Yashica EZS Zoom 70
The 1996 Kyocera released the Yashica EZS Zoom 70 was also called Kyocera Campus 70, Elite 70, Yashica Elite 70 Zoom DX and possibly a few other names.
Whatever they called the EZS 70, it was a basic 35mm point and shoot. Autofocus compact with a built-in flash and a 38 to 70 zoom lens. In the hand the size is larger than some of the other point and shoots but the battery chamber (dual AA) makes a decent grip so the camera is easy to hold.
My Take:
I found this EZS 70 at a charity story and paid $5 for the pleasure. At that price it is hard to be very grumpy about a camera and sometimes I have been pleasantly surprised. This was not such a time. Fundamentally this is an extremely basic camera. I found it to be slow to respond, slow to focus and slow to to fire. I was glad it took AA batteries because it uses them quickly (my copy may have a short).
Sometimes when I shoot a new camera, I will leave myself notes. Normally this is on a bit of painter’s tape on the back. For the EZS 70, I felt the need to tape a sheet of paper to the back with bullet points:
Eats Batteries
Slow to Fire
May have short
Lens Guard sticks (results of this are reflected in the first and last photo below)
Not a very pleasant camera
Your experience may be different so if you have one let me know but if you don’t it would not make my recommendation list. Even at $5, I say $4 tops.
Lens: 38-70mm f5.2-9.1
Film: Kodacolor 200