Olympus's original pocket autofocus compact — 35mm lens, clamshell cover, sold in the US as the Stylus, 1991.
The Olympus Mju, sold in North America as the Stylus, launched in the early 1990s as a compact autofocus 35mm camera with a distinctive rounded clamshell body and a sliding cover that switched the camera on and off. It began a long-running family of pocket compacts that became widely popular for everyday and travel photography, with the original single-focal-length model preceding the later zoom and Mju II versions.
The Mju is a fixed-lens 35mm autofocus compact with a 35mm lens of moderate aperture and a leaf shutter. It has active autofocus, automatic exposure with a built-in flash offering several modes, motorised film advance and rewind, and it runs on a lithium battery. The sliding clamshell cover protects the lens and doubles as the power switch. Weather-resistant construction was part of its appeal, though the original is less sealed than the later Mju II.
In use the Mju suits a photographer who wants a genuinely pocketable point-and-shoot for travel, street and everyday snapshots, with the clamshell keeping the lens clean between shots. Its automatic operation means little manual control, but the sharp fixed lens and simple handling made it a dependable carry-anywhere camera rather than a tool for deliberate exposure work.
When buying, confirm the clamshell slides freely and powers the camera reliably, and test the autofocus, flash and motorised advance on a fresh lithium cell since these compacts are fully battery-dependent. Check the lens for haze and fungus, inspect the film-door seals, and look at the battery compartment for corrosion, a frequent problem on electronic compacts of this generation.