Stylus infinity 35/3.5

[cmedin]

Anybody here own one of these? Picked it up for a song today and appears to be in excellent shape, halfway through a roll of XP2 already. I know the desired model is the 35/2.8, but how much of a difference is there optically between the two? It's a nice little pocketable camera and can handle up to ISO 3200. 🙂

 

[charjohncarter]

If you mean this, you will not be disappointed.

I have owned this camera from new. About 10 years ago the front plate fell off and I lost it, but it still works. The pictures are high quality as per most Olympus lenses. I'm pretty sure mine is the f3.5. I think the f2.8 has a different body which to me ruins the propose of this camera, which is to really fit in your shirt pocket. One hidden greatness of this camera is its 'fill flash' capability. I have never had a camera work so well with 'fill flash' in sunlight. I have an image that was 'shot from the hip' in my gallery, here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=66557&ppuser=8685

This was a big crop but it still held together.

 

[cmedin]

That's the one I have. I think the 2.8 version has some more stuff on it including some sort of spot metering capabilities. The shutter lag seems a little excessive (does the AF system actually rack the lens when you press the shutter instead of when pressing the button half way?), but it's cheap, pocketable, and from your shot looks like capable of nice results!

 

[charjohncarter]

I don't know about the shutter lag I have never noticed it. Maybe with the front face off, it auto focuses quicker. Wait, I'll go check...............you are right, you have to expose for the autofocus to work. I guess you have never had a digital P&S, now there is shutter lag. Clean the AF windows, maybe.

 

[cmedin]

Everything's nice and clean, I think I am just spoiled from the pile of mechanical cameras I have. 🙂 Shutter lag on my wife's digital P&S is horrible, you're right.

 

[raid]

The Stylus EPIC has the 2.8 lens that has an aspherical element. Still, the older Stylus with the 3.5 lens is an excellent little camera. I bought a second one for ... $6.

 

[dazedgonebye]

The f2.8 version is very small as well.
I have one that I keep in my car at all times.

 

[Scarpia]

I have both, got the 3.5 at the town wide annual garage sale three years ago for $5.00. Both are great, but the clamshell of the 3.5 keeps opening in my pocket if I am not careful.
Kurt M.

 

[jan normandale]

I bought one a zillion years ago when I wanted another XA and they weren't being made. I took it and felt a little disappointed however after I ran film thru it I was pleased. Not quite as sharp as the XA but still an amazing pocket camera and they are 'indestructible' , well almost.

 

[ChadHahn]

The problem that I always had with mine was finding the viewfinder at night. I guess I could have pressed the shutter to illuminate the lights but I would be moving the camera and my head in an effort to get my eye and the viewfinder to line up.

Other than that I really enjoyed the camera. I recently bought the 2.8 at a thrift for $2.00 and I don't think that I like that one as much as the 3.5.

Popular photography had an article about a professional photographer who kept b&w in his and took some nice shots Cuba.

Chad

 

[btgc]

I've read that next, Epic generation had internal gearing improved over first one, plain Stylus. Though Epic has it's own caveats and used a lot, there wears out small mechanical piece and you can hear excessive sound while shooting. At the end it will not able to advance/retract lens...But this isn't problem to avoid buing 'em 🙂 as there are thousands of this cameras to use.
Nice thing is that both generations have fill flash mode and as for Epic, I know that it works very well (I don't have plain Stylus).