any oly xa users here?

[MikeyGaGa]

Mikey: I'd LOVE to have an XA-4 ... envy meter is pegged out!

Dean: Amen. I've shot all kinds of film in mind ... B&W, colour neg, chrome ... Agfachrome, Ektachrome, Kodachrome. Even Kodachrome 25 came out properly exposed unless I had a brain fart. The nice thing about K25 in the XA is the ability to handhold at slower speeds than any other 35mm I own. An extra stop or more of speed was great. However, I have often put the XA on a tripod. With its long auto exposure capability, you could get some really great shots. Looked kinda funny though, especially if I mounted it on a Zone VI tripod!

Hope the envy meter doesnt go full till,but heres how I acquired the XA-4:

In 1993,i closed down my studio,and sold off most of my gear-I rented a table at a cmera show and sold about 75% of my large and med format stuff,and nearly all of my Nikons. I had bought the stuff cheap in the 70s and 80s,and walked away with enough cash to buy a new Saturn SL2,which my wife needed. I was returning to college full time(yeah,I was the worlds oldest freshman)and wasnt going to be using it anyway. A dealer wanted to give me cash to buy out the rest of the table,but hung tight on his cash offer. I glanced down at his stuff and saw the XA-4;at that time it wasnt a collectors item;I think he was asking $60 for it. So he threw it in and sealed the deal. i have been lucky with GAS satifaction,but my wife has a stack of losing lottery tickets,which if stretched end to end could trace Magellans voyage. Now PLEASE DONT HATE ME,BUT last weekend I stopped by the local thrift shop to look for old record albums and picked up a Nikon L35,a Rollei 35S and a Rolleiflex 3.5F for $24.00. The clerk warned me thought,that I might not be able to use them,because Walmart is selling film real cheap meaning that it will soon be discontinued,and Id better get a digital camera. Such a nice boy!

MikeyGaGa

 

[MikeyGaGa]

I really like mine as well, used to have two and keep B& W neg in one and colour neg in the other, though I think the meter was good enough for slide. I also really like my XA4 very good 28 mm lens with .3 metre close focus ability.

Here's a good site you may not have seen http://www.diaxa.com/xa/xa.htm

Scoped your gallery...love your work

MikeyGaGa

 

[jmilkins]

Thanks Mikey- I'm still on a learning curve - never stop learning do we? - But encouragement is very welcome!

 

[Trius]

Mikey: Well thanks for THAT ... I think.

I had one of the XAs with me this weekend on a tour around Cayuga Lake, loaded with NPH 400. Alas, the film advance has failed. What happens is there is no stop at the next frame; i.e., you can keep advancing the film forever. What is it with a camera messing up after 23 or so years? I'll ship it off to John Hermanson for a spa treatment. The viewfinder is in need of a bath anyway. But the meter is bang on! 😉

 

[rovnguy]

Think about the XA this way: they are 20 to 30 year old cameras that are going to outlast the first three generations of digital cameras... maybe even more. So just where is technology taking us? The scale of planned obsolescence is increasing and what are you really getting for your money? Just sharing some thoughts I've had recently.

 

[Rich Silfver]

anyone got some nice photo examples from their XA?

 

[filmgoerjuan]

I've got a bunch in my Olympus XA Set on Flickr.

 

[rovnguy]

Herev you go Rich. This photo demonstrates the superb metering capability of this wonderful little camera.

 

[Rich Silfver]

thanks, some great photo samples!

 

[mike_j]

Nice to see this thread - I bought an XA with flash yesterday at a car boot sale for 1 pound (1.80 US dollars) and spent the evening cleaning it and replacing the seals. I have just put the first film in it.

I look forward to seeing the resuts.

 

[Bill58]

Finding an XA -4 is a dream--even in Japan they are scarce and big bucks, according to a Japanese acquaintance of mine. They were not a marketing success apparently. Although I have 2 XA's, I wish I had 1 XA- 4!

I've stayed away from the 2 and 3. They were/ are junk according to some 'net sources.

 

[bmattock]

Think about the XA this way: they are 20 to 30 year old cameras that are going to outlast the first three generations of digital cameras... maybe even more. So just where is technology taking us? The scale of planned obsolescence is increasing and what are you really getting for your money? Just sharing some thoughts I've had recently.

Technology is not taking us - we take technology.

If the "scale of planned obsolescence is increasing," then it is because consumers demaned it. A shorter product cycle, lower prices and higher specifications. Manufacturers respond with models that they hope will satisfy the public demand. They are rewarded when they get it right (people buy the product) and punished when they get it wrong (the products pile up in warehouses).

If high quality was a requirement by the majority of consumers, we'd get that. It isn't, so we don't.

It's really that simple.

I don't understand the arguments that have manufacturers 'doing things' to consumers. It just doesn't work that way.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

anyone got some nice photo examples from their XA?

http://www.growlery.com/manhattan/

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[raid]

I sold my mint XA-4 for about $60 many years ago. I had four XA-models, including the XA-4 and XA-2 and the XA. I kept only the XA.

 

[nightfly]

All to date with XA:

http://provoke.mediumstudios.com

 

[ChrisPlatt]

In defense of the XA2

In defense of the XA2

Though I prefer the exposure control offered by the XA,
I like the XA2. It's really not a bad snapshot camera.
Results are better than the average point-and-shoot.
Cool capsule design, little to malfunction, and dirt cheap.
I just bought another for the pocket of my work jacket...

Simplify!
-Chris-

 

[Bill58]

Raid:

Did you sell them because you didn't like the image quality?

Just curious,

Bill

 

[Trius]

I view the XA-4 as somewhat specialised. The wide-angle lens combined with scale focusing means it's going to appeal to a smaller market than the XA. It was introduced at the very end of the product range lifecycle, and by that time any consumer (i.e., not professionals looking for a high quality carry-around) interest was waning in the face of auto-focus, auto-flash, auto-programmed exposure P&S cameras. I don't recall the original retail price, but it wasn't "cheap" in comparison to those offerings.

I've never heard anyone complain about it's performance, though.

 

[bmattock]

I am proud to be a new XA user since last Saturday. Found a camera in great shape at a yard sale ... US 25 😛

Roland.

Excellent deal if it works properly. Congrats!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[Trius]

Even if it needs a CLA by a top Olympus repair shop, it's a good deal.