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-4 (1983) introduced the most sophisticated in-body metering system available on any 35mm SLR at the time: up to eight individual spot readings stored in memory, averaged automatically, with dedicated highlight-bias and shadow-bias buttons to shift exposure without re-reading. It retained the OTF (off-the-film) metering from the OM-2 line - a silicon cell reads light bouncing off the film surface during exposure - and added aperture-priority and fully manual modes. The body is aluminium alloy with the same footprint as the OM-2n, keeping the compact OM-system proportions that Maitani Yoshihisa designed. The OM-4 was superseded by the titanium-bodied OM-4 Ti in 1986.
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.
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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
Eight-point multi-spot metering in a 510 g body. The OM-4 brought zone-system metering to 35mm in 1983.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Olympus OM |
| Years | 1983-1986 |
| Shutter | ~240s (auto) - 1/2000s, electronic horizontal cloth |
| Flash sync | 1/60s |
| Meter | TTL OTF SPD multi-spot, up to 8-point averaging |
| Modes | Manual, aperture-priority |
| Viewfinder | 97% coverage, 0.84x |
| Battery | 2x SR44 / LR44 |
| Weight | ~510 g |
Olympus launched the OM-4 in 1983 as the new flagship of the manual-focus OM system, above the OM-2n and the new OM-3. The metering engine was the differentiating feature: the "Multi-Spot" system allows the photographer to aim the central 2-degree spot at any eight distinct tonal areas, stores each reading, then calculates an average exposure. Pressing the Highlight or Shadow button shifts the result toward protection of that tonal extreme. This workflow mirrors zone-system metering in practice. The OM-4 also introduced the "OTF Memory" mode: if a very brief flash fires, the camera holds the measured ambient exposure and uses it for subsequent shots.
The original OM-4 had a notorious battery drain problem - the LCD finder display drew current continuously, killing SR44 cells faster than competing cameras. Olympus addressed this in the OM-4 Ti (1986) with redesigned circuitry and titanium top/bottom plates. The original chrome-body OM-4 remained in limited production until 1986 when the Ti superseded it.
The OM-4's multi-spot averaging remains unusual even by modern standards. In-body spot metering that stores multiple readings and averages them - rather than simply holding a single value - was not replicated by Canon or Nikon in the manual-focus era. Ansel Adams publicly praised the system for enabling zone-system technique without a separate hand meter. The OM-4 was reviewed in Popular Photography as "metering from the future" at launch.
Battery drain aside, the OM-4 represents the design peak of the manual OM system. The OM-4 Ti fixed the drain issue; collectors who want the original chrome look accept the battery cost.
Full Olympus OM Zuiko system. Key glass: 21mm f/3.5, 24mm f/2, 28mm f/2, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/2, 100mm f/2, 135mm f/2.8, 200mm f/4. Shift lenses: 24mm f/3.5, 35mm f/2.8. Macro: 50mm f/2, 90mm f/2. Flash: T-20, T-32 (OTF TTL-compatible); the F280 Super FP flash sync is available on the OM-4 at 1/2000s with compatible units. Motor Drive 1 and 2 compatible.
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-4
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