First rolls with the Olympus XA // THE pocket film camera
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Out for a day of shooting by the seafront with the Olympus XA. I’ve owned this camera for a few months now but never had much of a chance to use it. A few images, and a few thoughts, as well as a long-term review coming in the future.
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A great medium format travel camera: ebay.us/FVcfWk
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DISCLAIMER
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I got my XA sometime during the 80’s. At the time I was working for National Park Service as a Park Ranger. I trained as a woodland firefighter and got called out to Forest Fires every summer for 4 years before going back to graduate school. The XA was my call out camera. It went with me on all the fires I called out to. It stayed in my front shirt pocket and never failed me. I always shot color negative film. My. Prints made it into my local a couple of times. I still have it. I need to replace the foam light shields. It is a great little camera.
I am using it daily for street photography. You are almost invisible with this camera in terms of sound and shutter noise. Focus lever is also great for zone focusing: Mid lever is exactly 1.5 meters, one third on left is 1 meter, one thrid right is 3 meters, very easy to memorize and you can set it without looking.
I was stupid enough to sell my XA to buy an RB67, within the year I found myself getting a new one. It’s just a brilliant little guy
Hey, the RB67 is a awesome camera though.
How does selling a $60-$100 Olympus XA translate into you buying a $500-$800 RB67 with the profits?
@@CalumetVideo I agree 100%, the RB is one of my favourite cameras
@@noirceur_ This was around two years ago, and the RB was at around $300 (the one I got was also pretty battered). I had some money saved up and sold the XA for to get the rest
A water bottle just blew up in my bag and destroyed it...
The thing I like about the XA is that it seems to render with this beautifully smooth glassy contrast - I'm not sure if it's how the lens vignettes that does it but all the photos I get out of it feel quite unique to the XA
So far I'm a fan of the images it produces!
@@KyleMcDougall tip: if the meter needle falls to the bottom and the battery seems to have died, just take the batteries out and put them back in. Works a charm.
Trash camera man idk why you like it, only one lens with a shitty aperture limits idk why people want this
I have a love hate relationship with this camera. It takes amazing sharp images, however them shutter button goes off if you breath on it. It's like a hair trigger on a gun, you will loose a few shots each row if you are not careful. I make it a habit not to advance the film until I'm ready to take a shot. The shutter is almost silent and you won't here it on a busy street. You wouldn't think you could do night shots due to the light wait and max asa of 800. However I have gotten shots at 1/15th because the shutter fires with so little pressure there is little camera shake. The range finder patch is tiny however if you cover the patch area with a little piece of black electrical tape on the front glass it really helps.
I bought my XA at a pawn shop in Bozeman, Montana for $5. I fell in love with it, and used it almost daily for a number of years, until about 2017, when I accidentally left it on the commuter train in Salt Lake City. Wish I hadn't done that, but hopefully the person who found it is still using it and making amazing images with it.
I love my XA! It's been definitely my most used camera since I got it a little over a year ago.
My favourite camera of all time. The original Olympus XA. Great video as always 👍🏼
Nice to see someone else exploring those hidden gems in hastings
That entire area is great.
Great video!! The XA has surprisingly good image quality! You're right about 35mm as well. There is a level of spontaneity and a low pressure feeling with 35mm when compared to medium format. It gives you a little more room to take some risks and experiment
Absolutely! And thank you. 🙏
Great compositions Kyle. I just got a Olympus Stylus and there is something so fun and simple about removing all the thought process of exposure and just focusing on composition.
Thanks Brandon. And yeah, absolutely, it’s a nice change of pace.
Loving the new POV stuff, must make it so much easier to grab what you're seeing!
Thanks Alister. Still working on it, but it’s certainly helping solve a bit of the struggle that comes with taking photos + filming.
This has been my go to film camera since I purchased it a few mo the back. Then I found a lowepro case that was so lucky and got this camera like a glove. Black and white and color film render so nicely with this camera. The size and capability is the selling point.
I've been away from capturing my environment.... for too long.... you're bringing me back... appreciate the commentary.... especially since it's film.
Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Excellent review, the XA has been on my "radar screen" for about 1 year. It sounds like you got a good example for a reasonable price. The only compact 35mm I have is a Pentax IQZoom, which does ok, but nothing like the quality of these you obtained.
I have had Olympus XA2 camera for-e-ver and since smart phones have not used it. Also didn't think anyone would still process 35mm film. I LOVE this camera.
Great video! Inspiring. I dug out my XA which has been sitting in my closet for 20+ years ordered batteries and film... and I'm going to shoot on film for the first time in 20+ years!
Awesome! Enjoy. :)
My favorite 2nd camera from the 80’s next to my SLR, still using it today. Thanks for your video!
Having both XA and the Yashica T4 Super to choose from making a decision to shoot with two different perspective and getting different results! This is the quickest and quietest camera I own! It’s Perfect for street photography! Great review Kyle!
Glad you enjoyed this one!
Had the Lomo LC-A+ for 8 years, and this came as a replacement 2 years ago. Such a wonderful little camera. Keeping it forever if I can.
Hope for you ! Mine is dead since 2 weeks.... 😩
I owned both the XA and also the XA4. The XA4 is also quite fun as it has a 28mm lens and instead of a rangefinder system it has zone focusing. Sometimes the wide angle is really nice to have! The lens is also really sharp. Can recommend the XA4 to anyone who doesn't want to fiddle with range finder focusing and wants to go a little wider than 35mm.
Cheers!
The Olympus XA is a really nice camera with an outstanding optical performance. Fits in every pocket. Perfect for street photography. Invisible and very quiet. For family, landscape and architecture too. I like my XA. Designed by Olympus genius designer Yoshihisa Maitani. Weighs only 225 grams or about half a pound.
Great video! I have an XA and it has never disappointed me every roll is just great and super sharp the lens is just amazing. There is no camera with this size and features, at this price the same like the XA.
It certainly impressed me!
The lens is astonishingly good, slight wide angle, versatile and very sharp, which automatically led to a lot of large pictures ordered after first sighting of the developed roll. I was inofficial the "designated photographer" at friends events during those marvellous 80's.. due to these large pics (mostly 8"x11" or so) and genius small camera on boat trips, parties and so on, i did posess a Canon AE1 SLR too, but most of the time and on the go, the Olympus XA2 was hard to beat, no bulk just no hassle "sure fire" - complete concentration on getting the view/picture guaranteed! Should have made more of it, so many opportunities in this life. Cheers
Such a cute camera. Love the video too! I liked seeing the PoV + commentary on the photos to hear your thoughts
I ended up selling mine because as the day ends and the light drops off, it was too hard to see the rangefinder patch and hit focus at 2.8. I replaced it with an MJU II which I find a lot more usable with the autofocus and integrated flash. Obviously has a few cons as well but either way, these micro compact 35mm cameras are so cool.
The black and white twilight shots came out really nice. Would love to see what tweaks you make to your B&W scans.
Thanks Tom. Really happy with how they turned out. Most of the work was done in NLP with some slight tweaks after in LR. Mainly exposure.
Great first look at the XA, I had one for a while, ended up sending it down to a photographer in Australia as part of the Emulsive Secret Santa exchange and they loved it! They are awesome cameras with superb optics. As for TMax 400 and cupping, it does do that a lot, I find that leaving it hanging for 48-hours then backrolling it another 24 hours will reduce it enough to get it scanned. THen under a book before putting it in the binder.
Cheers, Alex. Yeah, definitely going to try backrolling it next time. I was shocked how much it cupped. Funny enough, just developed some cheap Fomapan 400 and it's incredibly flat.
I really like my XA. I can stuff it in my pocket and it is with me, anytime I wanna take a quick shot. Picture quality is quite exceptional, too.
I went to Hong Kong in 1983(?) with a bag of Nikon’s and lenses. Bought one of these gems and shot about 30 rolls of Kodachrome 25 not using the Nikon’s again. A classic camera
I still have mine, I thought it was a very cool camera back then and it still stands out.
I just finally bought an XA after years of looking at them and passing. I've narrowed my cameras over the last year and now shoot with my Bronica ETRSi 645 (shooting a lot of Lomochrome Purple with the 50mm f/2.8) a digital Leica M240 (95% BW) and wanted a capable "full frame" 35mm film camera that will always be with me when I don't want to shoot digital or when I want to be "more free" than the 16 shots the Bronny gives me and I think the XA might be that camera. It arrives Monday, so will be interested in how you've gotten on with yours.
Agree so much, only thing that i dislike is the shutter release. Just like you I accidentily hit it like once or twice every roll of film.
These are great cameras! I try to carry at least 1 (or 2) around with me when out with friends for the day. Also, @ 4:32 on the video when you put the video camera down. That would have been an interesting scene for the XA!
I love my XA, it's such a little masterpiece! It's one of the cameras that I'd never sell.
Same dude, same!
I got onto the Olympus bandwagon with the OM1 back in the day, Ive had my eye on the XA for years but I still have an Olympus Stylus pocket camera that has taken a licking and keeps on ticking, clam shell wont snap shut now but it lives in my jeep console or motorcycle gear in all kinds of weather and conditions. Gotta love the reliability of the little camera that could, would and still does. Its held up better than me :) Good review Kyle, thx mate !
My Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 Deluxe was the last film camera I bought and still have it. While I bought an Olympus XA after it was released as my EDC camera, but it never worked out and I sold it soon after. Besides these two cameras and a E-PL1, they were the only Olympus cameras I had ever purchased in my four-decade journey,
Glad you enjoyed this one! Gotta love a well used camera that has stood the test of time.
I love my XA... always in my pocket with a BnW in ready to snap ! Great review and great photos ... Thanks
Glad you enjoyed, Jerome!
I was also looking at pocket 35mm cameras a while back, and ended up picking up the Rollei 35s (where most people are saying this and the olympus xa being the smallest camera.
Would say the rollei 35 is also a excellent camera with such a small body, while having every control from shutter, aperture to focus. With the only downside that it needs you to be extremely familiar with zone focusing. But same with the XA, the body is so small that you don't know how to grip it, but it also kinda feels natural for the way that the dials are placed, you hold it like a rolleiflex. Very pocketable, would 100% recommend.
Definitely would love to try the Rollei out. Just waiting to find one for a reasonable price.
I carried one with me everyday for about 5 years until last year when my car was broken into and the camera was liberated from the center console. I tried a few different P/S cameras like the minox and chinon bellami but they aren't my thing. I just bough one yesterday and I haven't felt so excited to go out and shoot in a while. It feels like home.
Nice quick video on the XA. I am looking forward to your full review. I just got the XA and havent had time to take it out shooting yet. Planning a week away on holiday next month and will definatly bring it along.
Glad you enjoyed this one, Chris.
A Great Point & Shoot I Loves This Camera
I bought mine a few years ago, I love rangefinders and that’s what sold it for me
I'm so old I bought the XA1 new. I always thought it was a cool looking camera. I think I still have it. I just have to figure out where.
I got one mostly because of the size and quite shutter. Was initially very disappointed, and had problem getting focus. Gave it two more rolls and it is pretty good, maybe not up to the hype. Found it easier to focus if you have a vertical line in the composition to help focus.
Saw your video come up after I just shot my first roll this weekend on the XA2 I just purchased. Having a such a pocketable camera to have on you is fun. And it’s capable of producing results like this at the $100-$150 price point. I agree on the Contax...Save your money and get an XA or XA2.
For me, I think I’d only invest in the Contax if I shot mainly 35 and it fit my as my main camera. But as a pocket camera, it’s too big of an investment.
this was my bar life club life camera in san francisco in the 90s with the flash aa batteries and fujichrome or ektachrome.
Never not surprised at HOW NICE shots off this camera are. Little plastic wonder.
Absolutely!
Really wish I hadn't sold mine. Sold it partially to fund a Bronica S2A but even though I love that camera I miss this one a lot.
My only problem with my example is the light meter is one stop under exposed, not a huge deal though since I just shoot 400 at 200 etc
Yo im a photographer from hastings im based in Portsmouth now but thats so awesome to see my hometown in one of your videos
Nice. Hastings is a great area to explore!
Wait till you shoot some color in that bad boy. The lens makes colors look great! I keep my XA on me all the time.
Shooting with one hand, wear the strap. It will be more secure to the hand.
Yes, good tip with the strap! 🙏
I've had both the XA and the mju with the 2.8. I hated the shutter button on the XA and preferred the lens on the mju. Point and shoot lag was the mju's downside.
Olympus XA so hot right now. 😀 "the photo dept." just bought one recently.
Tmax shines, great Video
Glad you enjoyed. Cheers.
Weird the focus values on both my AXs are 2'8, 4, 8(marked red), and infinity (ft.)
Really interesting film. The XA is really in the spotlight at the moment and no wonder- what a great 35mm.
Don't forget the XA4 with the superior 28mm
contax T2 is my main point and shoot. but i highly recommend a fixed lens olympus stylus...a great tiny 35mm that can easily be found cheap.
Just snagged an xa3. The size of this thing is too appealing.
Nice! I'm sure you'll dig it.
what i do to make sure it doesnt curl too much is tape 2 quarters on each side of the film while it dries and i havent had too much problems with curling.
Hi Kyle, they eBay link in the description for the Olympus XA send to be wrong. You might want to update it.
Great video!
Thanks for the heads up. Changed!
I sold mine also. Because the shutter button is so soft. I lost minimum 10 shots per roll just because of accidents.
3:04 wow!
You should have shown us the random frame from when you were handling the camera abs taking about it, would have been interesting to see
Yo Kyle! Sick video man🔥 Maybe try out the super underrated, fat and sluggish cousin of the MJU I - the AF-10 Mini😝 a definite sleeper. The lens is damn sharp for what it is and the price it goes for is almost begging you to buy it🤷🏽♂️
Lovely BW tones mate. Did you have to adjust the asa on the camera? Or were you just shooting on the film box speed of 400 ?
Thanks. I shot between 200 and 320. Depending on the light.
How to open back side this camera please one video in this issue please sir
I just read that the only company now manufacturing film SLR cameras is Nikon. I was looking at reviews from users of the 'new polaroid' and that camera sounds interesting - has the old
photo look of the old SX. Loved the mellow colors of those photos.
Nikon stopped last year
I used XA before, but I can't meet a camera as small and interesting as this camera.
What settings were you using when shooting these photos about? I've noticed that many sample images from this camera appeared soft. I was also thinking that this may have happened due to when they were scanning the images or just missed focus maybe? Thanks!
I'd say that most were probably shot around f8 and scanned on the Nikon Coolscan. But yeah, soft images online could always come from poor scans. Hard to know.
Gorgeous photos as always, Kyle. South coast, right?
Aha - Hastings? 😁 Just spotted the funicular.
You got it! Great area. :)
🔥
When you shoot landscape what do you set your asa to? I’m a little confused on how to operate this camera, but I’ve been so exited to use it
All depends which film I'm using.
It's a toss up between Minox 35GT and Olympus XA for me. Both have excellent, super sharp lenses and are freakishly tiny. But I think the XA wins because it has a rangefinder, even if it's kinda dim. Luckily I own both :-)
I’ve heard some good things about the Minox as well. Enjoy both!
Interesting and well produced review of a classic. This was always my carry camera when I didn't want to lug around a bag full of pro gear. One suggestion: consider framing your sample pix against black instead of white... they'd look much richer.
try rolling the film in the opposite direction. then tape it and let it sit for 10 mins or so that works for me
Yep, alot of mentions of that. Going to give it a shot next time!
Is it fully auto or were you metering? Just curious how you got all the contrast.
It's aperture priority, but yes, the only control you have is a backlight compensation button or changing the ISO. All of this was TMAX at 320 or 200.
What neg scanner do you like to use?
Nowadays I'm camera scanning with a Fuji GFX50R.
@@KyleMcDougall Thank you, Kyle. Good to hear that. This makes sense. I'm on the brink of buying the GFX 50R anyway so this might push me over the edge, especially when I've been holding off buying a scanner that would cost over $1k. I've used my Canon 5D iii to scan negs and it works well but not as well as a medium format camera with 50 mp would.
You oughta try out the Rollei 35, would love to see how the Sonnar/Tessar lenses translate to image quality from such a small package. Also have you tried the XA2 by chance?
Owning and "trying""both the Rollei 35SE and an XA, I have to say that they are completely opposite cameras, once you get by the "small package" status. The Rollei 35 is heavy, strongly built and has excellent to supurb optics. If you can hold the camera steady, the negative will print out as well or better than any other 35mm camera. The XA is plastic, lightly built. It offers rangefinder focus, although the tiny RF base makes it little better than zone focusing the Rollei, assuming you can see the RF image in the much inferior viewfinder. The XA allows no significant control over exposure versus full manual measurement and setting on the Rollei. The lens in the XA was designed to stuff into its thin body; it's optical performance is as poor in terms of vignetting, resolution, and contrast as any camera made to its introduction, notwithstanding many fanboy reviews on YT claim Leica-like performance. The XA is intended to casually stuff in a pocket and take for a walk, a casual gathering, or vacation, taking snapshots; it is totally unsuitable for general photography. The Rollei 35 is a serious camera, to be used as such. Each is near perfect at its job.
Damn Kyle, Vids like this already pushing prices, whileas every YT'er since the past 5-10+ years or so reviews the XA. I got my copy since the 90s, and another one, from my passed mother.
What area did you shoot this video in?? Looks like a lovely place
Thanks. This was down South. A few different locations. But the main one was a place called Hastings.
Hola muy buen video me encantó
Queri saber como expusiste o que hiciste para lograr tener el cielo y el suelo la misma exposición y que nada saliera sobreexpuesto o sub expuesto quede asombrado
i enjoyed this your videos . i have a XA3 which is a nice camera to use to .
now u have to save my money for xa2
The lens is pretty decent on these cameras.
Not bad at all.
Does it have a light meter in it?
It does.
So you need as well the 35mm mask for my film holder, lol
Yes! 😁 Was actually planning on getting in touch.
What do you mean mask
@@bitcoinman9202 it's coolscan9000 related, not OlympusXA
i never knew the XA was a rangefinder lol. amazing video and photos!!
The Minox 35 GT is better, in my opinion
Curious what you like better about it?
Fragile. I have a number of them. On ALL of them, save one, the shutter button has failed.
notif squad skrrrt
What I love the most about the XA, besides its true pocket size (much smaller than a Leica), is how well its ergonomics are designed. It is simple and a joy to use. If I had to name a fault, it'd be the feather light shutter button - it's kind of difficult to find the button when you are framing, and that can lead to a few wasted exposures ;-) But it can be remedied to by sticking some textured tape over the shutter button.
Thanks for the video. Absolutely love my XA. In this digital day and age, film photography is a relatively niche hobby; for me at least it is as much about the history and evolution of the medium as it is about the creative aesthetic. In that context, the XA is very special in being the legendary Maitani's last design; it represented such a stunning example of thinking out of the box to produce a true masterpiece of industrial design and miniaturisation. It holds a special place in my film camera collection ( along with the OM) and I very much enjoy taking it out from time to time.
Glad to see you enjoyed it! Definitely one of my favorites, mostly for the compactness as you mentioned. It's easy to just have in your pocket at all times, should something interesting arise.
Absolutely. Looking forward to having this on me often!
Every time I saw an XA in a shop, I'm always struggling a minute if yes or not I should buy a second one, this is by far the film camera I'm using the most. I took a lot of street but also some landscape of the mount Fuji and I'm just amazed by the results.
The XA was my first camera ever in the late 90’s. My original one stopped working but years later I bought another one. It’s such a remarkable little camera to carry around!
I had one in the ‘80s. My grandfather gave it to me before I left for two months in England. It was (and is) the perfect film travel camera. I don’t know what became of that XA, but I bought another one and still use it. Brilliant camera.
XA users usually advance the film right before a shot due to the hair trigger. Also, try some ND glass above your negatives on the scanning bed. If this doesn't help then use old packing peanuts to squish it more.
Now that you've mentioned "curly film, watermarks and dust" I've had the same issues with TriX I developed yesterday! Never had issues with Ilford, both 120 or 35... May be some of the Kodak components?🤔
I have the XA 3 and it’s one of my favorite cameras, I bring it with me everywhere!
its an amazing camera!
@@TheReubenCook It is!! I’ve been on the lookout for the original XA to add to my collection!
Did I like this video? Yes. It is an awesome video? Also yes.