A little while ago, I dropped a few dollars on a cheap 35mm point and shoot. It was an Olympus Infinity S, released in 1987. A fully automatic, zone-focus clamshell compact with a 35mm f//3.5 lens and a maximum shutter speed of 1/400s, it was a more or less a “next-gen” update to the Olympus XA series of compact cameras. You can’t quite tell in this photo, but it’s even about the same size.

There’s nothing bad about the camera — the only feature that doesn’t quite work are the buttons meant to adjust the focus to either close-up or infinity — but there’s nothing great about it either. Other than a nice big, bright viewfinder, it’s just a camera. I put two rolls of film through to test the lens — a roll of Kentmere 400, a black and white film, and a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 — and came away basically satisfied with the results. The lens is sharp enough to produce good scans and, I assume, good prints.

I’ll say, that the sheer simplicity (and apparent durability) of the Olympus Infinity S makes it an excellent camera for a small child, and my five-year-old has had a lot of fun using it to take pictures when we go out on errands or to do activities. Once he finishes a roll, I’ll have the film developed and maybe I’ll share the pictures. Until then, here are the shots I took during the month or so I kept this in my pocket.