Page 1 of 1

Stylus Epic

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 6:54 pm
by minoly
Browsing around the used cameras offered online by National Camera, a respected local store, I noticed an Olympus Stylus Epic Dlx in Near Mint condition at a price of $299.99. That got my attention. National has been a successful business for a long time so maybe they'll get pretty close to what they're asking.

Since I'm trying out P&S cameras these days, I thought I'd add some Epic photos to the ones that already appeared in the thread on the original Stylus started by Phil McFarland. I bought an Epic new around 2004 to use on a trip. As often happens, afterwards I found another one for a few dollars at Goodwill with a defective battery compartment latch --that was easily fixed with some electrical tape--so I have two. One winter when we were watching a friend's dog, I took this one along to pass the time during the dog's walk. The results really surprise me now when I look at them; the camera handled difficult conditions and quick shooting very well. Here are a couple of examples.
Dingo-Bench-Snow-WEB.jpg
Dunning-Field-with-1247.jpg



Here are a couple photos of colorful scenes in winter (February) light.
Mural at Sherburne-Snelling WEB.jpg
Mural at Sherburne-Snelling WEB.jpg (214.7 KiB) Viewed 16913 times
Mural Detail Hamline-Thomas WEB.jpg



Discussions of the best P&S cameras are almost always positive about the Olympus Stylus cameras: good picture quality, ease of use, and reliability. There are a few minor negatives that I can mention: they're really small so sometimes I have trouble figuring out how to hold the Epic; there's also kind of an aftershock of noise when the exposure is made and I wonder if I've moved the camera before the shutter has closed (it hasn't been a problem so far); for B&W I need to keep experimenting-- I find the look of B&W from the Epic to be a little severe so I like the Minolta HiMatic AF2 better for that.

The Epic seems still to show up at thrift stores, though the number of P&S I see is smaller than it used to be. It's pretty likely that you can still get a working example at a good price.

(Photos were commercially developed and scanned. The two murals were photographed with Fuji 200. Details on the winter snow photos are lost.)

Bill Delehanty

Re: Stylus Epic

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 8:14 pm
by melek
Bill, I really like those shots. I'm glad to hear that you took them in February and not ini last May.

Do both of your Epics make that noise?

Re: Stylus Epic

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:33 pm
by Julio1fer
The fixed lens series of the Oly P&S has an excellent reputation. I have a later zoom lens version, which is not that great but useful anyway.

Re: Stylus Epic

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:43 pm
by PFMcFarland
I think the first Epic I got was defective, as there were a lot of bad exposures on the roll. Yours are definitely good, Bill.

My latest Epic is the Limited, with a deep Merlot colored body, panorama switch, date back, all weather sealing, and gold accents (lettering, buttons, face ring on lens). I've yet to run some film through it though.

PF

Re: Stylus Epic

Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:50 am
by minoly
Mike, I'm sorry that I didn't answer your question till now.

"Do both of your Epics make that noise?"

I tried both of my Epics. It happened that neither had film in it: not the same noise as when loaded. I suppose this means that the noise comes from advancing the film.

Bill Delehanty