Olympus µ[mju:]-1, price of a coffee mug.

[Linkert]

I've had a wonderful day this monday 🙂

This morning was a go-out-and-shoot-morning. Brought my Konica TC-X and FED 2, jumped on the train, hopped off at Stockholm Central and started walking.

I happen to pass by one of the larger secondhand chains in Sweden called Myrorna, checked if there were any 'new' cameras around. Then one of the workers gave me a tip to visit their store in Ropsten, which is not to far away so I went.

Found my self a Olympus Mju-1 that they were asking 200 Swedish Kronor for, which is 30 USD. I asked to have it put away until thursday, when my money arrives, as I'm pretty much broke atm. I told the guy working there what a fantastic camera it is and he suddenly flew off towards a shelf filled with coffee mugs and alike, ripped a price tag off a mug and stuck it on the camera and said, 'There you go, get back to me if you have any trouble at the register'.

The price tag said, 15:- SEK, which is 2.26 USD 😀

Haven't tested it with film yet, but it focuses, the shutter goes off, the flash works and the optics are nice and clean. Came with an almost drained battery.

I have cleaned off all the residue from the price tags, and it's looking good. ('before-cleaning-picture' above)

When I arrived back home I checked my mailbox, and there was a little note telling me I have a package from abroad to pick up! It was my nice sexy mono Bikkuri case from Bellamy, Japan Camera Hunter!

Lovely day <3

 

[erikhaugsby]

Good find - and better luck with the price-fixing employee! 😀

I recently found a mju-ii in one of the local thriftshops and picked it up for €5. It's fun to use a camera whose value quadruples after loading it with film and a battery!

(I need to clean the lens!)

Here's some from of its first roll (HP5+ at box speed, D-76 1+1 for 13 minutes). It can hold its own while being hand-holdable:

But I've found many of my images to be backfocussed:

Post some pictures when you can!

 

[Rodchenko]

I'm a big fan of the Mjus. My Mju i cost bobbins. I'd love a ii, but it's not my highest priority.

You have a great bargain there, Linkert. I look forward to seeing the results.

 

[charjohncarter]

I have something very close if not identical; the Olympus Stylus Infinity. It has been a good camera from new maybe 20+ years. The lens is top notch, see below:

Blow up:

 

[p.giannakis]

I quite liked mine

It took some nice pictures but eventually i felt that small cameras are not my "mug" of tea. Here is a picture taken with it :

 

[Linkert]

Can't wait to go 'hunt' people on the streets with this quiet camera. Loaded it up with some Fomapan 200 from my bikkuri case, pulled off a shot from my balcony. Winding mechanism checked, working fine. Always a bit nervous about function on secondhand electronics 😉

On thursday I will order a scanner, probably a Plustek Opticfilm 8100. Also a dark bag, no more fiddling around a dark bathroom..

 

[Rodchenko]

Remember that every time you open it, the flash will be on, so you need to press the button twice to switch it off.

I was out with my £1.99 kit today - Ixus and Mju i - but it was raining and I was pushing a pram, so I didn't get many shots.

 

[CliveC]

I picked one up on eBay for $10 or so recently. Definitely a nice little camera, just wish it had the 2.8 lens and the slower shutter speeds of the Mju II/Stylus Epic.

My concern about it is the prefocus. There's no way to know what's in focus while looking at the viewfinder. The lens doesn't even move until you fully depress the shutter.

As far as compact Olympuses (Olympi?) go, I think the XA is still in the lead for me.

 

[pvdhaar]

Remember that every time you open it, the flash will be on, so you need to press the button twice to switch it off.

Yep, the Mju-I doesn't remember that you've cancelled flash when it's powered off. Small detail though: flash is on Auto when switched on, so only fires when the light is low...

But the fact that it's never in some sort of unpredictable mode is also what makes it such a fantastic P&S camera. It's the ultimate "you can't do anything wrong unless you poke at the buttons" shooter. There isn't even an on-off switch to worry about..

 

[pvdhaar]

The price tag said, 15:- SEK, which is 2.26 USD 😀

Congrats! That's a very good deal on a camera that worth much, much more than that. Go shoot and have fun with it!

 

[hamradio]

These little things are gems. While lacking a stop and spot metering over the mju-II, I find them to be great pocket cameras. Totally unassuming – nobody even glances at someone using what appears to be a little plastic POS. I began passing them up at thrift stores after my second or third, and after finding a couple mju-IIs for five bucks or so. How many mjus does a man need?

 

[Linkert]

These little things are gems. While lacking a stop and spot metering over the mju-II, I find them to be great pocket cameras. Totally unassuming – nobody even glances at someone using what appears to be a little plastic POS. I began passing them up at thrift stores after my second or third, and after finding a couple mju-IIs for five bucks or so. How many mjus does a man need?

Fantastic photo 🙂 Hype, hypeee!

 

[niels christopher]

Funny, I just bought a mju-II as well. 🙂
I do not fully understand the viewfinder though, can somebody clarify this for me? There are two indicated frame lines in the upper left and right corner, but there are none in the bottom corners.. What am I supposed to do with them?

Somebody somewhere wrote, they are to be used as parallax correction, is this true? As far as I understood, you are supposed to use the whole viewfinder under 'normal' conditions and use the little frame lines when your subject is close to you. About how close is 'close' in this case? Also, why are there no framelines in the bottom corner? Do I have to guess where my frame ends? (I don't want cut off feet all the time 😱)

 

[johannielscom]

Congrats! That's a very good deal on a camera that worth much, much more than that. Go shoot and have fun with it!

Sold my Mju-1 for EUR 25 today...🙄😀

 

[bgetty]

the mju/infinity stylus is probably my favorite camera overall. it's given me more personal "keepers" than any other camera i own. i prefer it over the II/stylus epic for its larger size and handling, i don't miss the extra stop at all.

great find, and that shopkeeper is worth getting to know personally!

 

[Linkert]

Lovely scratches, still worth the price of a coffee mug 😉


Caffenol-C, 15 min, 21°, waterstop, Ilford fixer


no. 08 - 03 by LUNDLUND, on Flickr



no. 08 - 02 by LUNDLUND, on Flickr



no. 08 - 01 by LUNDLUND, on Flickr

 

[pvdhaar]

Pretty good image quality for the price of a coffee mug!

The scratches are probably due to debris floating around in the film chamber. This lodges on the film and gets trapped in the cannister's felt when rewinding the film. A thorough cleaning of the inside with a blower will probaby do wonders..

 

[stitchohana]

Nice ~ great affordable buy ~

 

[Rodchenko]

Nice. Shame about the scratches, but they could just be transient. If it's been sat around for a while, it's possible you've dislodged some dust which you can clean out now you've had a film through it.

 

[Noll]

You mentioned shooting fomapan - the scratches could have come from the factory.