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Olympus IS-300: manual and user guide

Olympus’s autofocus SLR with a built-in 28-110 mm zoom. Its original manual, then the essentials for using it.

View the manual on butkus.orgOriginal scanned manual, IS-300 and IS-30 DLX · 69 pages · in English

Manual scanned and put online free of charge by Mike Butkus, whose library runs on donations. The link opens his model page, where you can download the PDF.

Getting started

Batteries Turn the cover screw to OPEN, by hand or with a coin, and open the cover. Fit two 3 V CR123A or DL123A lithium batteries following the + and - signs, close it and turn the screw to CLOSE. Always switch the camera off before changing them.
Loading Push the back latch upwards to open it. Put in the cartridge, film nice and flat, bring the film leader to the mark and close: the film winds on to the first frame by itself. Never touch the shutter curtains, which are very fragile.
Sensitivity With DX film, it sets itself, from ISO 25 to 3200. Film without a DX code is set to ISO 32 by default.
Your first photo Switch on: the lens extends, its cover opens and the display shows 1 (if an E blinks, reload the film). Frame with the W and T buttons, put the autofocus frame on the subject and press halfway: a beep and the AF lamp confirm focus. Then press all the way.
Rewinding At the end of the roll, the camera rewinds by itself. Wait for the motor to stop and the E to blink before opening the back. To rewind before the end, press the rewind button with your fingernail, never with a sharp object.

What it can do

When you switch on, it’s in fully automatic mode (FULL AUTO). With one press, you switch to action (up to 1/2000 s), portrait, landscape or night scene.
Aperture priority (F.No.) and a long exposure from 1 to 60 s, set by hand, with the aperture fixed at f/8.
Spot metering: put the subject in the spot frame and press SPOT/L.T., the exposure is locked.
An exposure compensation dial of ±2 EV in half steps. Set it back to 0 after use: FULL AUTO doesn’t reset it.
A 12 s self-timer, on the button next to the eyepiece, and dioptre adjustment from -2 to +1 to see the autofocus frame sharply.

The flash

To pop it up, push the switch to the lightning bolt symbol. It recharges in 0.2 to 3.9 s. The FLASH button chooses AUTO, AUTO-S (red-eye reduction) or FILL-IN (forced).
If the lightning bolt blinks in the viewfinder while the flash is down, pop it up: otherwise the exposure will be long and the photo may be blurred.
Range at ISO 100: 5 m at wide angle, 6.3 m at telephoto. At ISO 400: 10 m and 12.6 m.
In the dark, it also lights the subject for the autofocus with a few pre-flashes at half-press. Hold the camera steady until the shot is taken.

Good to know

Two fresh batteries last about 20 rolls of 24 exposures with flash on every other shot (Olympus tests). They last much longer if you use the flash and zoom sparingly.
In cold weather, the batteries weaken: keep the camera warm, they recover at normal temperature. Take spare batteries when travelling.
Filters are 52 mm. A thick filter, such as a circular polariser, can darken the corners or stop the cover from closing.
No infrared film, according to the manual. Don’t force the zoom, and don’t clean it with alcohol or thinners.

IS-300 specifications

Format: DX-coded 135 film, 24 × 36 mm frames
Lens: 28-110 mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom, 11 elements in 9 groups, 52 mm filters
Shutter: focal-plane, electronic, from 4 s to 1/2000 s, long exposure from 1 to 60 s at f/8
Focusing: phase-detection autofocus, focus lock, from 0.75 m to infinity
Viewfinder: SLR, 85% coverage, 0.72× magnification at 50 mm, -2 to +1 dioptre correction
Metering: through the lens: ESP multi-zone, centre-weighted average, spot
Sensitivity: automatic with DX film, from ISO 25 to 3200, ISO 32 without a DX code
Flash: built-in, sync at 1/100 s and slower (up to 1/2000 s in portrait)
Power: 2 lithium batteries, 3 V CR123A or DL123A
Dimensions and weight: 123 × 88 × 115 mm, 650 g without batteries