OlympusSuperzoom 140S
Autofocus Compact
The story
The Olympus Superzoom 140S comes out of the last full decade of mass-market film, before APS and digital fought over the leftovers. Catalogued as a autofocus compact, it pairs the Olympus 38–140mm f/5.6–12.7 with a 35mm film path. A bit of background: sold as the Stylus Zoom 140 in North America.
Specifications
- Format
- 35mm
- Year
- 1997
- Lens
- Olympus 38–140mm f/5.6–12.7
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Flash
- Built-in auto multi-mode
- Battery
- 1× CR123A
Notable features
- 3.7× zoom lens
- Multi-point autofocus
- Programmed AE
- Panorama switch
- Self-timer
Shooting it today
The Olympus 38–140mm f/5.6–12.7 covers wide-to-short-tele in one barrel — one lens, no decisions, point and shoot. Film supply is a non-issue: any 35mm cassette from any lab works. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.6 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. One thing worth knowing before you load a roll: one of the longest zooms Olympus put into a non-DLX compact in the late '90s. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.
Who it's for · Verdict
Quietly underrated, the Olympus Superzoom 140S is the kind of camera people brag about owning five years from now and ten times the price.
Fun facts
- §1Sold as the Stylus Zoom 140 in North America.
- §2One of the longest zooms Olympus put into a non-DLX compact in the late '90s.
Field note
She dared me to spend a whole festival with the Superzoom 140S and no phone, winner buys dinner. Zooming from one end of the Olympus 38–140mm f/5.6–12.7 to the other, I built a whole sequence without moving my feet. The puppies are grown now, and the Superzoom 140S portraits of them at one day old are the only ones anyone asks for.
Creative field note — inspired by this camera's character, not based on real events.
Find one
Most copies turn up second-hand on eBay. We've linked a saved search so you can see current listings.
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