Olympus AZ-1 Zoom (QD)

Olympus AZ-1 (Infinity) Zoom photographed by Arty Smokes (Image rights)

This brick-like 35mm film camera was Olympus' first compact camera with a built-in zoom lens. It had the name Infinity in the US. First retailing in 1987, the camera was quite advanced for a point and shoot model, but seems overly large and bulky by modern standards. It was the first camera in the AZ/Infinity/IZM series of zoom compacts.

Main features

• Automatic exposure, aperture and focus.
• Lens: 35-70mm f/3.5-6.7 (7 elements in 6 groups).
• Viewfinder zooms along with the lens.
• Macro mode for focussing down to 60cm.
• Built-in flash modes: auto, off, fill-in, slow sync. Recycling time is 3 seconds.
• Auto-loading, winding and rewinding of DX-coded film. One-touch continuous shooting for action sequences.
• 35.5mm filter thread.
• Other features: Self-timer, back light compensation, multiple exposure mode.
• Weight: 412g, without 6V CR-P2 battery).

Also available in a Quartz Date model.

Links

• AZ-1 Zoom Quartzdate on Olympus Global History.
• AZ-1 Zoom at Collection G. Even's site.