Tell me, do you like the Oly Stylus Epic?

[sleepyhead]

Hi, I've used the Epic (mju II), the XA, and the XA2. I didn't find the shutter lag on the Epic THAT BAD, but I couldn't live with having to turn off the flash everytime I opened the camera. That would really slow you down. Of these three cameras, I would rate the Epic's lens as the best - sharp and lovely bokeh.

Anyway, my Epic died when it got splashed with seaspray - it was the salt water that did it in. Today i use an XA and an XA2 and a Konic hexar AF. The XA2 is by far the fastest to operate. The lens is quite acceptable.

Good luck.

 

[Meleica]

My essay on the Oly Epic

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/epic.htm

 

[sf]

My essay on the Oly Epic

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/epic.htm

oh, that's yours! Cool. That was the first one I read off the net.

I'm probably going to buy the Epic, because I need something AF and cheaper than the XA cameras (they tend to be pricey).

 

[JoeFriday]

I had an Oly SE, and really enjoyed it.. it has a few nice features for an inexpensive camera.. metering is good, but can be tricked.. you have to be sure to hold the shutter release halfway in order for the camera to meter and focus.. so each shot requires a slight delay

the lens is very good.. I always had cheap film in mine, so I'm not sure what the lens is capable of discerning.. but it will catch a lot of detail

I paid about $35 for a NIB camera on eb*y a couple years ago.. I'd say your price range is slightly high.. but you might have to look around a little to find the deals

I ultimately sold mine because I got a Contax T to take its place.. clearly not in the same league.. but sometimes I miss having the SE, for those places where I wouldn't take an expensive camera along

 

[Scarpia]

I have both a mju I and a Stylus Epic, both aquired through sheer luck. The mju I at a garage sale for five bucks and the Stylus Epic at a 1 hour photo lab's last day of business (they had a large stock of unsold P & S's) for $25.00. I am just putting through the first roll of film in the Stylus so I can't comment on the photo quality but it does have quirks. The most annoying one, more so than having to turn off the auto flash, is the fact that when I press the shutter after the lag the lens moves forward and strikes part of my hand. It happens that I have small hands, but I still manage to interfere with the lens about half the time. The greatest virtue of both cameras is their pocketability. The mju I also requires that you remember to manually shut off the flash. Its pretty annoying to attempt a candid shot and remain unnoticed and have the flash go off. Still I value both cameras.
Kurt M.

 

[SalmanA]

I have been searching for a decent little P&S with a non-zoom, fast lens to throw in the bag with the Bronica. I think this is about the best one I've found.

I would appreciate some opinions on if this is a good choice @ $79. And what is its top film rating? Can I stick 1600 ISO film in there? How is falloff, etc.

I've been using my Stylus Epic (35mm f/2.8) for over a year and a half, and I love it! Over time I've come to live with its shortcomings (no exposure control, auto flash on, no way to override ISO rating, etc.).

I've never thought the shutter lag on my Epic to be as bad as what some members have experienced; certainly not as bad as to stop me from using it altogether.

Stopped down (i.e. using a high-ISO film) the lens is pretty sharp, and overall the bokeh is very pleasant for a camera that costs as much as this.

Shutterflower, feel free to peruse my photos taken with the Stylus Epic: Gallery1 , Gallery2

For its price and the performance it delivers, this camera cannot be beat IMO.

Cheers,

 

[dnk512]

The good: The glass is fine. It is cheap, It is small. It is weather protected. It withstood a 4 feet drop on a marbel floor. It survived a complete soak with sunscteen in my wife's bag. I found focusing fast enough to shoot kids playing. Battery last a looong time. Good macro focusing (6" ?)
The not so good: Light fall off with wide apertures. Camera program opens aperture before slowing shutter speed. No user input on shutter/aperture choice. All of the above lead to shallow DOF and light fall on all but bright days.
Oh, one last thing: It has a great spot meter option, but it is hard to set (tiny buttons) and it does not stay selected once you turn the camera off. Some like this, I found it annoying.

 

[SalmanA]

One more point in favour of the 35mm f/2.8 Olympus Stylus Epic: it allows you to focus as close as 14 inches - it's rare to find another 35mm prime lens that will allow such a minimum close focusing distance.

Cheers,

 

[dll927]

My version of the Oly Stylus is the 38-120mm zoom version. It's small. light, and its 'clamshell' design makes it fast to open/close for action. It's much lighter and easier to carry around than either of my Minolta Maxxums (7 and 7D).

But no camera is perfect for everyone, and you pretty well have to study up on the features of any one you are considering.

This is my third Oly - the first Stylus got stolen - and all three have been small compact cameras. I've never had their SLRs. But their lenses are certainly sharp enough, and they are convenient to use.

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I like my Stylus Epic very much but there are things about it that bother me -- most have been mentioned above (shutter lag, tendency to shoot wide open, flash resets every time, minimum aperture of f/11).

I really think that for quick grab shots with high ASA film, zone focus cameras make more sense. XA2 or the various Minox cameras are very small but not known for reliability. They can get pricey too.

Edit: the Minox cameras can be pricey, not XA2s.

Life's full of compromise!

 

[Kat]

I got an XA2 off ebay for a little over $20USD shipped. I've seen them go for less sometimes.

 

[ddunn]

The Stylus Epic is my "always on hand" camera. I keep it in the console of the car, & throw it in my over the shoulder bag when flying. Shoot mostly 400 speed color negative.

I've never had a major problem with the shutter lag others have talked about. The only dislike I have is the need to turn the autoflash off whenever you turn the camera on. I'm still using the first one I bought (certainly no failure after a dozen rolls of film).

For the money, you just can't beat it.

 

[MelanieC]

I have a question. I have a Stylus Epic that I bought sometime in the mid-90s. It has a champagne colored clamshell exterior and a short "zoom" (I think to 80mm -- it was the cheapest one at the time, I think the "deluxe" model was larger and went to 140mm). What is the functional difference between this and the non-zoom model (other than the obvious)? My understanding is that lens quality in the "zoom" models is lower but I don't understand why.

I was very happy with mine when I was using it, but at the time I was only taking snapshot, vacation, and "event" sort of photos. The flash is hyperactive. It was VERY easy to get great-looking, sharp photos out of it. I'm going to pick it up again when I fly back east next month -- my mother has it right now.

 

[DougK]

I've got both the Epic and the XA.

The Epic does a pretty good job with daylight fill-flash but it is irksome to manually turn it off every time you open the camera. The spot metering mode is definitely nice to have and works well. No date function on mine, either.

The XA gives you aperture priority and manual focus with detachable flash. Snapshot focus and aperture settings work well for most photos and there's no annoyingly loud motor advance/rewind.

Both are fine cameras, but if I had to pick just one of the two, I'd keep the XA. I wouldn't mind an XA2 or XA4 either.

 

[sf]

OK, some great input here.

I want the camera for taking down to Seattle as my "oh, there's a crazy guy waving his hands in the middle of the street and screaming at the air, just about to be tackled by the cops" camera. I'm walking around in places where I might not want to pull out the Bronica. Or I don't have time to unzip the bag, pull it out, turn it on, choose an aperture, focus, and get the shot.

The Epic would also be good on the bus or for hip shots perhaps. . . .though surely the focus would be hard to get perfect. XA best for hipshots, probably.

I've seen a few Epics with the date function for $25, but they were refurbished and from a seller with some recent issues.

Can the date be turned off on the date bodies? I must know this.

 

[JoeFriday]

yeah.. I never used the date feature.. it's easy to turn off

the Epic would probably be a good choice for what you want.. it's very handy as a carry anywhere camera.. it comes with a comfortable rope style strap that you can put around your neck and tuck the camera inside your jacket.. you literally might forget you have the camera with you because it's so light and easy to hide

 

[tkluck]

I want the camera to be :

small
fast glass
no zoom
no flash would be ideal
fast AF or FAST manual focus

From way out in left field:
Small, world class lens, no zoom, no built in flash, auto or manual control, precision mechanism, easy macro focusing, unobtrusive and non intimidating, quiet, and (I timed myself) as close to that 2 second quick draw as yer gonna get.

Minox C.

The size of a good cigar. Leica thought the company was worth buying. You hook the chain to a button hole and stick it in your shirt pocket. Pull it open as you raise it and you're ready to rock by the time it hits your eye. You can drop it into your shirt before the bouncer (or the KGB) turn around.
Take up no room in your bag. I sometimes use a little Rollie auto flash that fits in my pocket too. I have a hot shoe adapter, but it's just as easy to hold the flash off camera on a short cord. That measuring chain for close up really does work.
True, the format is perhaps less than ideal for 16x20s and you can't get it at Walmart. Then again you can't get Tri-x at Walmart leather.
Last but not least, with careful shopping/bidding you can get one for less than $80. I did.
The photographic equivalent of a boot knife or a razor in your bra. (another convenient way to carry it, I'm told...)

 

[ddunn]

I have a question. I have a Stylus Epic that I bought sometime in the mid-90s. It has a champagne colored clamshell exterior and a short "zoom" (I think to 80mm -- it was the cheapest one at the time, I think the "deluxe" model was larger and went to 140mm). What is the functional difference between this and the non-zoom model (other than the obvious)? My understanding is that lens quality in the "zoom" models is lower but I don't understand why.

I had a couple of the zoom models before I settled on the non-zoom. Too me, the difference is the loss of lens speed as you extend the zoom. I kept getting blurry pictures until it finally dawned on me that what is an f2.8 lens at 35mm is something like f5.6 at 105mm, with a corresponding slowing in shutter speed. :bang:

I've used f2.8-f3.5 lenses for years, and I have a pretty good sense of what I can handhold. But there's no way of telling what your actual f stop and shutter speed is on the Epic, so I kept getting faked out. That non-obvious functional difference was enough for me.

 

[MelanieC]

But if I never use the zoom, then I'm pretty safe?

 

[hjfischer]

A really good article on the Oly Stylus Epic is in the Feb 06 issue of "Shutterbug" entitled "Shoot Film and Scan"..