In praise of the Olympus XA

The XA saved me when my other camera failed in tibet. A couple of pics.

I sold it and bought a P&S so that I could have autofocus. But I regret doing that now.

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I've had an XA sitting on the shelf for years and never bothered to pick it up. It was purchased at a garage sale along with some other photo gear for $1. I figured I'd give it away but never did.

After reading about how great the XA is on this forum I decided to break it out and run some cheap Fuji color film through it just to see if the meter and flash were working properly. I just got my photos back from the One Hour lab at Target and I've already decided that this camera is going to be in my pocket everywhere I go now! I can't believe how good the photos came out! Nice and sharp when stopped down but beautifully soft when opened up. Great color rendering, even with crappy processing! I can't wait to get a roll of B&W through this thing so I can get in the dark room and really see what it will do.

Kinda makes me sick that I searched for years for the perfect knock around camera and it was sitting on my shelf the whole time!
 
I bought an XA with A11 flash online a few weeks ago for a reasonable $60 CAD. Camera arrived today and is in better condition than I expected. Optics are clean and clear. Besides the odd scratch and the serial number plate being half off (I super glued it back down), it's in perfect condition.

I just finished running a roll of Fuji Superia 400 through it and while the RF is pretty dim, it is a joy to shoot. Can't wait to take this camera on an adventure...
 
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I got mine, new, from my dad and I've used it ever since. It was the ultimate stealthy "serious" compact for a long while and still goes unnoticed when I need it to.

I've kept the rangefinder window clean all these years and the patch is still sharp and bright. I may just be lucky. So, how about some pix?


Petrified Forest National Park, October, 1998 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


Jack, Palmdale, CA, November 1998 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


Helen, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, 1998 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


The First Time I Saw Him, November 03, 2010 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


MCB At The Oven, August, 2010 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


On The Beach, Hok-Si-La Park, Minnesota, August, 1994 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


Mom And Dad Have Vodka Time, Summer 2010 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
 
Yes!!!! the XA Is fantastic and I love mine. Maybe it's the fact that it's a rangefinder, maybe it's that it was so cheap, but when I had to decide which one small camera to keep (other than my Leica bodies) I favored the XA over my Contax T2, a Lomo L-CA and an Olympus Mju.

Here are my contributions. This is a totally underrated camera, even in NYC I've never seen anyone shooting with it.

Walks of life by Luis Tsukayama Cisneros, on Flickr


Individual lives, waiting for the subway by Luis Tsukayama Cisneros, on Flickr
 
My fourth XA

My fourth XA

Been without an XA for about 15 years but decided after buying one for my daughter-in-law (I felt she really needed to experience film!) I decided to stock up on one myself while I still can.

Just some scans from a CD that came with the processed film. What a great little camera!

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I remember the week the XA came out because friend of mine sold his SLR to get this wonderful little clam-shell of a camera. I thought it was a great design but it wasn't until last spring that I got one...and then a second one followed.

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Another XA fan here. The perfect carry everywhere rangefinder.
I remember my complete disappointment when I first saw the MJU type models.

Thank goodness they made millions of the little XA suckers. :)
I carry mine whenever I can.

A couple from the beach with HP5.

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