Hi everybody,
First film back from the $8.50 (USD) Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic DLX
Quartz (there's not enough room on the front for all that name so some of it's
on the back).
Surprise, surprise, it works !!
All functions seem OK as far as I can figure out. Time setting, flash on or
off,
film load, film rewind, autofocus, exposure control. Haven't tested the radio
remote release as I don't have one.
5 x 7 inch enlargements of Konica 100 VX Super (on special) print film are
every sharp (with qualifications) and contrasty. The flash, tested both indoors
and outdoors seems quite powerful.
Focuses down to about 12 inches ( 30cm). Full frame 35mm.
Such a small camera I find is quite difficult to hold steady. There's really
not
space for two hands. If you sit it on or against a rest there's no space to get
your eye up to the viewfinder (very clear by the way). Perhaps the best way
is to hold it in the right hand, press against the right cheek and nose, and
use right eye in the viewfinder.
Auto focus is difficult to use, and I find the (gross) delay between wanting to
make the exposure and the actual shutter release, annoying - after the
practically instantaneous shutter release of the OM10 and the OM 1,2 & 4T.
I'm still learning where to point the autofocus sensor to get the best result.
Apart from where you point the focus, and how still you hold it, there's no
control over features. Lower-light closeups show shallow depth of field. I have
no idea what the range of speed and aperture are that it has at its disposal.
The worst (only?) defect is a light leak, not equally on all frames, hardly at
all
on some. It seems to come from the bottom side, about the middle of the
frame. It's there daylight or dark.
I can see no defect in the rubber seal, and I wonder if there is an additional
seal missing. Between the outside bottom rubber seal and the film chamber
there is a shiny plastic rail that seems to be a light trap, and between that
and the film rail is a channel about the length of a 35mm frame and ? 1.5mm
wide and 1.5mm deep (guess as there's film in there again and I didn't
measure it.) It looks to me as though a foam baffle could be fitted in there
and I wonder if such is normally fitted, and has mine been lost?
Can somebody with one of these little marvels comment on this?
Anyway, after reading about this camera model for so long, it is great to have
one to use, and test. Could be a very handy carry-everywhere snap-shot
camera.
Brian
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