Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 170 QD Date 35mm Camera

The advanced combination autofocus system has a focus range from 2.6 feet to infinity, and automatically switches between active and passive modes to give you the clearest image possible. With the focus lock feature, the camera will even remember your current focus setting for a few seconds so you can reframe your shot. Besides having a completely automatic focus system, the Epic Zoom 170 features autoexposure, as well as auto film loading and rewinding, making it extremely easy and convenient to use.

An intelligent, variable-power built-in flash provides exclusive auto color-balancing and red-eye reduction. In addition, you can set the flash to auto, off, fill-in, or night scene modes to better suit your shooting conditions. If you are shooting when the lens is in wide-angle format, and using ISO 100 color negative film, you get a flash range from 2.6 to 16.4 feet; in telephoto format, the range is 2.6 to 5.9 feet. With ISO 400 color negative film, you get a flash range from 2.6 to 32.8 feet in wide-angle and 2.6 to 11.8 feet in telephoto.

The Epic Zoom 170 QD comes with a date-imprinting option. You can chose from: no data, year-month-day, month-day-year, day-month-year, and day-hour-minute. This guarantees that you will never again forget when you shot each roll of film. It even has an automatic calendar system through the year 2035.

This camera boasts the same lightweight, ultracompact clamshell design as the rest of the sporty Stylus line-up. The sliding cover provides all-weather durability against rain, snow, or water splashed from any direction. Although it isn't waterproof, it gives you worry-free use while skiing, at the beach, or in most foul weather conditions. The real-image zoom viewfinder lets you see exactly how your shot is framed before you take the picture, while the diopter correction adjusts to your individual vision requirements.

...I did want to mention a couple of things that you should be aware of when you buy a camera with this extreme a zoom lens.

Several makers have recently come out with point and shoot cameras with 5X zoom lenses. I recently saw one from Pentax being sold at a major chain. The first problem with these cameras is that it is very difficult to make a lens that is very sharp and at all focal lengths. With this extreme a telephoto lens it is much more difficult to do this, and you have to sacrifice some sharpness as a result.

It's true that there have been some important advances in camera lens optics that are going into these cameras, such as the use of aspherical, plastic lenses. The new Nikon 125i and the Minolta 125mm Freedom Zoom incorporate these lenses, for example, and they are excellent cameras. If you decide not to buy this one, I would highly recommend either of these, and the Minolta is available also...

However, these cameras don't exceed 3X. My own preference is to stick with point and shoots that don't exceed 2.5X or 3X. This way you will probably get a camera that is pretty sharp at all focal lengths. I don't know if this particular camera has aspherical, plastic components, but if it did, it would be another factor in its favor.

The second issue you should be aware of is that you won't get a very fast F-ratio at the low end with this extreme a telephoto capability. Often the F-ratios at the low end are only 3.4 or 4.2 or so, so they're not very fast. If you do buy one of these cameras you should probably use ASA400 film most of the time, unless you're pretty sure you won't need anything that fast.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that telephoto lenses this long are prone to more mechanical wear. For lightness, these cameras use plastic gears that do wear more quickly over time. I've seen long telephoto lenses on point and shoots that start to droop slightly with age, so that the telescoping sections don't precisely line up anymore. If you stick to a 3X or less lens, you are unlikely to have these problems.

If you're seriously considering this camera, you should test it out and try running a few rolls of film through it and see how it performs. The photo shop where I bought my Fuji Tiara had a 30-day return policy. Try taking photos at different magnifications and compare them. You will probably notice that the photos in the middle of the lens's telephoto range are the sharpest, but the others might be perfectly acceptable. Try it out and see. It may be just fine for you, and in that case, you will get a camera with an amazing telephoto range that can replace a whole bagful of equipment for a typical system camera with interchangeable lenses, and which will weigh only a fraction of that and take up only a fraction of the space, not to mention the cost savings.


Far Exceeds My Expectations   May 7, 2001
176 out of 178 found this review helpful

Bought this camera to replace one I had actually worn out! I run a lot of film through a camera in a year. This point and shoot camera gave me sharp pictures with good color on 400ASA film, indoors with flash. The flash was effective to 17 feet away. I put 200 ASA film in and shot pictures both indoors and out. Results were more than satisfactory. I plan to take this camera to Italy with me instead of my SLR. The zoom is smooth, and the image in the viewfinder is very close to actual picture. I love it! Worth every penny!


Olympus Zoom 170   July 16, 2001
Sandra Schmidt (Highlands Ranch, Co United States)
85 out of 89 found this review helpful

I have owned quite a few cameras in my life, and feel this is one of the best I have come across. The zoom is excellent, and so far, only two rolls of film used, I have had zero failures. The buttons are a little bit small, and I just need to get used to that, the zoom is easy to use. The feel of the camera is good, despite its small size, it fits well in the hand. The point and shoot era is here, and all the years of my using a Nikon 35mm slr seem to be over. This is just too simple and easy. To go back to the changing lenses, carrying all the baggage, etc hardly seems worth the effort if the end result is as good or better.


Long zoom lens produces blurry pictures   February 14, 2002
42 out of 44 found this review helpful

I bought this camera mainly because I thought the 170mm zoom lens would prevent me from turning out as a dot lost in the crowd in my college graduation photos. Well, I'm not a dot, but I'm one huge blur. To fully take advantage of this long zoom lens, you must have extremely steady hands or a tripod. It's not a problem when the lens isn't zoomed out all the way, but then I might as well own a cheaper camera with a shorter zoom. I will probably try to sell this camera and downgrade to an Olympus with a 140mm or 110 mm zoom lens.


Great camera - my 2nd Stylus   December 4, 2002
32 out of 32 found this review helpful

Love it! I had my first Olympus Stylus for YEARS. After dropping my first camera way too many times (over many many years), I finally had to replace it. I was sticking with the Olympus Stylus. Like the first one, this camera also takes great pictures - especially close up people-pictures. I always use 200 film and get great results every time. Call me lucky. I don't need all this zoom power though and find I don't use it. Probably a little too much zoom for a hand-held camera, but the photos I take with this camera are very nice.