Olympus Stylus - The Perfect Point & Shoot Film Camera

All photographers whether film or digital have an opinion on their favorite camera in various categories. This is often a highly subjective topic based upon personal preferences and shooting style. For me, the Olympus Infinity Stylus I is my favorite film point & shoot camera.

I've owned several copies and versions of the Olympus Stylus including the Olympus Infinity MJU, the Infinity Stylus in both the version shown above and the "gold" version....oh fancy. Except for my original Canon TX SLR, I've owned a Stylus longer than any other film camera.

There is a massive amount of posts and technical data available online about the camera so I won't bore you by repeating what others have said. For me I like the camera because it's pocketable, easy to shoot (there are almost no setting options except auto point & shoot), DX coding, fast focus, a good flash, and stealthy. Perfect for travel, street photography or simply for film snapshots. I bought my first one over 26 years ago when I lived in Hong Kong (that one died this summer).

I carry it with me whenever I do film work either as my main film camera or as a 2nd or 3rd camera option.

If you are into film photography and have never had an Olympus Infinity Stylus or MJU, do yourself a favor.

Here is a roll of Ultrafine Xtreme 100 that I shot through it during a photowalk in downtown Indianapolis with a friend.

Kodak Portra 400 Side-By-Side with Fujicolor PRO400H

When using COLOR 35mm film in the studio or street photography I primarily use Kodak Portra 400. I sometimes use Kodak Gold or Fujicolor Superia X-tra 400 when I want a more affordable option, but I prefer Portra (both 160 & 400).

I recently used several rolls during a street photography photoshoot in New York City. After I returned several people commented about trying Fujicolor PRO400H. I investigated the film as I had never used it.

Following up I bought 2 rolls of the PRO400H at Roberts Camera and decided to give it a go. However, first a head-to-head comparison with the same camera I used in NYC. I used an Olympus MJU-1 in NYC with the rolls of Portra 400, and it just so happens I have 2 of them. I went out the other day and loaded one MJU-1 with Portra 400 & one with PRO400H.

I shot every scene with both cameras back-to-back. I developed the film at the same time using Unicolor C-41 in the same tank. The film dried side-by-side. Finally, I scanned the negatives on the same scanner, an Epson V800 Photo with the same settings.  I imported the images into Adobe Lightroom and only cropped, removed dust spots and slighting increased contrast on all of the photos equally.

Here are the results side by side

My non-scientific thoughts from 1 roll each on a somewhat overcast afternoon:

• Kodak Portra 400 dries fairly flat but Fujicolor PRO400H curled (corkscrewed) a moderate amount. Since I develop / scan film myself the curling is an issue.

• My observation is Portra 400 is a bit “richer”. Shadows and blacks seem darker. There appears to be a bit more depth on some of the Portra images. Some of the Fujicolor PRO400H images appear a bit “flatter”. I don’t think I would notice this if I wasn’t looking side-by-sides.  
• Portra appears warmer & PRO400H cooler. There is more yellow in the shadows and midtones on Portra & more blue / green on the PRO400H
• Concrete, aluminum & metals appear more accurate with the PRO400H. These textures on the Portra images have a slight yellow hue.
• PRO400H has a bit of blue in the reds and Kodak has yellow.  This was obvious in the photo of the caution cones.

Overall, I prefer the Kodak Portra 400. This is mainly because when using film in studio I’m photographing fashion models and the yellow tones are closer to true skin color.  Also, I tend to like warmer tones overall.  HOWEVER, I think for street photography without a focus on people Fujicolor PRO400H would be better. I think the cooler tones compliment the color pallet in street photography. 

Bottomline, in my opinion both films are nice, however, the curling of the PRO400H is an issue for me & I prefer a warmer image.  Therefore, I prefer Kodak Portra 400. Obviously, your results and tastes may vary.

NYC Street Photography

I'm in NYC attending to some family matters, and guess what?  I have all day Saturday free.  Hmm, what to do? What to do?  I know, street photography.  I came prepared.  I'm primarily going to shoot film, but am bringing digital too.

I was going to take a small kit, but I decided to bring 4 cameras.  Here's what I brought.  One note, I did switch out one camera from the photo at the last minute.  The kit

• Nikon D810 with a Nikon MB-D14 vertical battery grip
• Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 & Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 lenses or the D810
• A bunch of 32GB memory cards
• Olympus MJU-1 point & shoot film camera
• Pentax K1000 film camera (I was originally going to bring my Yashica Electro 35 GSN but wanted an SLR without a light meter (my K1000 meter is dead)
• Yashica 44 TLR
• Luna-Pro light meter (for the K1000)
• 2 rolls of Rera Pan 100 127 film for the Yashica 44
• 9 rolls of various Ilford B&W film including 1 roll of Lomography 400 color film

I know it's a lot.  Most people will bring only one camera / one lens, but I wanted to play with film with an SLR, a point & shoot and a TLR.  I also wanted to bring a workhorse digital camera (that I use in the studio)

I plan to spend about 10 hours just walking through the city.  Once I run out of film, I'll switch to digital....

Here we go!  I'll report back with pictures.

Street Photography - Various Film Cameras

OK, for fun I shoot street photography.  Most of this work is with film cameras.  Here are photos with various film cameras.

Canon A35F - In Los Angeles

Nikon FN - Plainfield, IN

Olympus MJU-1 - Indianapolis, IN

Olympus XA - Paris

Prinz Alternative - Plainfield, IN

Vivitar PZ3090 - Indianapolis

Yashica Mat124G - Cincinnati, OH

It's super fun to shoot street photography with film.  I forces you to slow down and think about your shot.

Olympus MJU - A Sweet Point & Shoot

This little beauty is one of my longest running film point & shoots.  The Olympus MJU was the first in a series of the line.  First produced in 1991.  In NA it was branded as the Stylus.  I got this one while living in Hong Kong, so there is no Stylus branding.  This camera got used for years.  I put it away a few years ago when the digital bug hit.  The camera got put back into service this year when I reactivated my film interest.  This guy was right there ready to go.  All I needed to do was replace the battery.  I used this camera A LOT.

There's nothing to set on this camera.  Just load the film, open the lens cover slide and press the shutter release.  This is a rangefinder camera with the view finder right over the lens.  There is limited / no parallax issue.  The lens is a super sharp Olympus lens at 35mm f/3.5.  Not the fastest lens in the world, but there is an automatic flash that goes off when needed.  Two buttons are available for self timer & for turning on/off the flash.  

The camera is small, a bit chunky but fits perfectly in your hand.  The lens cover slides open very easily with one hand.  Once open the lens pops out about 1/4 of an inch and you are ready to go.  That's it.

I've really enjoyed this camera and will post some photos when the roll currently in it is developed.