Olympus OM-3

{"overview":"The Olympus OM-3 is a mechanical 35mm SLR in the OM system, introduced in 1983 as a manual-exposure companion to the automatic OM-4. It uses a horizontal-travel mechanical shutter and includes the multi-spot metering system also found on the OM-4, positioning it in the 1980s as a specialist metering-focused body for working photographers. With only a small number of saleroom results on record, the market in 2026 remains thin and condition-sensitive — a clean, fully functional titanium example is what drives the upper end of what this camera is worth, while a tired standard body sells for considerably less. Buyers should expect the price a specific OM-3 fetches at auction to swing sharply on cosmetics, shutter accuracy and whether the meter is working.","buying_guide":"Common points to inspect are the electronic meter circuitry (the OM-3 relies on its meter even though the shutter is mechanical), foam light seals around the film door, and the accuracy of slow shutter speeds. Prism silvering and viewfinder cleanliness are worth checking, as is any sign of impact damage on the top plate, particularly on the Ti variant where replacement cosmetic parts are effectively unobtainable. Qualified OM-system service is now limited to a handful of independent specialists, so a recently serviced example carries a real premium over an untested one.","specs":"Manual-exposure 35mm SLR with a mechanical, battery-independent focal-plane shutter and Olympus's multi-spot metering system; takes OM-mount lenses.

Generated summary, 23 Apr 2026 — not checked by hand; prices on this page come from the sales, not from this text.