Olympus Quick Shooter Tele1988

History

The Quick Shooter Tele arrived two years after the original Quick Shooter and represents Olympus's response to competitive pressure in the budget compact segment. By 1988, manufacturers across the industry were adding tele modes to point-and-shoot cameras to justify higher price points and broader shelf appeal without moving consumers into full autofocus compacts.

Fixed-focus tele compacts are inherently limited by depth of field: a fixed-focus 70mm lens has a narrower depth of field than a 35mm equivalent, meaning the tele position has a tighter acceptable focus zone. Manufacturers compensated by using smaller maximum apertures in tele mode to extend depth of field.

Olympus's Quick Shooter line was positioned below the AF-1 and the XA series in both price and capability. The Tele variant bridged toward casual telephoto users without the added cost and mechanical complexity of a motorized zoom. The product name was eventually folded into the broader Olympus compact lineup as DX-coded autofocus cameras became cost-competitive with fixed-focus designs.

Why It Matters

The Quick Shooter Tele is of modest collector interest today - it represents a practical solution to the one limitation of budget fixed-focus compacts: all subjects at all distances in a single focal length. The dual-position approach was simple and reliable, avoiding the failure modes of early zoom motors.

For current film photographers, the Tele functions as a usable snapshot camera at near-zero cost. The fixed-focus wide position is the more practical of the two for everyday use; the tele position is a convenience option for occasional use. As with all cameras of this type, a working example is worth more than a non-functional one, since repair economics rarely pencil out.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Olympus Quick Shooter - covers the Quick Shooter family including the Tele variant