There is a desire currently for modern digital cameras that have a classical, retro vibe to them that hark back to more authentic times. Cameras with the look and feel of real cameras of yesteryear when photography meant film and film meant photography. Like this latest digital OM-3 from OM System whose lineage clearly stretches back to the original Olympus 35mm film SLR the OM-1.

The original OM-1 35mm film SLR was designed by Yoshihisa Maitani famed for his creation of cameras of elegant and compact design such as the original film based Pen and Pen F series of cameras. It was first launched under the name of the Olympus M1 but Leica cut up rough about this and it was rebranded as the OM-1 and a star was born. It was made famous by such pro photogs as Patrick Lichfield, David Bailey, Josef Koudelka, Chris Bonington, Tish Murtha and W. Eugene Smith. It became an icon of the 1970's.

Its later stablemate the 35mm film based OM-2 was more sophisticated and was adopted by illustrious photogs as Patrick Lichfield, Kon Sasaki, Don McCullin, Roy Morsch, Jacques Schumacher and Robert Semeniuk. In its turn it became an icon of the 1980's. There were also the 35mm film OM-3 and OM-4 models too that took the series into the millennium, only just, production of the OM-4 finally ceasing in 2002.

So the lineage of the digital OM-3 (above) is indeed very clear, but why is there such a hankering after that retro/vintage look and feel in modern high tech devices? Well I have to admit a lot of it is fashion. Owning a device that looks like it comes out of the 70's or 80's is hip and groovy just now. There's more to it than that, those designers from back then knew a thing about design principles like "merging form and function" and "harmony in design" and "blending aesthetics and functionality" thus understanding that something can be both beautiful as well as practical at the same time.

Also they understood about touch; how a camera fits in your hands and its tactile feel and operation. Designing cameras that aided the process of photography not hindered it. People like Yoshihisa Maitani designed cameras that were both aesthetically pleasing and with the user experience firmly in mind, not just something that was the easiest thing for the makers to build. Finally, cameras like the OM System OM-3 give you a sense of pride of ownership, of holding a real camera in your hands, that you don't get from other digital monsters out there which feel more like computers with lenses stuck onto the front of them.