C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Olympus OM-101 Power Focus (1988) is one of the most unusual cameras in the OM system. Rather than adopting conventional autofocus - which would have required new lenses and a new mount - Olympus implemented **Power Focus**: a small motor in the body drives the focus ring of compatible Zuiko lenses via a mechanical coupling, controlled by a rocker lever under the photographer's right thumb. The photographer aims, adjusts focus manually with the thumb lever until satisfied, and shoots. It is motorized manual focus, not autofocus; the camera makes no independent focus decision. The OM-101 used ESP metering, program and aperture-priority modes, and AA batteries.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
Not autofocus - motorized manual focus. The OM-101 uses a motor to drive the focus ring, controlled by a thumb lever on the body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Olympus OM |
| Years | ~1988-1992 |
| Shutter | 30s - 1/1000s, electronic horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | 1/60s |
| Meter | TTL ESP SPD |
| Modes | Program, aperture-priority |
| Focus | Power Focus (motorized manual via thumb lever) |
| Battery | 2x AA |
| Price used | ~$40-120 |
By 1988 the camera market had moved decisively toward autofocus with the Canon EOS system (1987) and Nikon F-401 (1987). Olympus, committed to the OM mount and its manual-focus Zuiko lens catalog, produced the OM-101 as a middle path: motorize the focus actuation without abandoning OM lenses or demanding new optics. The Power Focus system required compatible Zuiko lenses with a mechanical coupling point; not all Zuiko lenses supported it.
The OM-101 was a commercial footnote. The market wanted true autofocus, not motorized-manual. Olympus subsequently developed the IS (Integrated System) zoom-lens cameras for consumers and effectively ended the interchangeable-lens consumer OM line. The OM-101 is now primarily a curiosity - notable as evidence of Olympus's reluctance to abandon the OM mount, and as an example of an alternative focus-automation strategy that was not adopted elsewhere.
The Power Focus concept is technically interesting and largely forgotten. It predates focus-by-wire implementations in modern mirrorless cameras but uses a mechanical rather than electronic drive. Contemporary reviews were mixed: some photographers found the thumb-lever focus intuitive for slow-moving subjects; others found it imprecise for critical focus work. Used today, the OM-101 is the cheapest entry into the OM Zuiko system and compatible with most standard Zuiko lenses in non-Power-Focus (conventional manual) mode.
The OM-101 is not a camera for serious manual work - the focus system is its defining feature and limitation - but it represents a real engineering decision made at a specific moment in the transition from mechanical to electronic camera systems.
Accepts all OM-mount Zuiko lenses. Power Focus functionality requires compatible lenses with the mechanical coupling; most standard Zuiko primes and some zooms support it. Non-compatible lenses mount and expose normally but focus manually by hand. T-series flashes compatible. No motor drive support.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Olympus OM-101 Power Focus
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