Olympus Point & Shoot ????

Has anybody had any experience with the Olympus Infinity point &

shoot, this isn't the well known stylus , but an older version I

believe. It seems like a nice overall camera, has a fixed 35mm f2.8

zuiko lens, with focus lock button, & self timer.

My wife is looking for a compact point & shoot, and I was wondering

if this might be a nice user.

I remember when the Infinity and its little sibling the Infinity Jr. were very popular in the mid to late eighties. That's almost twenty years ago. I saw very sharp photos from one in 1987. If you found a very clean Infinity with full functionality you could get good photos with it. The lens was very good and quite fast compared to some of the P&S zoom varieties today. I'd want to know it could be returned or repaired if it didn't function properly before buying one myself.

I bought one of the fixed 35/2.8. It is a nice little pocketable P\S.

We used a bunch of Infinity Jr.'s at the regulatory enforcement agency where I used to work. Very reliable, durable cameras, decent lenses, reasonably fast and accurate AF that could be fooled in dim light. Definitely good users, trunk/glove compartment/tacklebox cameras.

Just be careful with any of these plastic point and shoots that are approaching 20 years of age. You must get it at very low cost or don't bother. (What with a new Stylus going for $79). I don't believe they are repairable, and anyways, any repair would surely cost more than a replacement.

You are looking at a used OM Stylus 35/2.8? Naw. Get a new one.

Generally I'd agree with George about those older P&S cameras, but I have a Canon AF35M that's older than the Infinity Jr. and it's still going strong. Looks like hell, tho', with peeling leatherette, scuffs and scratches. And the AF noise could wake the dead. But it works. Paid a whole five bucks for it. Beats hell outta any disposable camera - great lens.

 

So if you don't pay much for an older P&S you'll either get a great bargain or won't care much if it turns out to be a dud. I wouldn't pay more than $5-$10 for an Infinity or Infinity Jr.

 

My only gripe about the Stylus is the clamshell design feels slippery in my mitts and the sliding door sometimes pops off. Otherwise it's a great little camera.

Here is another vote for the Olympus Stylus Epic. I just recommended it to one of my employees and he loved it. This is the best p&s lens for the money you can get brand new! So why not get a new one instead of an old one.

On the box of my Olympus Stylus Epic there is a math symbol of "infinity" before the name "stylus". It has a fixed 35mm f2.8 and self timer, but I don't know what you mean by "focus lock button". It has a spot meter though.

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Here are some photos I posted in other forums

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0073m9">

<img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard/image?bboard_upload_id=16127484" border="0"></a>

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00775d"><img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard/image?bboard_upload_id=16204384" border="0"></a>

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00775d"><img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard/image?bboard_upload_id=16222484" border="0"></a>

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<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0073Bo"><img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard/image?bboard_upload_id=16119284" border="0"></a>

I had an Infinity for many years and it finally expired after about 15 years of faithful use. IME amd IMO, wives are too valuable to get used P&S's for; I'd recommend a Stylus Epic, one of the best P&S's ever made. Just make sure she is OK with a fixed lens camera.

"...I don't know what you mean by "focus lock button"."

 

Focus lock is achieved in most AF cameras by various methods. Nowadays usually all that's required is partially depressing the shutter release button. Then recompose as desired while maintaining focus unchanged.

 

Older AF cameras, tho', sometimes had separate focus lock devices. My Canon AF35M requires using the self-timer lever as part of the focus lock mechanism. Activate the self-timer, compose, press the shutter release once to lock focus and again to shoot. Or simply let the self-timer run out for normal timed release. I've seen other older AF cameras that operated similarly - kinda clumsy but it worked.

Buy this instead: <a href="http://www.photo.net/ezshop/product?product_id=2535">Stylus Epic</a>.

My wife has an Olympus Infinity; I have a Stylus. The Infinity is a nice solid camera with a good fast lens. At the time, it seemed pretty compact, but the new Stylus is much smaller. Both are water-resistant designs. The Stylus offers control over metering patterns and flash modes, and has a much better focus lock. The Infinity requires you to partially depress the shutter button after pushing a small focus lock button located on the back top left of the camera -- clumsily poor ergonomics. The Infinity has no independent control of metering or flash (not even off!), but I think has less shutter lag than the Stylus, especially when prefocussed. Our Infinity still works well and takes nice pictures, but unless you can find a used one for a song, a Stylus would be a better buy, even new.