Olympus AF-10 TWIN

What?

The AF-10 Twin features two lenses: a default 35mm/F3.6 (3 el./3 gr.) at the bottom and a 70mm/F6.3 (5 el./5 gr.) at the top. A button on top of the camera let’s you switch between lensen (it adjustst the viewfinder as well). It has autofocus and auto-exposure, with shutter speeds of 1/15-1/750s. Auto-flash (can be switched off or to fill-in manually), DX decoding of 35mm film, ISO 50-3200, self timer, motordrive, tripod socket. Power: 3v Lithium CR123A or DL123A (2x)

When?

1991

How

Thrift store, 1 euro.

Well?

I’m pleasantly surprised by this camera. I bought it mainly because I liked the two-lens design. Then I was disappointed on finding out it needed two expensive batteries (a 1 euro camera with 15 euro worth of batteries inside, hmm…). So it sat on a desk looking at me accusingly while I ignored it for a while. In the end I remembered how much I like my other Olympusses and decided to get those batteries and try it anyway.

Despite the warning on the Olympus website (“This twin-focus camera had all of the performance features of the AF-1 TWIN except weatherproofing.”) I decided to take it on a trip to rainy Scotland. The results were pretty good. The pictures are sharp and clear, and the clam shell lens cover managed to keep most of the rain out of the camera. The switching between lenses is an easy and fun feature.

In fact, the only real problem I have with this camera is the flash. It’s switched on as a default, and I tend to forget about it until it fires and I realize I didn’t switch it off. Not always a problem, but it can be annoying when your foreground unintentionally gets flashed into oblivion.

A smaller problem: it’s not exactly a stealth camera. The motor drive is rather noisy, and the automatic flash is pretty conspicious as well. In other words: not the best camera for candid street photography or wildlife photography.

But on the whole, this is a pretty good and fun addition to my collection

Sample pics