This is Part 6 of a recurring series on basic point and shoot consumer cameras, the details of which can be found here.
If a point and shoot and an SLR had a baby, it would be a "bridge" camera. These viewfinder based cameras hit the market in the early 1990's marketed as a more full featured alternative to a point and shoot but designed with a more novice-friendly interface than an SLR. Ricoh, Chinon, Canon, and Olympus were some of the primary manufacturers of this genre of camera. I knew when I started this series that I'd love to snap one of these up to try out if the price was right. I had all but given up on finding one when this one showed up in a nearby thrift shop. Even after getting home and finding the camera working, it was particularly fiddly about loading film, but finally acquiesced and let me run a roll of some Ferrania film through it.
The look of the Olympus Infinity Super Zoom tries to be intimidating, but tends to come off as a bit awkward to say the least.
Name: Olympus Infinity SuperZoom 300
Format: 35mm
Type: Autofocus "Bridge" Camera
Year: 1988
Features: Single and Continuous Advance, Multiple Exposures, Macro and Portrait Modes, Infinity Focus Mode, Exposure compensation (-1.5 to +1.5 in half steps), Spot metering, Servo Focusing for moving subjects, self-timer, forced fill flash and force flash off.
Lens: 38-105mm f/4.0-5.6, 12 elements in 11 groups
Battery: 2 x CR-123 cells.
Manual: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_infinity_superzoom_300/olympus_infinity_superzoom_300.htm
Battery: 2 x CR-123 cells.
Manual: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_infinity_superzoom_300/olympus_infinity_superzoom_300.htm
