Olympus Trip

I don’t recall when this camera showed up. Really. One day many vaguely recalled years ago, it suddenly appeared in my office. I thought it was something Lisa had brought home (she didn't), so I let it rest on my desk for a short time, moved it to a drawer, then transferred it to yet another drawer years later.  A couple weeks ago I pulled it out of the drawer and set it on the corner of the desk. I looked at it occasionally every day. Though it obviously wouldn’t replace the Nikon N90s, it had to have some function, I thought. Otherwise, why did I have it? The Olympus Trip XB40 AF is a decade-old point-and-shoot camera. It has a 27mm lens and an Autofocus capability of sorts. To engage the autofocus, press the shutter button down halfway. Press the shutter button all the way down to take the photo.

It was a somewhat interesting design. For a brick. Well, a plastic brick with a sliding lens cover. But in operation it is quite like so many millions of other point-and-shoot cameras. I finally loaded the camera with two AA batteries and a roll of Kodak Gold 200. The film loaded easily. After pulling the leader out to the take-up spool, shut the rear camera door, turn on the camera, press the shutter button once, then the camera loads the film. The camera back is equipped with a programmable date/time stamp function.  These artifacts must be everywhere… And I’ll bet that this particular camera has a real value of about $3.00, just a bit less than the film I loaded in it.

The camera is about as simple as these types of cameras got – until the disposable cameras came along. I put the camera in Lisa’s car – in the same place where she keeps a disposable camera. I’m wondering how the camera works in its intended role of cheap snapshot camera. After all, that’s what it was designed for. I’ll update this story when I know if the camera worked and how the film looks in general. This could be the jump-off point to write in favor of not using the disposable cameras. Put less plastic in waste bins and trash cans by using old point-and-shoot cameras like the Olympus Trip. You know the dance. Fortunately, this post is not about that. I'm just interested to see if the camera has a function, and if it performs it adequately...Stay tuned. For a different viewpoint (and better photo) of this camera, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/artysmokes/4326527484/