Olympus Mju II Kit

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People say that there’s a bit of drop off in sharpness on the outer edges of the lens but I don’t really see it. The centre is really sharp and clear. So while the Mju II might not have the most longevity, you’ll be hard pressed to find a 35mm point and shoot that does much better in this regard.

The Mju I has a 3.5 lens and the Mju II has a 2.8 lens, but does the Mju II really need to go that wide open? For instance, the Yashica T4 has a 3.5 lens when its predecessor (the T3) had a 2.8 lens, and the T4 is one of the best point-and-shoots ever made. The camera moves the lens after the shutter is depressed, which results in a small (0.25 second) delay. The lens can be pre-focused but does not move into position until the shutter button is fully depressed. This behavior is standard in film point and shoot cameras. If it sounds like I’m dismissing the Olympus Mju II or being a contrarian, I’m not. I like the Mju II quite a bit, actually. It’s a great camera. Splash-proof and tiny, with a great lens, I can easily envision a person for whom the Mju II is the perfect camera. For a very specific photo geek, one who wants a really capable point-and-shoot to carry everywhere, everyday, and who doesn’t want to think about anything except pressing the shutter release button and hoping against hope that the aesthetic of film and their vision through a tiny viewfinder will magically combine to create a wonderful photo, the Mju II could be the perfect camera.

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So with the mju I in 1991 and the mju II in 1997, we have two of the most popular film cameras ever made and two of the best, not to mention all of the other mju versions produced over that time. Camera Build The other flash modes are Auto Flash, Red Eye Reduction, Night Scene, and Night Scene with Red Eye Reduction. The Olympus MJU I is best for travel photography, day-to-day life, nightlife and maybe even street photography. Its small, compact size and ease of use just makes it the ideal day-to-day companion. The automatic exposure tends to favor more wide-open exposure. The lens center is sharp even when wide open, though the corners are soft. There is a fair amount of vignetting, wide open. Red eye can be a problem, with the flash so close to the lens. Red eye reduction is available, but this slows down the shot.

The issue is that the Mju II has no way to remember which setting you last used, so every time you open the camera and turn it on, you have to reset the flash mode. And not only is the viewfinder difficult to use, but it doesn’t even show the entire frame that will be captured in your photo. Once again, this isn’t completely unique to the Mju 2, but the translation from viewfinder to photo feels particularly bad compared to other point and shoots. Flash

Photos Taken by Our Community Members

If you want to find my must-have list of accessories to use for your photography, I’ve created a list of everything I actually use! What Film Should I Use With It? With such a large number of models produced, you used to be able to find the Mju II for a steal – they weren’t particularly expensive cameras when they were released.

When it worked the images could be pretty crisp and SLR levels of sharpness were seen particularly in close to medium ranges. the camera was still good on the few distance shots and with the second faulty one I certainly couldn’t fault exposure. There was a minimal amount of radial distortion (pincushion) and the sharpness was pretty good across frame bar the far corners. This is a nice lens when working well for such a compact. I think people think that there’s a really big difference between a 3.5 lens and a 2.8 lens but really, the Yashica T4 has a 3.5 lens and it’s criminally good. The MJU I has a nice clear 35mm lens, it’s sharp all around, I’ve seen that people say it loses a bit of detail towards the edges but I don’t think this is anything substantial. Just like it says on the tin, this is a 35mm focal length which I find to be pretty much ideal when using a point-and-shoot, not too wide, not too tight. Just wider than the typical human eye focal length (50mm), so you’ll be able to get more in the shot. The mju ii also has an ‘all weather’ which means it’s great in bad weather, which is a big plus but I honestly think the same can be said for the mju i for the most part, I just think they hadn’t thought of it as a unique selling point at the time. (Of course, the mju ii will have better weatherproofing).

Taken on Olympus Mju II and Kodak Pro Image 100. The flash (in fill mode) brightened up the shadows — particularly the dark carpet, flower pots and the shady side of the couch — while keeping the exposure right for the intense outdoor light. Dust and fungus in the lens can be fairly common. I would always say a small amount of dust isn’t a problem but a lot of fungus would be a no-go. To clean it or replace it would be a complete and utter nightmare, maybe even not possible these days. Final Word The camera even feels a bit uncomfortable on your face when holding the viewfinder to your eye. This is even worse if you wear glasses. I should add, on the subject of focusing, that although precision focusing in the case of the above example is maybe a little harder than I’d like, I generally find focusing very good, it rarely misses in “normal”, “snapshot” point and shoot situations.

With over a hundred focus steps it doesn’t quite compare to the MJU II which has over 400, but let’s put it into perspective, the Olympus AF-10 has about 4 focus steps and it’s in a similar price range as the MJU I. Since this review is focused specifically on the Mju II, we’re not going to go into the details of the other models. This vast difference in focus steps makes a difference, but I guess it’s nothing like the difference between 4 and 100. Once you get past 100 it’s kind of like great, of course it’ll make a difference and make focus much easier but it won’t make nearly as much difference as going from a poor AF system (like AF-10 to a good one like the Mju I). However, it’s clear that the Mju II is far superior when it comes to AF. ElementsThe MJU I has a few common issues that it’s worth knowing about. I’d say, on the whole, it’s a really reliable camera for an old point-and-shoot. Not loading film