A Blue XA2 now enters my XA Family

[David Hughes]

But try getting one repaired these days...

Regards, David

 

[Muggins]

Zone focus is simple. In good light it is simply the middle setting needed for everything 1.2m to infinity. Landscape setting covers infinity in less than good light, whilst the close settting is 1m to 1.5m for portraits etc.

Forgetting what it's called probably doesn't help me either...

Thanks for the recap - sure to come in handy!

Adrian

 

[lxmike]

But try getting one repaired these days...

Regards, David

very very true David finding a good technician these days is very difficult and often expensive

 

[btgc]

very very true David finding a good technician these days is very difficult and often expensive

Good technicians are quite busy this days and don't spend ther time repairing this kind cameras. I know one, he told his time costs same either customer takes in cheap P&S or expensive lens and latter are returning customers. He suggests to replace broken P&S and save a lot of cash.

Interesting fact about zoom compacts: you all know compact zooms may fail in way that corners have curve shaped artifacts. Silicone light baffles are used there and sometimes they get damaged. Even in boom days of film compacts none provided this baffles alone, replacing lens unit was the way. And time required to take compact zoom apart, replace baffles if they could be obtained separately and put everything together would cost more than customer would like to pay, that is, same or about of another compact.

"Replace not repair" isn't feature of digital era, rather of era of highly integrated [optical-]electronic devices [assembled outside of first world countries].

 

[lxmike]

yes everything these days seems to have a built in obsolesence, which i feel is quite sad

 

[KenRothman]

I had a blue XA2 *new* back in the 80s. Stupidly traded it away many years ago.

 

[David Hughes]

Good technicians are quite busy this days and don't spend ther time repairing this kind cameras. I know one, he told his time costs same either customer takes in cheap P&S or expensive lens and latter are returning customers. He suggests to replace broken P&S and save a lot of cash... Snip

"Replace not repair" isn't feature of digital era, rather of era of highly integrated [optical-]electronic devices [assembled outside of first world countries].

Hi,

It is a problem. I've often thought that, as I like a camera a repair ought to be considered but really it depends on the camera and how many you can source locally for a pound or two.

That means that I shouldn't bother with the XA2's which are often seen and bought and stored away but the reality is that I've paid for one to be repaired and not regretted it.

Buy two films and get the D&P's and your well on the way to the cost of a repair: two films as in one ruined and one to test the thing...

Regards, David

 

[JoeV]

I recently found a working Olympus XA2, in box with the accessory flash, from a local thrift store (Indoor Flea Market, on Lomas in Albuquerque), and had a first go with a roll of Kodak C-41 B/W film. The seller had three such cameras in his booth, and I was able to find a body I could confirm worked with existing silver oxide batteries, with the box and working flash, for a good price.

I found the focus pretty easy to master, once I understood the preset focus distances involved, and could easily estimate subject distance and adjust my framing and position accordingly. Using adequately fast film in bright daylight, intermediate distances are resolved to adequate focus by means of the depth-of-field afforded by the lens aperture, which is automatically selected by the exposure system.

All of the frames I exposed came out with good focus and exposure, which surprised me a bit. I had dry tested the camera, prior to loading film, and was pretty certain the shutter worked okay, but was still uncertain of the results until I got the prints back from the lab.

I've included several images as examples, which are scans from the prints. Film scans would be sharper, obviously.

~Joe

The camera:

In my back yard:

At UNM:

At the Frontier Restaurant, across from UNM:

School of Architecture building, at UNM:

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Thanks for the posting and photo's.

I just hope everyone who asks about the XA2 will read it and learn. It confirms what I have felt about the XA2 ever since I bought one after getting the bill for repairing my new-ish XA in the 80's.

And for the money they go for these days they are a brilliant camera.

Regards, David

 

[sisser]

Red XA2.

 

[btgc]

Red XA2.

What a suprise - pictures aren't distinguishable from that from black XA

 

[sisser]

What a suprise - pictures aren't distinguishable from that from black XA

A bit disapointing yes, was hoping for a red dot in the top left corner of the print.:bang:

 

[JoeV]

Black XA2, corner of Harvard & Central in Albuquerque, Fuji 200. No black dot, sorry.

~Joe