Olympus's 1987 zone-focus 35mm compact — 35mm f/3.5 lens, auto exposure and flash; Infinity S in the US
The Olympus AM-100 of 1987 was a fully automatic 35mm compact that used three-point zone focusing instead of autofocus to undercut rival AF compacts on price. It was sold as the Infinity S in the United States and as the Picasso Petit in Japan, where it launched at 24,800 yen including case. A Quartz Date version added date imprinting.
The lens is a 35mm f/3.5, focused via buttons on the front that switch between a default medium distance, a 0.5-1m close-up setting and infinity. Auto exposure runs shutter speeds from 1/45 to 1/400 second. Film loading, wind and rewind are motorised with DX film-speed setting, and there is an integral automatic flash with roughly two-second recycling plus a self-timer.
Despite a toy-like plastic shell the body is solidly made and the 35mm f/3.5 lens is better than the styling suggests, which has earned it a small following among point-and-shoot film shooters. It suits casual street and holiday photography; the zone-focus buttons demand slightly more thought than a true autofocus compact, and forgetting the close-up setting is the classic user error.
Like most motorised compacts it is fully battery-dependent — nothing works without power — so test that it wakes, winds and rewinds. Confirm the flash charges and fires, the zone-focus buttons click through their settings, and the film door closes with light-tight seals. Date models should be checked separately for a working, settable back.