mju

I found a half dozen of the Olympus Infinity Stylus (mju) camera over the years at Albuquerque thrift stores, with prices ranging from $2 to $10.  A short time into the revival of interest in film photography I started seeing them being sold on ebay for as much as $300.  Lately, they seem to be obtainable for around $100.  I suppose the demand is driven by the same factors that made the camera very popular when it appeared in 1990.  Focusing, exposure and film advance are all automatic.  It is small enough to slip easily into a pocket, and requires only that you flip open the camera, aim and press the button to get your shot.

The fully automated camera thus fulfills most needs for most people, though it would be useful to have a little more manual control occasionally.  For instance, many modern films — both b&w and color — seem to do best when given an extra stop of exposure.  For these shots made last week in Old Town with the mju I added just a little extra time to the development to compensate for slight under-exposure.

The corner of Church and San Felipe

An Old Town cat with boundless self-confidence

A happy duck at Tingley Ponds

Historic Albuquerque

 I was at my usual place in front of the computer soon after sunrise when I noticed the nice light that illuminates our street this time of year.  I threw on some clothes and went out on the sidewalk with my No.1A Pocket Kodak and a tripod.  I made a couple shots on a roll of Fomapan 400 of the house across the street and a couple of our place as well.

The two story Henry Mann house was built in 1905.  When we first came to the neighborhood about fifteen years ago, the house was surrounded by about an acre of garden space.  About half of that area is now occupied by three concrete block houses that don't have nearly the character of their old neighbor.

Our little house on the opposite corner was originally a four-room bungalow with a screen porch in front.  It was built about one hundred years ago.  Sometime along the way the porch was incorporated to enlarge the living room, and another flat-roofed section was added to the back to provide a separate kitchen and another small bedroom.

Color for the Pen-FT

 I bought ten rolls of cheap Kodak color with the intent of shooting them mostly in my Olympus Pen-FT, five Kodak Gold 200 and five Ultramax 400.  Of these pictures on the Gold 200, the first four were shot at the zoo with the Olympus E. Zuiko 3.5/100mm.  The rest were from the Olympus F.Zuiko 1.8/38mm.

 

 

Coming off the scanner the colors looked a little muddy.  It may be that I let the Cinestill C-41 developer age a bit too much since I last used it.  I'll try an extra stop of exposure on the next roll to see it that gets better results.