Olympus OM Motor Drive 1 with accessories

[Andreas Thaler]

I found a nice set for motorizing OM cameras at a local photo shop here in Vienna.

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The Motor Drive 1 is powered by 18 volts from 12 AA batteries, which the M.18 Control Grip with Battery Holder takes.

The Relay Cord 1.2 m allows the motor and control grip to be separated. This makes the camera lighter and when it's cold the batteries can be kept in a warm jacket pocket.

The M. Remote Cord 1.2 m can be used to trigger the camera from a distance.

Everything is in good condition, there was some corrosion on the battery holder due to battery electrolyte, a test is still pending.

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The Unofficial Olympus OM Sales Information File

Motor Drive 1

M.18V Control Grip 1

Relay Cords

M. Remote Cords

Motor Drive Group

 

[Paul Howell]

Are the OM 1s motor ready or do you need a MD version?

 

[Andreas Thaler]

[MD 1] Main specifications

Camera: all OM cameras except OM-10, OM-707, OM-101 and OM-2000.

Motor Drive 1

 

[btaylor]

I have a set like that for my OM’s. It took me a long time to find it at a reasonable cost. Fun to have, but unfortunately not very useful today, at least to me. I used the inexpensive auto winder a lot in the ‘80s.

 

[MattKing]

Are the OM 1s motor ready or do you need a MD version?

There aren't a lot of pre-MD versions of the OM-1 out there. And of those, a reasonable number did receive the customer requested post-purchase factory upgrade to motor drive compatibility. It was the unexpectedly large number of requests for the upgrade that quickly convinced Olympus to start incorporating the motor drive connection mechanics into all of the newly manufactured OM-1s, and to badge the result as an OM-1 MD.

 

[wiltw]

Are the OM 1s motor ready or do you need a MD version?

Not motor drive ready, "OM-1"
Motor drive ready, starting in 1974 "OM-1MD", and "OM-1n"

 

[MattKing]

Not motor drive ready, "OM-1"
Motor drive ready, starting in 1974 "OM-1MD", and "OM-1n"

Unless the OM-1 was subsequently factory modified on customer request, as many were.
I don't know whether Olympus stuck an "MD" badge on the front of the modified ones when they did the modification.

 

[wiltw]

Unless the OM-1 was subsequently factory modified on customer request, as many were.
I don't know whether Olympus stuck an "MD" badge on the front of the modified ones when they did the modification.

Simple enough to look at the bottom plate of the camera, to see if TWO acccess ports are present...the second one (away from end of camera body) is for motor drive

 

[MattKing]

Yep.
I started my ~50 year journey with the OM system with one of the pre-MD models.
And sold some of the models later.

 

[wiltw]

Yep.
I started my ~50 year journey with the OM system with one of the pre-MD models.
And sold some of the models later.

My first OM was a new OM-1MD about 1976, which suffered a jam in 1981 and was repaired and eventually sold off after I purchased an OM-1n. But in later years I did aquire an Olympus M-1 with two M-system lenses, and still have these, along with an OM-1 pre-MD which is only for parts.

 

[ic-racer]

Got this when it first came out. Owned since 1973. Pre-motor drive. I switched almost exclusively to 120 film in 1979, so it did not get much use. Then got into the Rollei 3003 system in 1984, so, again, the Olympus did not get much use.