Optical quality of Olympus Stylus Epic (mju-II)

[sliu]

I was reading in a cafe the other day. A red ant landed on my book. I

have never seen a red ant before so I decided to photograph it. I only

have two camera with me: a Holga loaded with Tri-X and an Olympus

Stylus Epic loaded with Reala 100. The Holga is useless for situation

like this so Olympus is my only choice. Here is what I got. Scanned

with Minolta SDIII at 2840 dpi without any sharpening or contrast

adjustment.<div></div>

[sliu]

Here is the full frame.<div></div>

[sliu]

Correction: in the cropped image, some contrast adjustment was applied but no sharpening.

[carl smith]

Incredible lens on the little sucker aint it? I love mine (Stylus Epic here in the states).

[phule]

Must...buy...camera...

 

It's been on my wish list for quite a while too.

[carl smith]

For $70 or $80 it was the easiest item on my wishlist to justify buying. :)

[sliu]

Here is a shot from the same roll. I think the camera was focus on the glass.

 

Anyway, it might be intereting to people who care about "bokeh" ;-)<div></div>

[phule]

<< For $70 or $80 it was the easiest item on my wishlist to justify buying. :) >>

 

Except for the fact that the wife would see it as "Another Camera?!" I'd agree with you :)

[thomas_sullivan]

the oly stylus epic fixed lens cam's optics are great! Im continually amazed at what I get out of that cam.

 

to get the oly to autofocus far away when shootin thru glass, you have to move the camera closer to the glass than it's minimum focussing distance ;o)

[sliu]

<pre>

Except for the fact that the wife would see it as "Another Camera?!"

</pre>

Here is how I got mine: We went to a ski trip in Stowe, Vermont and I promised my wife not to bring my Nikon and Nikkormat, instead I proposed to buy an Olympus Stylus Epic and 5 rolls of Provia 100. It was <b> the only camera</b>, not <b> another camera </b>. ;-)

<p>

<center>

<img src="http://www.photo.net/bboard/image?bboard_upload_id=16904184">

</center>

[lex_jenkins]

When I read Ctein praising the Stylus Epic's lens sharpness on CompuServe years ago, I figured I'd have to get one eventually.

 

I haven't yet. But after my XA3 finally quits, the Stylus Epic is next up.

 

Unfortunately the zoom version of this camera doesn't seem on par - at least not the sample I've tried. A relative's camera can't make sharp photos. They're not out of focus - the lens just isn't sharp.

 

Many of those "old-fashioned" single focal length P&S cameras were/are outstanding optical performers. My ancient, extremely noisy Canon AF35M is in that group. Somewhere around here I have a photo of a tiny historic log cabin that I took from across the street. The historical marker in front of the cabin probably took up less than 5% of the surface area. Later, when I scanned the negative, I was surprised to find that the entire marker was perfectly legible.

[michaelkh]

I love mine! I have no idea how its optical quality stacks up in any technical lensgeek way,

but I can say that the mju-II completely changed my perspective on 35mm compacts and

automation in general - I can take just one small camera and be sure that it will deliver.

Spot meter mode works a treat, and the pattern metering is surprisingly good - more than

adequate for the odd roll of sensia 200. It became a very useful notepad camera to take

along with me when using my Rolleicord, for instance.

 

Mind you, the red-eye removal flash is a bit of a monster. No red eye, but only because

most people already have them closed by the time the shutter fires.

[fast_primes]

I agree with all of the above: the Olympus Stlus Epic is an extraordinary camera/lens and extraordinary value. My only frustration was finding the language to convince newbies that they were far better off with the Epic than any P&S 10:1 zoom wonder. I look forward to the day when Olympus is able to make a digital version in a package as elegant!

[phule]

In a world seemingly dominated by digital camera "style", it looks like the Epic is getting a make-over:<p>

<a href="http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=1621">http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=1621</a>

[kieran_hamill]

It's a spider mite, not an ant I think. I also think your lens needs cleaning. If you zoom in you have difficulty telling if this pregnant female has a reticulated ovidepositor or not.

[sliu]

I can't believe there is an entomologist on board ;-)

 

Here is the full resolution crop of that image for you to inspect. If you look carefully, that ant/spider/bug/whatever is actually out of focus. The DOF is quite shallow for this closeup and the focal plane is on the letter "F" in "Francesco". My lens is pretty clean. I need finer film. (Velvia 50 ?)<div></div>

[jack_lo_..._t_o]

I hope the one I got on *Bay for $10.50 last week works. Seller "isn't sure, "hasn't tried it". At that price I could take it to my repairman. Wish me luck.

[arnie___]

Does anyone have experience with both the original Stylus with its F3.5 lens and the Epic with its F2.8 lens to answer this question: can one really detect any diffence in quality, sharpness, contrast, etc. between those 2 cameras?

[todd_phillips1]

I've had both the 3.5 version and the current 2.8 camera. The 3.5 was fine for 4X6 color prints at Christmas or...The 2.8 was supposed to be the new "in" camera! The problem is the programed exposure! It wants to shoot at large apertures (to probably reduce camera movement by hurried amateurs) and as such, you don't have any control over depth of field.

 

I sold by 3.5 version (after checking some slides with a 4X loupe. The lens is a triplet design...OK for a 3.5 lens, but not critically sharp. I then sold the 2.8 version after blowing up a B&W print to 6X9. There wasn't enough DOF that I wanted for the shot.

 

 

 

For P&S cameras of snapshot events, they are both fine...but I'm about to order a Rollei AFM 35 for a decent carry around camera.

[john_fleetwood]

Lex, I agree, that old Canon p&s would be the best camera ever if it wasn't for the LOUDNESS. Fabulous lens, 40/1.9, user-selectable flash, AA batteries. The limited ASA settings and LOUDNESS kinda ruin it.