeshi Yamashita, served for a year in the military after graduating from law school, after which he joined a trading company where he engaged in sugar trading. Mr. Yamashita then established his own firm with a friend from law school, Shintaro Terada, with the intention of launching the domestic production of microscopes.

In the 1910s, Mr. Terada was the first Japanese to build microscopes with industrial techniques. Soon Mr. Terada received financial support from a medical equipment firm that allowed him to produce and gain experience in microscopes. Mr. Yamashita then approached Mr. Terada about producing microscopes for a new company. Mr. Terada agreed and became the chief engineer of the company.

The company registered the name "Olympus" as a trademark in 1921. Then, the thermometer portion of the business was sold off in 1923 with most of the proceeds reinvested in the microscope business.

The first Olympus camera was introduced in 1936, the Semi-Olympus I. Following this breakthrough, in 1948 Olympus introduced Japan's first 35 mm camera with a lens shutter system, the Olympus 35 I.

The cameras Olympus is probably most famous for, the Olympus Pen, appeared in 1959. The concept first came from a challenge to create a camera that could be sold for 6,000 Yen. Olympus achieved this by using a half-frame format, which reduced both the size and weight. The camera also featured a rear-winding mechanism, a D-Zuiko lens and an attractive and easy to use design. The innovative Olympus Pen camera triggered the half-frame camera boom of the 1960s and 1970s. More than 17 million Pen Series cameras have been sold.

Over the next couple of decades, Olympus set out to tackle the biggest problems with single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, namely their size, weight, and shutter noise. The Olympus OM Series was introduced as an answer to these problems. The OM Series came with a light an compact body, but was capable of producing high quality images. The OM-1, introduced in 1973, was touted as the world's smallest and lightest 35 mm single-lens reflex camera. Two great innovations of the OM-1 were that it was equipped with strings rather than ribbons in the cloth curtain shutter and an air damper to absorb the shock of mirror movement. Further improvements reduced body size, noise and shock. Additional OM Series models went on sale through the 1980s and the series as a whole had a very great impact on the camera industry.

Also during the 1980s, the camera market was dominated by autofocus models with cameras overall becoming fully automated. Olympus introduced their own autofocus models as well as the world's first weatherproof fully automatic compact camera, the Olympus AF-1, in 1986.

With the 1990s came the Olympus Stylus Series of cameras, which have been some of their most successful to date. These cameras built upon the past innovations and had a stylish body design. The company also produced a few other series of cameras, including new high-resolution digital cameras and digital SLR cameras.

In 1996, Olympus introduced its first affordably priced high-resolution digital camera, the CAMEDIA C-800L. The C-800L was as easy to use as a compact film camera, had excellent reviews and became a best selling product. Additional CAMEDIA products were introduced that increased the pixel and memory size, added zoom lenses and other new technologies.

Olympus introduced its first digital SLR camera in 1997, the CAMEDIA C-1400L. This was a fixed lens, 1.41 megapixel camera that was relatively affordable and won numerous awards. In 2000, the first Olympus digital SLR for professional use was introduced, the CAMEDIA E-10. The E-1 was launched in 2003 and was the first to support interchangeable lenses. In 2006, the E-330 was introduced as the world's first interchangeable lens SLR digital camera with "Live View." Live View feature allows the user to set up the shot while viewing the image in a positionable LCD screen on the back of the camera.

Today Olympus continues its innovative trend, introducing and producing high quality cameras and camera equipment, as well as other products such as binoculars, surgical equipment, and industrial microscopes.

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