Olympus Stylus Epic
Encyclopedia
The Olympus
Stylus Epic, also known as the Mµ-II in other parts of the world, is a 35mm
compact camera
. Produced from 1996 to 2003, the Olympus Stylus Epic followed a long line of prime lens budget priced, consumer level, point and shoot cameras from Olympus that have tended to appeal to enthusiasts and professionals who want a camera small enough to fit in a pocket, it is much cheaper than most point and shoot cameras that are popular with enthusiasts.
The Epic has a fixed 35mm f2.8 lens, and can focus down to 14 inches. It has a spot meter, and optional red eye
reduction. The clamshell design is very tough and the camera can be carried in a pocket or handbag without fear of damage. The camera is also very lightweight (145 grams) and splash proof.
The fixed lens on this camera is much faster than other Olympus point-and-shoots many of which include zoom lenses. The zoom lens versions have much slower lenses(f4.5 at the wide end), and in general, lower quality optics, compared to the fixed 35mm lens.
The "active three spot" automatic exposure system on this camera is quite sophisticated for a point and shoot. It can handle situations that would stymie most point-and-shoots, like focusing properly when aimed at two people, where there is a space between the subjects. Most cameras would focus on the center item (infinity), and the subjects would end up out of focus. The mju handles this situation with ease. You can also set the flash to fire regardless of the level of ambient light, to provide "fill flash" functionality.
The automatic exposure tends to favour more wide open exposure. Nevertheless, the lens center is sharp even wide open, though the corners are soft. There is a fair amount of vignetting
, wide open. Red-eye can be a problem, with the flash so close to the lens. Red eye reduction is available, but this slows down the shot.
The camera moves the lens after the shutter is depressed, which results in a small (0.25 second) delay. The lens can be pre-focused, but it still doesn't move into position until the shutter button is fully depressed. This is quite common behaviour in film point and shoot cameras.
The flash starts charging when the clamshell cover is opened, rather than when the shutter button is partially depressed. This makes the camera much more "ready" for the shot, unless you pre-focus by half-depressing the shutter, compared to most digital point and shoots, most of which don't start charging the flash until the shutter button is depressed.
The Stylus Epic is somewhat of a cult classic among avid photographers due to quality and speed of the lens, a rare attribute among compact cameras.
A caveat is that there is only 4 DX-code reading contacts, instead of the normal 6, limiting the available ASA settings to full stops, i.e. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200.
Useful external link: http://www.photographyreview.com/mfr/olympus/point-and-shoot/PRD_84048_3108crx.aspx
Useful external link: http://photo.net/equipment/olympus/mjuII
Olympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
Stylus Epic, also known as the Mµ-II in other parts of the world, is a 35mm
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
compact camera
Point and shoot camera
A point-and-shoot camera, also called a compact camera, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposure options, and have flash units built in....
. Produced from 1996 to 2003, the Olympus Stylus Epic followed a long line of prime lens budget priced, consumer level, point and shoot cameras from Olympus that have tended to appeal to enthusiasts and professionals who want a camera small enough to fit in a pocket, it is much cheaper than most point and shoot cameras that are popular with enthusiasts.
The Epic has a fixed 35mm f2.8 lens, and can focus down to 14 inches. It has a spot meter, and optional red eye
Red-eye effect
The red-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic flash very close to the camera lens , in ambient low light. The effect appears in the eyes of humans and animals that have no tapetum lucidum, hence no...
reduction. The clamshell design is very tough and the camera can be carried in a pocket or handbag without fear of damage. The camera is also very lightweight (145 grams) and splash proof.
The fixed lens on this camera is much faster than other Olympus point-and-shoots many of which include zoom lenses. The zoom lens versions have much slower lenses(f4.5 at the wide end), and in general, lower quality optics, compared to the fixed 35mm lens.
The "active three spot" automatic exposure system on this camera is quite sophisticated for a point and shoot. It can handle situations that would stymie most point-and-shoots, like focusing properly when aimed at two people, where there is a space between the subjects. Most cameras would focus on the center item (infinity), and the subjects would end up out of focus. The mju handles this situation with ease. You can also set the flash to fire regardless of the level of ambient light, to provide "fill flash" functionality.
The automatic exposure tends to favour more wide open exposure. Nevertheless, the lens center is sharp even wide open, though the corners are soft. There is a fair amount of vignetting
Vignetting
In photography and optics, vignetting is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image center. The word vignette, from the same root as vine, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a photographic...
, wide open. Red-eye can be a problem, with the flash so close to the lens. Red eye reduction is available, but this slows down the shot.
The camera moves the lens after the shutter is depressed, which results in a small (0.25 second) delay. The lens can be pre-focused, but it still doesn't move into position until the shutter button is fully depressed. This is quite common behaviour in film point and shoot cameras.
The flash starts charging when the clamshell cover is opened, rather than when the shutter button is partially depressed. This makes the camera much more "ready" for the shot, unless you pre-focus by half-depressing the shutter, compared to most digital point and shoots, most of which don't start charging the flash until the shutter button is depressed.
The Stylus Epic is somewhat of a cult classic among avid photographers due to quality and speed of the lens, a rare attribute among compact cameras.
A caveat is that there is only 4 DX-code reading contacts, instead of the normal 6, limiting the available ASA settings to full stops, i.e. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200.
Flash Modes
It has the following flash modes:- Automatic
- Red eyeRed-eye effectThe red-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic flash very close to the camera lens , in ambient low light. The effect appears in the eyes of humans and animals that have no tapetum lucidum, hence no...
reduction - this camera uses a series of low power pre-flashes rather than a separate bulb - Flash off - This will cause the camera to automatically use a slower shutter speed necessitating the use of a tripod or similar
- Fill-in flash
- Night scene flash - This also uses a slow shutter speed and is incompatible with spot-metering mode
- Red eye reduction night scene flash
Useful external link: http://www.photographyreview.com/mfr/olympus/point-and-shoot/PRD_84048_3108crx.aspx
Useful external link: http://photo.net/equipment/olympus/mjuII