Olympus Stylus Epic DLX with Expired 35mm Film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

One of the many cameras sitting on my shelf is the Olympus Stylus Epic DLX and if my memory worked at all, then I might be able to recall the general time frame that I obtained the camera.  But since my mind, and knees, are in some type of competition to see which can fail the quickest, then I will just have to settle with I now own this camera and wanted to take photos with it.

I loaded this with what I thought was another roll of the expired Kroger 200 speed 35mm film that I had.  Turns out, it was some film bought at Target.  I have no idea who bought the film, from where, or when it expired.  Given that it was in the same batch as the Kroger expired film, I am going to guess that the expiration was similar, which put it around 2004. The most shocking aspect of this camera is that when I went to look it up online, I found it selling anywhere from $300 – $900.  Which makes me want to sell this right away as I don’t think I will ever shoot with it again.

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Shooting

Much like the Minolta Freedom Explorer that I have, this is a fun little point-and-shoot that is easy to navigate without a ton of options. Unlike my Minolta, once you slide the front back to expose the lens, there is no zoom option.

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

The back of the camera offers a few options, such as mode, setting the date, flash, timer, and rewinding the film.  It also shows a switch that claims to let you take panoramic photos, something I have read mixed reviews on.

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

I did not get to test out many of these options and for once, it was not because my fingers were too fat.  Although, the buttons on the back of this camera are not ideal for anyone with hands larger than a toddler.  Maybe it was due to the age of the camera, but the buttons worked half of the time.  I had tried to turn the flash off so many times only to get frustrated and just shoot with it regardless.  The photos still came out crappy with and without the flash so in the end, none of it mattered.  Still, I would have liked to have tried turning the date off as well as the flash.

I kept this camera in the car with me and shot it at random.  I did not make it a point to go to a cool location and take photos.  Another reason why I was underwhelmed with many of the shots.

Developing

I sent this roll off to Photo-60 Studio.  I have only placed two orders with them so far but found them to be one of the quickest when it comes to turning around a roll of 35mm film.  Here is the timeline:

  • Order placed: Friday, July 1st
  • Film delivered: Tuesday, July 5
  • Film developed & scanned: Friday, Jul 8

The average photo scanned was around 6774 x 4492 and sitting around 35MB @ 300DPI.

Results

I am going to include more of the photos than I would probably want to post.  We only reserve the very best for the social media posts anyway, right?

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX

Panoramic Function

I have seen good and bad regarding the “panoramic” function and hopefully based on my use of quotations around the word you already have an idea for how I feel about it.

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

And here is the same photo cropped in Lightroom:

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX point and shoot camera and 3M expired 35mm film from Target

All of the panoramic shots came out like this, which to me, was just the addition of two black bars on top of the photo without any other real modification.  I did not expect much else, especially with a small, zoomless, point and shoot camera with the date on each exposure.

Here are all of the panoramic shots I took on this roll:

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Olympus Stylus Epic DLX panoramic photos on expired film

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really just hated this. All of it. I did not feel like I had any creative in my hands. I didn’t like the results. I don’t want this camera. If you scroll down and look at the “Further Reading” section you can see what happens when you use this camera and don’t shoot expired crappy film in it.  The images are quite good.  Perhaps that might have been my downfall here.  Had I used some decent film and tried to do a little more exploring so that I was looking at more interesting subjects, maybe I would want to keep this camera and use it again.  For now, it is going back on the shelf.

Further Reading

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