Olympus Stylus Zoom 140

[lorirfrommontana]

I have been using my all manual slr cameras for the last year. I love them but wanted something to use for quick snaps at programs and such. I made a decision to use all film this year. I just got a Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 for 12.50 with shipping. Is there anything I need to watch for with this camera? I will be shooting color film (usually I use 400 or 800 iso). It will be fun to have an auto flash/focus camera to catch those family/kid moments that I was missing because I was messing with my camera! Of course I will still be working on my black and white work and any artistic work and portraits with the slr. I do need to learn to make quick decisions with the slr but just don't want to miss any more important things. I just wanted some thing light and easy to throw in my bag. Excited to get this! I need to pick up a battery before it gets here though!

 

[removed-user-1]

I used to have the Stylus Epic (35mm f/2.8) which I bought for travel, and I also was given a Stylus Zoom (35-70mm); my wife Monique still uses a Stylus Zoom 120 (38-120mm) alongside her Canon Rebel K2. These are great little cameras! I couldn't tell you what to look out for; I never had problems with any of these three and when I worked at a camera store I sold quite a few Olympus Stylus cameras without any complaints afterward. I've been on the lookout for a Stylus Zoom 100, which had a 28-100mm lens, but this seems to be a fairly rare model.

 

[lorirfrommontana]

Good news! I've never had an Olympus. I think it will be nice to have for the inside things I have to shoot for my youngest. She shows hogs and rabbits. I did get some nice shots of the rabbit shows with my FM2 but the hog shows are too fast (and too dark) to get any nice shots of. I liked the weather proof part of it. Hope it is here on my 4 days off next week.

 

[MattKing]

Lori:

Here is the link for the manual for your camera:

http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/Sty_Z140.pdf

I have a similar camera that sits in a padded case in my car - it takes excellent pictures.

A couple of comments and suggestions:

The sliding door that covers the lens and turns the camera on and off is both a strength and a weakness. It is a strength, because it provides good protection and a very intuitive on/off procedure, but it can wear, and if it does, you might find yourself inadvertently turning the camera off when you don't want to.

The spot and focus modes are excellent, and they provide a lot of control, but if you like to use and control them, you have to turn them on every time you turn the camera on - you cannot leave them on by default.

The extensive zoom range is great, but you need to remember that 140mm is quite long, and blur due to camera movement is a problem if you don't take care to keep the camera still and/or make sure that the shutter speed is high.

As for the batteries, they are a size that was commonly used by a lot of these types of cameras, and are used by other things too, so they shouldn't be too hard to find. I'd due some internet searching if I were you - they are a lot less expensive when you buy them from internet battery stores compared to camera or drug stores.

Have fun!

Matt

 

[Jeff L]

I have an Olympus Stylus Wide with the 28-80 zoom that I bought 10 years ago. It has been everywhere and has just been hammered. Great cameras and good image quality. I bought a spare of the 28-100 version off the Olympus eBay auction site just incase. Good thing as I can't find them any more.

 

[Rick A]

I have a SuperZoom 3000, 38-110 range, that has an issue with loading. If anyone wants it, (US only) Pm me and I'll send it to you, I'll even pay postage. If you can get working, great, if not, you have parts to play with.

Rick

 

[lorirfrommontana]

Got my camera! I love it! I picked up some fuji 800 iso film. I can't wait to get out and use it! My husband looked at it and said. Is that one for me? He used to be interested in photography. Not darkroom work, but taking pictures. Most of our family shots before I decided we were going d*****l in 2001 were taken by Ed. I gave away our canon sure shot that he used. I tend to go head strong into whatever I do! So, I'm getting another for him. He said, "I just want a camera that I can use to shoot interesting shots". Cool! I should have realized that I took that away from him. He's used to my crazy! We've been married for 24 years so I guess it works! I am glad that I don't have to pay the $200 we paid for the cannon for the olympus. Thanks for your experience. I may get the shorter zoom for him. It just depends on what I can find.

 

[wblynch]

I have a couple of the Olympus Stylus compacts. With the Stylus Epic Zooms I found that the flash is overpowering at less than 6 or 8 feet. It will wash out your subject's faces. Better to back up a bit and zoom in than get too close.

Other than that, they are great.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Shutter lag is the major problem you are going to run into with taking pictures of small kids. And pay attention to flash distance limits, especially when zoomed out to 140mm where the lens is f8 or so when wide-open.

Oly P&S's suffer from weak battery doors, you might want to tape it shut with a bit of electrical tape so that it doesn't fly open and fly to pieces if (when) the camera gets dropped. And don't be surprised if it stops working and you have to get another one - the answer to the question "How did they get so much camera in such a small package?" is that they had to shave a lot of corners. But at $12.50 each you can almost treat them as semi-disposable.

 

[Pumal]

I use an Olympus Stylus Epic. Great little camera.

 

[elekm]

I don't know this model. I bought my wife an Olympus P&S back in the 1990s. It had a great lens, but the viewfinder was one of the worst that I've ever seen: Incredibly tiny and always difficult to see through.

I had only mild misgivings when it was stolen in China.

 

[flatulent1]

I just picked up a pair of Oly Stylus, original model. Haven't used them yet, but they seem like great little cams. Now to find some fast film...

 

[Chris Nielsen]

I've also noticed my Olys fall to bits / stop working. I think I've trashed five or six so far. It seems to me that the ones that have signs of external damage either don't work so well or simply stop working. I try to get the ones that look pristine, those are more likely to work better.

I've had problems with: light meter failing, lens motor noisy, viewfinder blurry, object blocking part of random images, panorama switch falling off, AF failing. That's so far. I have a couple at the moment that seem OK (including the zoom 140 with the blurry viewfinder) but unfortunately the last three Epics I've had have all died on me and I don't have one currently. Just received a mju III 120 that seems fairly nice except for a sticky lens door - anyone know how to clean the tracks out?

I tried other brands - I have a Pentax 35-70 water resistant, but it's far too bulky for such a limited zoom range. Nice photos though. Also tried a Nikon One Touch Zoom and the photos I got back were simply horrid. Guess I might try another one of those and see if the others are better