I think the Mju II’s 4 element lens is probably the sweet spot, but it shouldn’t make that much difference, not when compared to focus steps. Olympus MJU I Olympus MJU I Autofocus Systems Another important note on the durability of these cameras is that they are considered “all weather” or “splash proof”. The Mju II is weather sealed so that even if you end up getting it a bit wet, the moisture won’t make its way inside of the camera. If money is no object then yeah, go for the Mju II, there’s no reason not to, it’s really good. However, if you’re on a bit of a budget, the Mju I is still a really good camera, with 100 focus steps, a good AF system, compact style and being reasonably reliable, you can’t really go wrong. The issue is that the Mju II has no way to remember which setting you last used, so every time you open the camera and turn it on, you have to reset the flash mode. This isn’t too much of a downside for us, especially because the delay is so short. There are few times that we think about or notice the delay when taking photos.

You’ll still occasionally see unopened, or mint-condition copies for sale. This might theoretically be a safer bet, but those prices are pretty ridiculous and there’s still no guarantee on the camera’s longevity. With over a hundred focus steps it doesn’t quite compare to the MJU II which has over 400, but let’s put it into perspective, the Olympus AF-10 has about 4 focus steps and it’s in a similar price range as the MJU I. The lens features an extremely close minimum focus distance of 14 inches. Combined with the versatile 35mm focal length, the Mju II’s lens is capable in most shooting situations. It’s just that, for me, there’s no reason to ever shoot one. It’s not compact enough to be an invisible partner. It’s not adjustable enough (or at all) to replace my larger cameras and their amazing lenses. It’s not fast enough to replace manual focusing and my preferred zone focus technique in fast-shooting situations, and its not inexpensive enough to say, “Sure, why not.”The Olympus Mju II is small, lightweight, and easy to use, with a lens much sharper than the majority of 35mm point and shoots from the same era. The other flash modes are Auto Flash, Red Eye Reduction, Night Scene, and Night Scene with Red Eye Reduction. We won’t go into much detail about the technical specs of the camera – there are plenty of other places online where you can find this info. All in all, despite having more common issues, the Mju II is still much more reliable than the Mju I, probably due to its age as much as anything. Images

I found the older model to have softer corners on the images it produced. Oh, and there’s no weatherproofing on the older Mjus either. Flash modes: Auto, red-eye reduction, suppressed, forced/fill-in, night scene (slow synch up to 4 seconds)

Even if you have the camera pre focused, with the shutter held down half way, the lens won’t extend until you fully press the shutter button. The automatic exposure tends to favor more wide-open exposure. The lens center is sharp even when wide open, though the corners are soft. There is a fair amount of vignetting, wide open. Red eye can be a problem, with the flash so close to the lens. Red eye reduction is available, but this slows down the shot.