The Olympus mju II, sold as the Stylus Epic in some markets, is the small, clever compact that taught a generation how good a pocket camera can be. Released in 1997, it fits a genuinely sharp 35mm f/2.8 lens into a rounded, splash-resistant clamshell that slips into any pocket.
Build and handling
The body is tiny and light, with a sliding cover that protects the lens and turns the camera on. It is weatherproof enough to shrug off rain, which is rare in a compact. There are almost no controls to fuss with: point, half-press to focus and meter, and shoot.
Lens and image quality
The 35mm f/2.8 lens is the reason people love this camera. It is bright for a compact, sharp in the centre and pleasing across the frame, and the f/2.8 aperture helps in dim light where slower compacts struggle. Colours and contrast are clean and modern.
Focus and exposure
Autofocus is quick and quiet, and exposure is fully automatic. The one thing to learn is the flash: by default it fires in low light, so you press the flash button to switch to off or to fill modes for each frame. Spot metering is available for tricky backlight.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths: truly pocketable, weather resistant, a fast sharp lens, and dead simple to use. Weaknesses: the flash resets to auto every time you open the cover, there is no manual control over aperture or shutter, and the light plastic body feels less premium than a metal compact.
Buying used
Check the lens and viewfinder for haze, confirm autofocus and film advance work, and make sure the flash and its mode button respond. These are simple, reliable cameras, and a clean one is the perfect grab-and-go. Every Olympus mju II we sell is cleaned, tested and available at Boston Camera.
