Tell me, do you like the Oly Stylus Epic?

[sf]

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.

[sf]

Would the Canon Sure Shot AF-10 be a decent choice? I like the 35mm lens on the Oly rather than the 26mm on the Canon.

[beethamd]

Yashica T4 - has Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. Wonderful. Is the Stylus Epic the same as the Mju II?

[sf]

I don't know.

I like that the Epic is 100% automatic. I really want something I can whip out and shoot in under 2 seconds. Like when I'm walking in a crowd and someone walks by and I only have 2 seconds to catch them before they disappear into the crowd. Or whatever.

The XA has aperture priority, which is nice, but if I am going to choose apertures and focus, I might as well take out the Bronica.


I guess, today I was out at the immigration rallies in Seattle, and there were a few instances where I saw something happening and before i could get a shot off, it had dispersed. An Epic or something like it, would be useful in certain situations.

No digital. No way.

[pvdhaar]

The Oly stylus epic is a reasonable choice, if you can get it for $79 indeed. It's not fast in focussing, shutter lag is sometimes about a second. The lens is good though. The form factor is great.

I did however not get much mileage out of them. I've had two (called mju II in Europe) when they still were in the order of $150. They wore out after a dozen rolls, I soon discovered that a Leica Minilux made more sense economically speaking. It's even mentioned in the manual that they're not intended for intense use. I consider them disposables with some reload capability.. But at less than $80, you can give them a go I guess..

My current mini P&S is a Minox 35. Same size as the Epic, but no autofocus, no noise, no flash, no lag, no wearing out after 12 rolls of film.

[RML]

I have two or three. I find them extremely useful and the image quility is up-to-par. I had no qualms, or regrets, to bring it as my main camera to a trip to India some years ago.

[sf]

OK, well, shutterlag is not acceptable for the purpose of this camera is to pull it out and fire in an instant.

So, if I am not looking at paying out $300 for a minilux, what is my choice?

I'll look on the auction site for some ideas in the P&S section. And here.

[sf]

yeah . . .I'd like some certainty on the shutter lag thing. Is it really that bad? I mean, is it slow like the old digital P&S cameras where you push the shutter release and wait about a second for the shutter to open?

[Doug]

Here's my little non-zoom p&s; very small and easy to carry in its belt pouch... Had to look hard to find a non-zoom! It's a 26mm f/2.8, but it's APS format so the 35 equivalent angle of view is about 35mm. I've been shooting Kodak chromogenic B&W in it... APS is a disadvantage as a dying format, but it is convenient and the camera was cheap.

Second shot... strange to think of cactus growing in Washington state, but here they are in the river canyon along the road.

[sf]

I'm leaning toward the Epic. . . .but how about the XA. Is it really easy to focus quickly?

I want the camera to be :

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

I think it will end up being between the Epic and the XA - I assume the Epic is faster, and thus my better choice.

Unless someone has used the Canon Sureshot AF-10.

[pvdhaar]

One thing to keep in mind when comparing shutter lag, is that some cameras allow pre-focus. This means you can press the shutter half way, the lens moves to the right position. You wait for the right moment, and then press the shutter release all the way, which immediately fires the shutter.

The Epic doesn't do this. even if you first press the shutter halfway, it may measure focus, but the lens doesn't move yet. The excruciating delay comes even after the final push of the shutter button.

P&S cameras which I've experienced that do have pre-focus:
Minilux, HexarAF

[sf]

argh. . .

That is going to be trouble too. . . but then again, this is less of a composition camera than a capture camera. . .so maybe that might not be a problem.

[simonankor]

Have you considered an XA2? It's only f/3.5 but I've never had a problem with that... fast zone focus, no flash, and it's ready to fire instantly as soon as you slide open the cover. No lag, no delays!

Not a bad lens either

[sf]

The only thing about the XA series is that they are manual focus, which might be hard to deal with for the purpose. . . but, what does zone focus mean? Does that mean the camera might be really easy to pre-focus?

[simonankor]

The XA2 has three zones, one for close, one for middle distance and one for distant.

It's extremely fast and easy. Mine lives in a pocket of my courier bag and I use it *while riding in traffic* so it's very very easy to do.

http://www.diaxa.com/xa/xa2.htm

[markinlondon]

The XA2 is zone focused and thus practically lag-free. The lens is (I think) a Tessar type and very sharp. It's ready to shoot at aveage subject distances the moment you open the cover. The XA has f5.6 and (I think) 3m on the focus scale marked in orange. This was designed as its snapshot mode. Leave the aperture and focus settings and shoot away giving you effectively an XA2 with the option of manually touching up the focus or exposure. The XA has a maximum ISO of 800, The XA2/XA3 go up to 1600. The site below has lots more info.

http://www.diaxa.com/xa/xastart.htm

Mark

[markinlondon]

Oh BTW, I prefer the XA2, I find the maual operation of the XA a bit fiddly in such a small camera.

Sorry, hadn't spotted Simon had already linked to Diaxa.

Mark

[kuvvy]

I have the Epic and I think for the money it's worth at least giving it a try to see if you like it. If not you can re-sell it.
In my opinion the Epic is about as good as you get at the price. I don't find a problem with shutter lag. The lens is good. The shape makes it pocketable. The shape along with the shiny plastic body can feel a little slippy in the hands. Like shooting with a bar of soap!
However I do recommend it.

Having said that the camera I reach for the most and the one I carry most days is my Pentax Espio Mini (UC-1 in US). This has an excellent lens and I personally think it beats the Epic though I haven't done a comparison test. About the same size as the Epic with a sliding front cover but more boxy in shape. It has a wider lens at 32mm though it is only f3.5 but I don't find this a problem in real life shooting situations. Takes film upto 3200, has all the flash modes, a panoramic option, moving viewfinder framelines, built-in databack, optional remote control, and also has a Bulb option for long exposures upto 5 minutes.
Again, as with the Epic you have to press a tiny button to cancel the flash but it's easier with the Espio as the button sit on the top of the camera and are slightly raised. I can slide open the front and press the button before raising the camera t o my eye.

I choose this camera when photographing rock bands at my local club and for night shooting as I find it copes superbly with the low light.

There are some pix in my Espio album in the gallery if you want to see some results.

Paul

[sf]

On the Epic models that print date, is it possible to turn off the date imprinting? I ask because it is possible to buy the date print models for much less than the non-date models.

[kuvvy]

You can turn off the print data with the Espio and I imagine it's the same with the Epic.

Found a couple of pix of my espio which I thought you might like to see.

Paul

[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.

[sf]

Originally Posted by Meleica

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]

Originally Posted by shutterflower

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,