Olympus's ultra-compact APS zoom — 1999 28-75mm f/4.7-9.9 lens, real-image zoom finder, motorised IX240 loading
The Olympus i Zoom 75 was an ultra-compact APS zoom camera announced in January 1999 and assembled in China for Olympus. It used the IX240 Advanced Photo System cartridge format and was sold in standard and quartz-date (QD) versions, pitched as a shirt-pocket travel companion during the brief APS boom.
The lens is an Olympus 28-75mm f/4.7-9.9 zoom with 7 elements in 7 groups, exposing 16.7 x 30.2mm APS frames via a programmed electronic shutter running 4s to 1/500s. A real-image zoom viewfinder carries autofocus and flash indicators plus close-up correction marks. Film advance and rewind are motorised, film speeds of ISO 25-3200 are read from the cartridge, and APS C/H/P print-format selection and a built-in flash are included. It measures 107 x 55 x 34mm and weighs 200g.
It suits APS collectors and anyone wanting a genuinely tiny late-90s zoom compact for display or occasional shooting. The slow f/9.9 tele end depends on flash indoors, but the 28mm wide end is wider than most 35mm compacts of the day, and the all-automatic handling is effortless.
APS film is discontinued, so shooting means expired cartridges at rising prices with uncertain results, and processing options are limited — many examples now sell as display or parts pieces. If shooting is the goal, confirm the camera powers on, the mid-roll film door is undamaged and the motorised load/rewind completes, and check the LCD panel for faded segments.