Great Lens
Compact Size
Weatherproofing
f2.8
spot meter
view finder

Slippery grip, wet or dry

First, I want to brag about my price - $76.40 for a QD model at Target 2 days ago. I have been shooting Nikons since the early 70's and have had several P&S cameras over the years, including an Olympus XA.

In preparation for an upcoming trip, have been evaluating an old Fuji P&S 38-80 zoom (nice photos)and one of the nice original Canon Elphs (has always looked grainy to me).

I packed the Stylus Epic in my jersey pocket for an 80-mile bicycle ride yesterday. More than half the ride was in the rain.

This is a great little camera! I shot one roll of Kodak Max 400 and just got the photos back. Everything good that has been said about this camera is true. Very, very sharp images. I don't understand the trouble some have with focus & flash, mine worked great. Even inside flash after the ride, in both the auto setting and fill setting, were very good.

Spot meter works great and is not a hassle to set—just push both buttons at the same time—not a big deal. In fact, I didn't find it difficult to operate any of the buttons or controls (even in the wet conditions). The pre-focus-exposure was easy to use, just do like the manual says and wait 'til you see the green indicator light to trip the shutter fully.

The multi-area focus seemed to work just as well as the spot. Again, just wait for the green light. Simple. (Followed suggestions in the review by Gordon Checknita on 3/30/01. Thanks, Gordon!)

Weatherproofing is good; after yesterday, I ought to know.

This camera is not rocket science and the photos are, as they say, TACK sharp with very good contrast! Amazing lens. Photos really pop and you can tell enlargements will be great!

I highly recommend the Stylus Epic. It is definitely the best P&S I have used. Looking forward to shooting some Fuji Superia 200 in the next few days. Lens was so sharp I'll bet it would do fine with silde film.

I'll always take my Nikons, but not to "steal me" destinations. In their place, the Stylus Epic will serve me well.

Customer Service

Hopefully, always the great unknown...

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90s, FE's
Canon Elph
Fuji Discovery 1000
Canon XA

The camera is small and genuinely weather proof. All most as many features as my SLR. Fastish lens and price.

Inacuate exposures for slide film. No indication/control as to what it is doing. Noisy wind on. Lens nothing special (see last months Amateur Photographer UK)

I bought this camera as a back up to my heavy and expensive SLR system. I took it on my Long Trail trip in Vermont, where it rained every day. The camera seemed perfect with its fast lens (compared to my zooms) and it was around my neck for the whole trip, usually inside my rain jacket! The results were nearly all poorly exposed on slide film (Ektachome 100/200) and not what I expected. With no control over exposure or focus it was hard to predict what was happening and while there are controls for flash and spot metering they cancel when the camera is shut. It is a point and shoot camera and should be used as such- with print film.

Similar Products Used:

None, but have just ordered Contax T3 at 7x the price.

f2.8 lens! Unique among P&S cameras!
Good lens

No consider the price

f2.8 lens is unique in all p&s lens. I have never seen a
camera so small and has such a large aperture lens.
clear and sharp picture! Very good consider p&S
and the price, but not impressive.
It is definitely better than 28-80 Canon SLR consumer
lens and Nikon bottom level consumer lens.
If someone whant to buy SLR with consumer zoom
lens, they mush check mind first. The photo quality
is, by my view, similar to 28-105 Canon or Nikon
lens, but can not compare to my primes.
It is very small camera you can carry it all around.
I will give it 4.5 points, but consider the low
price, it worth 5!

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elan II E
Canon 28-80 USM V lens
Canon 50 f1.8 Lens
Sigma 105 Macro Lens
and more

Fast Lens 2.8, Sharp Results.

Sometimes Red Eye Effect difficult to control it.

This small camera is good , very compact and easy to bring onto your pocket. The result almaost good although difficult to get pictures with alot of people , the picture may get some crisp and some people around look blured.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

Nikon Zoom 800, Canon Prima, Fujica

:: Size
:: Quality of lens
:: f2.8 max aperture
:: Weatherproof design
:: Size
:: Spot metering
:: Fill-in flash is very consistent
:: Minimal shutter lag

:: Noise of film advance
:: Lack of infinity lock
... that's it

A superb camera to carry at all times. This is with me at all times. I love the ability to catch candids where before, I would have still been fumbling with my SLR zoomster. It's the perfect compact for my needs and means. The price belies the quality of this machine - a fine choice. I chose it over the Yashica, which may have a better lens, but is not as portable. If you want a camera for keeps, this is the one.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Ricoh R1
Yashica T5

f2.8 lens
fast shutter response
size

Optics NOT as sharp as expected

I shot 2 rolls of 100 ISO film and I'm not impressed with the results at all. The camera does respond quickly to the touch but the optics are no sharper than the other P&S cameras that I still own. Nor my Nikkor lenses on my Nikon SLR, of course, but I'm spoiled with them but they are not portable. I returned the camera today.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Freedom Explorer
Canon z115
Canon Sure Shot (original one)

Compact size
Very sharp fast lens
Spot meter
Flash modes
Did I mention size??

Very sensitive shutter release button...I keep setting the silly thing off accidentally...I'm learning to be more careful, but really..it seems all you have to do is look at the thing and it snaps a shot

Can't think of anything to say, that hasn't been said so I will just add my voice to the multitude. This little camera is wonderful..I almost always have it with me...it tends to use fast shutter speeds and hence wide apertures, so depth of field is very shallow on close ups..you have to be careful not to move once you have locked focus, until you take the shot..just a little getting used to....exposures are accurate enough for slide film...lens is extremely sharp and colour saturation is spectacular. Anyone could use one of these, even a pro, as a backup....it fits in your pants pocket and has a wireless remote ($20.00)which really lets you get into the pics yourself....I have the deluxe version (date, panorama) but don't bother..you don't really want the date ruining your pictures and you can always crop a pic into a panorama if you really want it..

The spot meter really works........and is far better than just having a backlight button....after all, sometimes the subject is brighter than the back ground.

This is just simply the best fixed focal length point and shoot I have seen and for just over $100.00 ( I have seen it online for $79.99) you just can't lose.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Stylus 80 Wide
Minolta Freedom 3
Canon sure shot

VERY sharp images
Fast lens
Quality construction
SLR type shutter speed range
Spot metering
Remote capable
Weatherproofing

No infinity lock
Viewfinder could be larger

I couldn't be much happier with a pocket P&S camera. An infinity lock would make this just about perfect. (I read that a small piece of black tape kept handy to cover one of the AF windows will cause the camera to default to infinity. I haven't tried this yet) I am surprised at some comments indicating unremarkable image quality. Either there are quality control variations from one unit to another or we have some VERY critical reviewers. Most images from my Epic have wonderful detail with equal contrast. Any that were slightly soft were probably taken before correct focus was achieved.

The Epic has a good body design with true pocketable size. That allows me to take this camera with me nearly everywhere I go. Isn't that why most people buy a pocket camera? I've used the Epic in rain, mist and high humidity situations with no consequences. There have been reports of the 3 point AF getting confused, but I can't say I've experienced this problem in 2 years.

I highly recommend this camera to anyone needing a fixed focal length 35mm pocket camera. Should anything happen to my Epic, I'd buy another the same day. It's no accident Olympus has sold over 17 million of these little cameras.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Mostly SLR experience with the exception of a cheapo Vivitar P&S.

- fast for a P&S (f/2.8)
- compact & light weight
- weatherproof
- multiple flash modes
- spot metering
- shutter speed range

- cheap finish (QD model)
- some AF problems
- no infinity lock
- redeye
- no camera shake indicator
- NOISY

Great little P&S for the money. Size and "pocketable" nature of the camera make it easy to have with you and ready at almost all times and yet be far more discreet than if you had an SLR strung around your neck.

It's half the cost of a Yashica T4 Super but you're probably getting what you pay for when comparing AF & metering. Still I'm pretty happy with this camera.

Ok so my weaknesses are probably nitpicky for a camera that only costed me $62.90 on closeout sale at a local Target. But considering the popularity of this camera and how long it's been out, you'd think that Olympus would have updated the model to correct some of these things by now.

First, the silverish gold finish of the QD model that I had to settle for (couldn't find any non QD models and since this one was on sale...) is kinda cheesy. After only a few weeks of use it already started to show wear on certain corners just like my Canon EOS Rebell 2000.

In my experience, AF seems to be unreliable at times in tricky lighting and in vertical composition shots. It's admirable that they put an active AF system into this camera but maybe to be on the safe side, use the money you saved buying this camera and try to take an extra shot or two of those "once in a lifetime / must have" shots. Infinity lock for shooting thru busy foregrounds or glass would've been nice too considering some cheap Kodak P&S at the same price range have it.

In general though, the majority of my pics so far have been fairly well exposed using print film. Haven't tried slides but I really wouldn't want to with this camera since it seems to be beyond its intended purpose. With slides, exposure is so crucial that if you want any decent quality, you'd probably want to rely on something more adjustable like an SLR or high end P&S.

Redeye? What can I say, the flash is just way to close to the lens but I guess it does beat having a motorized pop out type that could jam or break.

I know it's not realistic to have the shutter speed indicated on a little budget point and shoot like this, I do wish that the camera would communicate when you're going to probably need a tripod or some other support especially since this camera's shutter goes as slow as 4 seconds. My little Elph Jr. had it's little focus indicator light flash if I had the flash turned off for longer exposure shots.

And the noise of this camera kinda detracts from it's ability to use it in a non-obvious way. But then again maybe I'm spoiled from my Canon Elan II's whisper quiet belt drive and USM on my primary lens.

Overall, as inexpensive as this camera is, it takes great pictures yet it's not so much of a heartbreak to replace if it gets lost, stolen, or damaged. Just wish the wireless remote was as easy to find but I may just have to order it thru B&H.

Customer Service

Not sure yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elph Jr. (APS, 22 mm, f/2.8) which was nice and small but carrying APS film in addition to 35 mm for my Canon SLR's was a pain.

-Incredibly sharp F 2.8 lens
-Small size
-Weatherproof
-Strobe flash
-Weight
-Good AF
-Did I mention the F 2,8 lens

-Fiddly buttons if you've got massive fingers
-Viewfinder a bit little and dark - not a big problem

Called the Olympus MJU II in GB. This is quite simply the best 'little' camera you can buy. I am a semi-pro press photographer and was looking for a small camera to carry around for when carrying over 8 kilos of photo gear was not an option. I work for Jessops in the UK and subsequently have played with all of the 'little' camera that money can buy. With the possible exception of the Ricoh GRS-1, this is the best. The lens is incredible! I've actually sold work to galleries taken on this thing, and with enough light, the pictures are sharp enough to blow up to virtually any size. What's more...they only cost £99! This is a small price for a great camera. One piece of advice though...get an extended guarantee if you can. I know that extended gaurantees are gernerally a rip-off, but my shop sells them for under a tenner, thus ensuring your pride and joy will work for the next three years. After that, if it dies (which it probably won't) buy another. at £99, you cant afford not too. Ideal for beninners, intermediates, advanced, professional, and budding David Balieys alike.

Customer Service

Olympus are fairly efficient but a camera of this price will not often be worth fixing. Buy an extended guarantee.

Similar Products Used:

Almost every compact camera sold in the last 5 years as I work in a camera shop