Compare Yashica T4 Super To The Olympus Epic

I have used the epic or mju2 on 'loan' basis for quite a while. A few days ago found a good condition T4 for about RM10 (that's about 3 usd) at a flea market. Put in new batteries and ran a roll of tri-x. Think the Tessar is a tad better. Epic feels more compact and solid.

Think I like the T4 more, at least I don't have to turn of the flash very often.
 
I have used the epic or mju2 on 'loan' basis for quite a while. A few days ago found a good condition T4 for about RM10 (that's about 3 usd) at a flea market. Put in new batteries and ran a roll of tri-x. Think the Tessar is a tad better. Epic feels more compact and solid.

Think I like the T4 more, at least I don't have to turn off the flash very often.
 
I had a couple of T4s and T5 (flea market trophies) - sold them because I also own Contax T2 - not as compact as Yashica, but a bit faster T*lens and better functions (at least for me - manual focus, no auto flash, some apperture control). Tried to compare Yashica T4/5 Contax T2 to my Mju II (Epic in US) and decieded that Zeiss lens is just a bit better. Would I have to choose Yashica or Olympus, I'd go for T4. But having another camera with T* lens I kept Oly because of size.
 
A rare case where I actually owned and used both cameras. Sold my T4, for some reason AF performance was really poor.

The Mju-II is completely foolproof and indestructible. Main disadvantage is that it selects full aperture too quickly, leading to vignetting. That having said, I consider it to be one of the best cameras of all time, period.
 
I own both the Epic and the T4 Super both which are going to be sold as I rarely shoot film any more. In terms of image quality I like the T4 better though the Oly lens is no slouch either. I once went on holiday with just the Yashica as my only camera and shot around ten rolls and there was hardly a poor shot amongst them.
 
Dr. Strangelove said:
Finland. I buy stuff mostly from a local 'net auction site, which is of course much smaller than any of the big eBay sites simply because the population of Finland is only about 5 million. The number of available items is smaller, but the good thing is that there are less people looking for the good deals. When I bought the T3 Super, I was the only bidder!
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oh yes, I bought T4 in Helsinki (flea market) for 4.5 EUR. But my Finnish is too bad and it takes too much time to use translator to "hunt" these cameras on Huuto.net
 
I've owned an epic, yashica t4, contax t2, and ricoh gr1 (and plenty of other cheaper p&s's) and the epic is the only one i still have. It goes everywhere with me, without any paranoia of breaking a $300 camera by jamming it into my back pocket or into a bag full of who knows what. I'm sure I could post shots from the epic and t4 and no one would be able to tell the difference, unless maybe its low light as the epic is f2.8...

The clamshell design, sharp fast lens, and overall size and durability of the epic can't be beaten in a p&s IMO. then factor in that it's usually about 1/5 the price of the others and its a no brainer
 
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PhillipAbbott said:
The clamshell design, sharp fast lens, and overall size and durability of the epic can't be beaten in a p&s IMO.
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Epic is anything but durable....also wears out pretty well when used regularly. But can't disagree on rest - really good picture taking machine!
 
btgc said:
Epic is anything but durable....also wears out pretty well when used regularly. But can't disagree on rest - really good picture taking machine!
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Incorrect.
The three copies of the Stylus Epic I have owned are extremely durable. Dropped one down marble stairs at a museum once and have dropped another into the ocean. They still work. One even fell out of my pocket while driving a motorcycle on the highway and that one still works as well (despite my stupidity when retrieving it). I have three now (2 epics, 1 infinity) and have used them for a few years.
 
I've got both. Like both. Used straight, ie without regard to their bells and whistles, and with flash suppressed, I think IQ is better on the T4, not sure I would have noticed that before I started hanging around these parts.
 
I found both the Olympus Mju II and the Yashica T4 at the thrift store. The T4 had a huge amount of lag and didn't even get close to the shooting speed and IQ that I've gotten out of the Oly. I even got better IQ from the original T AF than the T4. So the T4 went to the great auction site and paid for a fair portion of my latest DSLR.
 
Both are great, both have their pros & cons, but under the same light condition, in terms of sheer image quality, there's little chance a Mju-II can ever beat a Yashica T5! On the contrary, I'm afraid it's the Yashica T5 that has the slight edge, unless rule says the one that shows less vignette wins.

If your T4/T5 pic looks not as sharp or not as rich, it's most likely the shutter lag or the featherlight shutter release gets you. And even the notorious shutter lag isn't really that bad. It just takes some more getting-used-to. It took me a while to realise that when I hear T5's weak motor whirling, the exposure actually is already made.

My comment is based on my long-term experience with two Olympus Mju-II, one Yashica T4, and two Yashica T5, through the years. Why I still use both, is because they are both that great, and that IQ is not everything, after all.
 
As far as the durability of the Epic is concerned, I've had two bought new. Both lasted approx. 40 rolls and then conked out. One with a busted film advance, the other with an exposure metering defect. Maybe my bad luck, who knows?

However if they work, they're really good. The lens is its forte, the spot metering is the icing on the cake.

The one thing I really missed on the Epic though was an infinity lock. The AF isn't fastest in class (the original Mju-I/Infinity-Stylus certainly seems a lot faster), and sometimes you just have to have a means to make it go when you mash that shutter..

In a bizarre twist of fate, you could get it to focus at infinity by covering up one of the AF windows. But that would only make it shoot through windows, not make it go faster..
 
I have a Stylus Epic (mju-ii) and a Stylus Infinity (mju-i).

The Infinity is mint, still in its box with all packing items, so it rarely comes out.

The Epic is excellent and I shoot about 12 rolls a year with it.

Both seem to be operating properly.

My Epic focuses noticeably faster than my Infinity. I think the Epic has 100 focusing steps to Infinity's 16.

Either is a wonderful camera to use and I prefer the Infinity's build quality.

I would buy a perfect Infinity over a questionable Epic any day. Plus the Infinity usually costs less.

There is a thread about an Ebay Stylus Epic still going strong.
 
I have a Yashica T4Super as well as a Stylus Epic (mju-ii) and a Stylus Infinity (mju-i) that I all bought new. I prefer my XA to all of them for the manual control of exposure. Next in the ranking is the Stylus epic: small, accurate, predictable. Image quality for the Yashica is great but it is much more bulky and has a very sensitive shutter so it is hard to focus lock and recompose without accidentally taking a picture in the wrong composition. Therefore, I don't use it much, but cant bring myself to sell it.

Kent
 
The thing with Yashica T5 is, whenever I ask someone else to take a picture of me & friends, the person gets confused with the sensitive shutter release. The same problem with Olympus XA and maybe worse, 'cause sometimes even myself gets confused,too!
On the other hand, the sensitive shutter release is also why I can take steady hand-held pics in extra low light, with either of them.
 
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