Olympus Stylus 140 - The tiny zoom camera
Written: Mar 19 '03 (Updated Mar 21 '03)
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Pros: Small size , good zoom , good performance in night
Cons: Needs a little "know-how" to get used to
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a zoom camera , this is the one that can be suitable for your wallet and, in size - it can fit in your pocket.
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| e_commentor's Full Review: Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 QD 35mm Film Camera |
The Olympus cameras are known for its good optics. One of my friends purchased this camera. The best part of this camera is an outstanding zoom of 38 mm to 140 mm packed in an incredibly small size.
Size and Shape
The camera packs the zoom in an astoundingly small package. The lens do not protrude while you are not using the camera. When the front switch cum the cover is switched on , the lens comes out as in other zoom cameras. By this design the size of the camera is kept small, when not in use. Also the camera has a clamshell shape. With this shape the edges of the camera have “smooth curve”. This makes the camera easy to carry.
Flash
There are several Flash modes offered by this camera. There is a dedicated button on the top side of the camera for the flash setting . It can be set for auto flash , permanent flash or no flash ,night time and eye reduction. The night time flash is especially good. The background and the foregrounds have come out balance in several shots that were taken with this camera. The maximum exposure time of this camera is 4 sec which is quite good for night time photographs.
Zoom
The 38 mm-140 mm zoom offered by this camera is quite good considering the size of the camera. I believe it is one of the smallest cameras that offer 140 zoom in such a tiny space.
Spot metering Usually cameras set the automatic exposure by taking the average of the whole screen. This may not result into the optimum setting for the spot for which you are taking the picture. This camera sets the exposure on the spot. It does so by setting the exposure depending upon the where the cross hair seen in the viewfinder is placed. This is an excellent feature.
Other Features
Date printing can be set. The camera offers a Panoramic view , although many people will not use it. There is a button on the top of the camera to set it to panoramic view or back to normal view. There is a diopter adjustment for those who wear glasses. They can remove their glass and adjust the diopter which will act as their eyeglass. The self timer is an additional feature though it is offered in most of the cameras of this level.
Product Specifications For those who want to compare it with similiar other cameras
Lens: Olympus lens, 38-140mm, f4-11, 10 elements in 8 groups.
Shutter: Programmed electronic shutter.
Viewfinder: Real-image zoom viewfinder (with autofocus mark, close-up correction marks, autofocus indicator and flash indicator). With dioptic adjuster.
Focusing: Passive type multi autofocus, autofocus auxiliary lamp lights at low-light levels, effective range 14.8ft. (under Olympus test conditions), with focus lock. Focusing
range: Wide-angle - 2ft. ~ infinity, Telephoto - 3ft. ~ infinity.
Exposure control: Programmed automatic exposure control, 3-zone light metering, switchable to spot metering. Auto exposure range: Wide-angle - EV2 (f4, 4 sec.) to EV16 (f12.8, 1/400 sec.), Telephoto - EV5 (f11, 4 sec.) to EV17 (f22.9, 1/250 sec.).
Exposure counter: Progressive type with automatic reset, displayed on LCD panel.
Self-timer: Electronic self-timer, 12-sec. delay.
Remote control (optional): Infrared remote control unit with 3-sec. delay.
Film speed range: Automatic setting with DX-coded film with ISO 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200. For non DX-coded film and film with less than ISO 50, film speed is set to ISO 100.
Film loading: Automatic loading (automatically advances to first frame when camera back is closed).
Film advance: Automatic film winding.
Film rewind: Automatic film rewind (automatic rewind activation at end of film, automatic rewind stop). Rewind possible at any point with mid-roll rewind button.
Flash: Built-in flash. Recycling time approx. 0.5 ~ 5.5 sec. (at normal temperature with new battery).
Flash range: Wide-angle - 2 ~ 21ft., Telephoto - 3 ~ 7.5ft. with ISO 100 color negative film; Wide-angle - 2 ~ 42ft., Telephoto - 3 ~ 15.1ft. with ISO 400 color negative film.
Flash modes: Auto (automatic flash activation in lowlight and backlight), Red-Eye Reducing (otherwise same as in Auto), Flash Off (no flash with slowest shutter speed of 4 sec.), Fill-in (forced activation), Night Scene (for night scenes with slowest shutter speed of 4 sec., other functions operate the same as in Auto.) Red-Eye Reducing Night Scene (otherwise same as in Night Scene).
Battery check: Displayed on LCD panel.
Dimensions: 4.7(W) X 2.6(H) X 1.8(D) in. (excluding protrusions).
Weight: 9oz (without battery).
The Good
The size of the camera is one thing that impressed me. It is possible to carry the camera in your pocket while travelling. This frees your mind from worrying about the possible damage by mishandling. The size is important considering the 38 mm to 140 mm zoom provided by the camera. The film loading is easy. The night time flash is a useful feature. The picture quality is good though I will not put them in excellent category.
The bad
Technically I do not see any fault in the camera for this price range. But the result show the colors a little more towards the green and blue rather than towards red. This makes the photographs slightly tilted towards artificial reality. I did not like the outer appearance and color, though it is something of personal choice. I prefer the shining black.
Performance
While most of the point and shoot camera will perform well in outdoors to give acceptable quality photo , this camera stands out in the quality of the photos taken in nights. I also have used this camera , and , while its outdoor qualities as comparable to other cameras , its evening and night photographs have been better than others. In film roll cameras this stands out to be a good one for non professionals. The users can utilize this camera a better if they know all the features of this camera.
My friend had Olympus Stylus 140 zoom camera on several outings when we went together. At the time I was using my 35 mm Kodak KB10. While he was able to use the zoom feature and take the photographs from his convenient place, I had to move back and forth to take the same photographs with my Kodak camera. While the quality of the KB10 was comparable to the Olympus 140 zoom camera in outdoor shooting, it lacked in quality in evening shootings. On some pre Christmas evening we were shooting at the downtown on a Christmas tree. While the pictures from the Olympus camera was able to clearly show the tiny bulbs and downtown background , Kodak lacked to give same clarity. This shows the advantage of this camera over the 35 mm cameras.
The shutter has to be pressed half way for automatic focus, before you go on for a shot. The night flash setting and the red eye reduction should be used when required. The camera will take care of the quality.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
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Epinions.com ID:
e_commentor
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Member: Vikas Shukla
Location: Attleboro, MA , USA
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 16 members
About Me:
I am a hardware design engineer. I also provide SEO, Social media marketing consultancy.
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