An optical transmitter, appropriate for transmitting analog signals in fiber optic systems, having an adjustable distortion device which distorts the input to a light emitter device so as to linearize the overall input-to-output response of the optical transmitter. The optical transmitter further has a feedback circuit optically coupled at its input to the output of the light emitter device and electrically coupled at a plurality of its outputs to a corresponding plurality of inputs of the adjustable distortion device, for altering the degree and kind of distortion in response to the output of the light emitter device in order to adaptively compensating the nonlinearities of the overall system.