Most days, I’ve kept an Olympus Infinity Twin point-and-shoot with me, either in my pocket or tucked away in my work bag. Also known as the AF Twin in some markets, it’s been my preferred “everyday carry” camera for the last few years.
However, I’ve noticed that recently the Infinity Twin has started to become more finicky than usual. It takes a few more tries to get the gears to catch the film when loading, and the motor just sounds… old. In anticipation of the day my Infinity Twin eventually does make the trip up to camera heaven, I started looking for a replacement.
What really draws me to the Infinity Twin is its bi-axial lens system that allows you to toggle between 35mm and 70mm at the tap of a button. I also really like Olympus’s clamshell design—it allows me to throw the camera in my bag without worrying about snags, misfires, or scratches on the front elements.
But, the Infinity Twin is far from perfect. The lenses aren’t very sharp, and there’s a fair amount of distortion at 35mm, and vignetting at 70mm. Plus, there’s noise. A lot of noise. You definitely won’t be sneaking up on anyone shooting with this thing. The sequence of loud whirring sounds emitted from the advancing gears when you press the shutter sounds like a Terminator robot doing gymnastics.

Identical… twins?
Back to the problem at hand: I decided to be proactive and start searching for a replacement before the Infinity Twin left me high and dry. I set up an alert on eBay using the keywords “new” and “Infinity Twin,” hoping to find one in decent condition that could last me a few more years.
Most of the Infinity Twins from the alert were in rough shape. However, one listing caught my eye—a “new in box” old stock Olympus Infinity Tele. I had never heard of the “Infinity Tele” before, but, to my surprise, it looked like a literal twin of the AF Twin. Pun intended.
A few minutes of Googling revealed that the Infinity Tele is a slightly newer iteration of the Infinity Twin, released a few years later. Aside from lacking the weather resistance of the Twin, the Tele appeared to be identical in size, features, and functionality.
SOLD.
When the Tele arrived, it was clear this was a used camera, despite being listed as “new” on eBay simply because it came with the original packaging. In typical eBay fashion, the seller had misrepresented the condition. Shocker! Still, the camera was in very good shape overall, with only minimal signs of wear. This is the price we have to pay for shooting discontinued film cameras, I suppose.
On the morning I decided to take the Tele out for a test drive, it must not have been feeling particularly cooperative. It took three attempts before the roll of Tmax finally caught and advanced with the LCD indicating it was ready to go.
I’ve been here before
It might sound concerning for a newly purchased camera to give you trouble loading film right out of the box. But to be honest, I wasn’t surprised. My Infinity Twin occasionally did the same thing. I think this quirk is inherent to the design of these Olympus clamshell cameras. They’re so small and compact that, for whatever reason, the film’s sprocket holes don’t always catch on the first few tries.
Testing the Infinity Tele
I’m happy to report that, aside from the hiccup with loading, everything else seems to function as it should. I now have a backup for the day when my Infinity Twin finally decides to call it quits.