In about 1991, perhaps 1992, I wanted a P&S autofocus camera ... So I went to Boots the Chemist in Victoria Road, Surbiton, and bought an Olympus μ[mju:]-1.
I can't remember how I came to that particular model, except of course it looked very cool and stylish and black ... it has a 35mm f/3.5 lens, autofocus, flash and a self-timer ... it is designed à la the XA rangefinder, with a slide-open front.
I can distinctly remember that it cost £108, and that the counter assistant who served me had trouble with the payment, which spoiled it for me a bit ... I suppose it must have been a lot of money to me then and I'd probably agonised a bit about it
Anyhoo, it's been with me ever since, rattling around in boxes and rucsacs and pockets and cars and the backs of drawers. It got sand in it in Peru and it never quite worked properly after that, so I rarely used it since the century turned, and not at all since I bought a digital camera in 2006.
The recent acquisition of the Bessa prompted me to look it out ... it had a roll of Agfa Vista 200 in it and a dead battery; my local Boots wanted about £11 for a new battery, but Amazon obliged for £1.18 ...
New battery, it fired up immediately and told me it had used only 4 shots on the roll, so I took it out with me on a walk round the Common and took some snaps; Bearing in mind the film must have expired about 10 years ago and has never been below room temperature, the results aren't too bad ... in fact, they have a bit of a "Foveon" look ... usual local minilab low-res scans of course, and very slight adjusts to exposure and contrast in LR4
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
I can't remember how I came to that particular model, except of course it looked very cool and stylish and black ... it has a 35mm f/3.5 lens, autofocus, flash and a self-timer ... it is designed à la the XA rangefinder, with a slide-open front.
I can distinctly remember that it cost £108, and that the counter assistant who served me had trouble with the payment, which spoiled it for me a bit ... I suppose it must have been a lot of money to me then and I'd probably agonised a bit about it
Anyhoo, it's been with me ever since, rattling around in boxes and rucsacs and pockets and cars and the backs of drawers. It got sand in it in Peru and it never quite worked properly after that, so I rarely used it since the century turned, and not at all since I bought a digital camera in 2006.
The recent acquisition of the Bessa prompted me to look it out ... it had a roll of Agfa Vista 200 in it and a dead battery; my local Boots wanted about £11 for a new battery, but Amazon obliged for £1.18 ...
New battery, it fired up immediately and told me it had used only 4 shots on the roll, so I took it out with me on a walk round the Common and took some snaps; Bearing in mind the film must have expired about 10 years ago and has never been below room temperature, the results aren't too bad ... in fact, they have a bit of a "Foveon" look ... usual local minilab low-res scans of course, and very slight adjusts to exposure and contrast in LR4
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr
Four snaps by _loupe, on Flickr