Here's another vote for the Stylus Epic. (but make sure it's an Epic and
not an ordinary Stylus which only has a 3.5 lens). This is a great
"Point 'n Shoot" that will actually fit into a shirt pocket. It is
diminutive even with respect to its Stylus zoom brethren. It's auto
everything but actually allows a fair modicum of control when you need
it. The spot metering and focus lock are easy to use. It's a great and
reliable tool when loaded with some 200 print film.
Pros: The front cover seals it up pretty well. I once dropped mine
this past winter into a gutter that was filled 4" deep with ice cold
melt water. It was submerged for about 5 seconds before I managed to
retrieve it from a small whirlpool swirling around over the sewer
grate. I thought for sure it was a goner but only a couple of drops of
water managed to get behind the lens cover. No water got inside the
camera. Dried it off with a paper towel and it's as good as new.
Cons: The focus lock and spot metering are not independent of each
other. It uses $7 lithium batteries.
Commment: Take a couple extra batteries and don't let either of the
above stop you. It may be a strange comparison for an automatic camera
but I think of it as the OM-1 of the point and shoot world.
How did the camera fall into the water? While bending over to clear
leaves which were blocking the sewer grate the camera fell out of my
shirt pocket right into the whirlpool. There are hazards to shirt
pockets.
Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA
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