Head to head
Olympus mju-II (Stylus Epic) vs Contax T2
Both fit in a coat pocket, both shoot 35mm, and both have a reputation that has dragged their used prices into territory that would have been laughable fifteen years ago. The split is simple. The mju-II is a cheap plastic point-and-shoot that punches absurdly above its weight, while the T2 is a titanium-bodied camera with a Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens and the price tag to match. One you can lose without crying. The other you insure.
How they differ
The lenses tell most of the story. The mju-II has a 35mm f/2.8 that is sharp, contrasty, and genuinely good in the center, with the kind of fast aperture that lets it work indoors and at dusk. The T2's 38mm f/2.8 Zeiss Sonnar renders with that slightly clinical bite and smooth falloff people pay for, and it holds up better wide open and into the corners. Both are excellent. The gap is real but smaller than the price difference suggests. In daily use the mju-II is faster to grab, faster to focus, and you stop babying it. The T2 makes you slow down, partly because it gives you control the Olympus does not.
Choose Olympus mju-II (Stylus Epic)
Get the mju-II if you want a camera you actually carry every day and shoot without thinking. It is light, weatherproof enough to ignore drizzle, fast to deploy, and forgiving. It is also the sane financial choice. If it gets stolen, dropped, or soaked beyond saving, you replace it. For street, travel, parties, and snapshots that look better than they have any right to, it is hard to beat.
Full Olympus mju-II (Stylus Epic) guide →Choose Contax T2
Reach for the T2 if you want manual aperture control, exposure compensation, and a built-in filter thread, plus the tactile pleasure of a real metal camera that will likely outlast you. The Zeiss rendering and the build justify it for people who want one premium compact and will keep it for decades. It rewards a more deliberate shooter who values control and finish over grab-and-go speed.
Full Contax T2 guide →The verdict
Honestly close on image quality, far apart on everything else. Pay for the T2 if control, build, and the Zeiss look matter to you and the cost does not sting. Otherwise the mju-II gives you most of the result for a fraction of the money and the freedom to stop worrying about it. Neither is a wrong answer.