Olympus MJU ii For Sale

In terms of reviewing the Olympus mju-ii, it feels like a mountain to climb. Not because of its feature set or how difficult it is to operate. In actuality, it is a very simple camera with limited functions. But more for the fact that it has such a large fan base, despite a few inherent flaws. Many believe the Olympus mju-ii to be the ultimate 35mm compact "point and shoot" camera! I'll share my opinions on that point of view... And hopefully explain why people like this cheap plasticky tiny camera so much.

I can't tell you how many times I've read forum discussions or observed exchanges on Twitter when someone has inquired, "I'm looking for a 35mm small camera..." "Olympus mju-ii" had been the obvious answer. Many people who want to dabble in 35mmc photography appear to have similar priorities:

Small/compact/lightweight/easy to carry -The Olympus mju-ii is one of, if not the, smallest and lightest cameras available!

It is inexpensive, costing between £20 and £50.

Excellent lens - There is no doubt that the mju-ii has an excellent lens! It's 35mm, which is probably most people's first pick when shopping for a fixed lens compact... and it has a maximum aperture of f2.8; aside from a few pricey or considerably larger cameras, that's as fast as it gets. It's as crisp as anyone could want and can focus down to 35cm.

AE/AF - Both are fairly capable in my experience! (At least for most purposes; more on that later.)

It's simple to use, with three buttons and a sliding lens door... It's fairly self-explanatory, especially when compared to almost any other camera. I believe my iPhone has better photographic features than a mju-ii!

Easy to find - There are over 3.5 million of these things floating around people's drawers, charity shops, and eBay, making them relatively easy to find. Just be quick because Troy appears to be buying them at a rapid pace.

It meets the above criteria arguably better than any other 35mm p&s camera, which makes it difficult to recommend! If I were asked, I would recommend it!

I've been down this road before! I decided a few years back that I wanted a small film camera because I was tired of digital compacts and how bad they were at the time! A little web research and reading led me to enough folks claiming the same thing as stated above. A little more research reveals that it has up to 3200iso dx readings, a 1-17ev meter, and is weatherproof!!

roofs

And there's even more to it if we level the playing field a little! The mju-ii is best categorized as a point and shoot (P&S) camera... To be little awkward, I would distinguish it from the Ricoh GR1, Fuji Klasse, Contax T's, and others. I prefer to call them "Advanced 35mm Compacts," because "point and shoot" just doesn't do them credit. Put the mju-ii up against them in terms of features, and it falls short! The expense of the cameras alone puts them in a different league. With those out of the picture, we're left with a plethora of 35mm compact point-and-shoot fixed, fast(ish) lensed AF/AE cameras to compare.

So, how does it stack up? The viewfinder, on the other hand, is relatively small and does not provide complete coverage. This is not a problem for me. I frame with the viewfinder, and if I get more than I expected, I can crop. I frequently trim to straighten or fix perspective, so a little extra frame is OK in my book... Just keep in mind that one of the Olympus mju-drawbacks ii's is a VF that's similar to peering through a keyhole. (It should be noted, however, that it is not any smaller than the Yashica T5's vf, which is a much larger camera.) There is also no information in the viewfinder aside from the green focus confirmation light and an orange light indicating that the flash will be employed. If focus cannot be found, the green light flashes... Except for some parallax lines, that's all there is to it!

It can be difficult to concentrate at times! You aim with a type of cross hair... Precise concentrating requires some practice as well as some luck. When the green led in the vf illuminates, the Olympus mju-ii has been focussed and locked; reframe if necessary, and shoot. Most AF cameras move the lens at the point of focusing, i.e. before the entire press of the button. The technique for focusing the lens on the mju-ii is independent from the act of acquiring distance information. This means that if you half-click the button and the green light glows, don't anticipate the lens to move; it will focus after a full press. This is a nice feature because it means the Olympus mju-ii is silent until you push the shutter button. It's a setting I've enabled on my Klasse W.

locks
I tried to focus on the lock and recomposed - it just missed...

Focusing at a greater distance is locked.

On the subject of focusing, I should mention that, while precision focusing in the above example may be a little more difficult than I'd like, I normally find focusing to be extremely good, with few mistakes in "regular," "snapshot" point and shoot scenarios.

Regular readers may have noticed that I frequently refer to cameras as 'eager' or otherwise in relation to the shutter release. My Yashica T5 is the pinnacle in eagerness, but the oly isn't far behind; it certainly feels satisfyingly sensitive. Despite the fact that the lens moves to focus after the occurrence, there is little discernible lag.

So, what about that bare-bones feature set? This is arguably the most common source of concern for most people when it comes to the Olympus mju-ii! When the camera is turned off, the minimum features are reset. Close the front hatch, and whatever settings you were dealing with are gone. This is especially aggravating and is likely to cause problems with the flash mode. When you first turn on the Olympus mju-ii, it is set to auto. Like many others, I prefer to shoot with the flash turned off and only use it when absolutely essential. Having to remember to turn it off every time you turn on the Olympus mju-ii might become tedious. Keep in mind that this is not rare... Most 35mm compacts from this era operate in the same way as the Olympus mju-ii. However, because cameras such as the Ricoh GR1 retain functions, it is seen as a fundamental drawback of the Oly... And I sort of concur! It's such a wonderful camera in every other way that a flash switch (a la GR1) would likely elevate it above any of its contemporaries. However, there are other tiny cameras that handle flash automation or otherwise perform better. The Ricoh FF90 comes to mind; the little button on top that you can hold down to prevent the flash from activating strikes me as a very brilliant concept!

I try to discover a solution, but it was not totally successful!

In terms of flash, the Olympus mju-ii makes an attempt to redeem itself. It boasts excellent fill flash, red eye suppression, slow sync ("night scene"), and even red eye and slow sync combined. Of course, flash off.

Tom is on his way to Leeds.
On this photo, a little fill created a beautifully balanced exposure.

Other features include a spot meter, which is designed specifically for (pardon the pun) backlit photography when the point of focus and the region you wish to meter from are the same. There's the standard self-timer and a setting for usage with a remote... which I don't have. There's even a "date" version... That's all there is to it for features!

So, how does it work? Well, after you get used to turning off the flash (if that is your preference), it's pretty excellent! The front hatch is easy to open with one hand, and while the viewfinder blacks out rapidly when not seen directly through, it still feels like it's in the appropriate spot, so I'll excuse it! Because of the form, I've never felt like my finger was getting too close to the lens when holding it. Despite this, I find it a little awkward to handle. I'm not sure if it's the size, the little strange form, the plastic build, or just because I'm used to my Ricoh GR1, but it's not quite ergonomically perfect. But because it's so little, you don't think twice about taking it with you! Another noticeable feature of the Olympus mju-ii is its noise level; it is unquestionably one of the quieter cameras when winding or focussing! It does produce a noise, but it's considerably less noticeable than most other AF, motorised compact 35mm cameras I've used (I'm told the Konica Hexar AF is the quietest, but I haven't tried one yet).

As you may have guessed, I like the Olympus mju-ii, but it's not a perfect fit for me. For me, the Yashica T5 is still a better fit, but that could be due to my emotional tie to it for getting me back into compact camera shooting. Unless you're lucky like me, the Yashica is a costly camera in comparison. It's also larger, and the "advantages" it provides in terms of image quality are clearly subjective.

So, as I previously stated, owing of its affordable price point, ease of availability, features, and size, it's difficult not to recommend! There is no other camera that checks all of those p&s criteria. Yes, it may be a better camera with a flash switch (or flash mode memory) and a somewhat nicer built metal body... Why not include aperture priority on this hypothetical camera as well? But then it would be far more expensive, competing with cameras like the Ricoh GR1...
It manages to give just the correct combination of features and pricing by being what it is and nothing else!

What I'm trying to say is that, yeah, the Olympus mju-ii isn't the perfect camera... But no one said it was... It is, however, most certainly the ultimate point-and-shoot camera. And, with all due respect to Olympus, it is another of their models that every photographer should at the very least put one roll of film through!