FILM STARS The Olympus that never was
When the Olympus OM-1 was launched in1972 it created a minor sensation. Its compact size gave food for thought for other major camera manufacturers and influenced the way that 35mm single lens reflexes (SLRs) would be designed thereafter. But if plans by the OM-1's designer, Yoshihisa Maitani, had gone ahead, the sensation would have been far from minor. It would have been a major revolution. Because the camera that Maitani originally intended didn't even look like a 35mm SLR. In fact, it looked a lot more like a miniature Hasselblad.
Yoshihisa Maitani was one of the most innovative camera designers of his generation. His career at Olympus began with his design for the Pen in 1959, the first Japanese 35mm
