OlympusSuperzoom 700 XB

Place the Olympus Superzoom 700 XB in context and you land in the moment 'titanium' started appearing on spec sheets and ad copy alike. Catalogued as a autofocus zoom compact, it pairs the Olympus 38–70mm f/4.5–7.8 zoom with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: entry-level sibling of the pricier Superzoom 110 and 140 in Olympus's early-90s zoom lineup.

Format

35mm

Year

1993

Lens

Olympus 38–70mm f/4.5–7.8 zoom

Min. focus

0.8 m

Flash

Built-in multi-mode

Battery

1× CR123A

The Olympus 38–70mm f/4.5–7.8 zoom is the convenience play: a single optical formula that handles groups, snapshots and tighter portraits without ever leaving your hand. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. 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 0.8 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: the lens cap is a sliding barn-door built into the front — no dangling string to lose. The zoom range covers the obvious bases: groups at the wide end, half-length portraits at the long end, no lens changes ever.

The Olympus Superzoom 700 XB won't impress at the pub, but it'll cover a holiday end-to-end without ever asking you to think about glass. A footnote that often comes up: slow at the long end (f/7.8), so it lives happiest outdoors on ISO 400.

• §1Entry-level sibling of the pricier Superzoom 110 and 140 in Olympus's early-90s zoom lineup.
• §2The lens cap is a sliding barn-door built into the front — no dangling string to lose.
• §3Slow at the long end (f/7.8), so it lives happiest outdoors on ISO 400.