Olympus XA 2 any good?

[68degrees]

So i was coming back from the post office today and felt drawn to the thrifts store. I had been working on my visualization to manifest the things Im looking for. Lately I had been visualizing finding an XA somewhere. An abondoned discarded disrespected XA and saving it.

I guess I didnt quite imagine it right but it was close. So I went into this thrift store and went back to the camera section and there were about 10 cameras in a plastic bin. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the bin was Olympus XA I can feel it...

The last one I looked at was an Olympus XA... well sort of. ITs the XA 2. Obviously no rangefinder so I had to put it here in the point and shoot forum.

It was 1.95 including the flash. Now Im looking for batteries. The bateries in it are dead. They are Kodak KA76 made in japan. I couldnt find these at the store. They had A76 which I think are the same but they were pretty pricey. They shouldnt be that much. So are these any good anyone here shoot one, like one etc? I like the small size like the infinity but some manual control.(not much) I wonder how the lens compares to the infinity stylus that I have.

 

[nightfly]

They are really good. I like them better than the XA (have had both).

On the XA you have a rangefinder but just barely. It's a dim yellow patch in a tiny viewfinder. I basically use the little focus paddle to zone focus anyway. The XA 2 has sensible zone focus marks and defaults to two people which is I think about 6 or 8 feet, great for quick street grab.

The lens is marginally slower 3.5 vs 2.8. I think they both suffer from ugly lens flare but they are great pocketable cameras.

XA with lens flare:

 

[Greyscale]

I think that once you get used to the XA2, you will never miss it not being a rangefinder. Not really a point and shoot either, you will find several threads on it and its close cousins, the XA3 and the XA4, in the "Scale Focus" subforum.

 

[thejameskendall]

i much prefer the rangefinder of the XA but for the money you can't find many cameras that are a better value. you got a good deal.
very good lens. i thought it was f2.8 but i may be wrong. the batteries are fairly standard ones but i can't remember the numbers. good camera to keep in your pocket.

 

[68degrees]

i much prefer the rangefinder of the XA .

I do too. I was hoping for an XA but the more I read im starting to see that zone can have its advantages and the xa2 has some other stuff better too with its metering. So Im hopeful that Greyscale is right for me too.

The lens on this guy is absolutely crystal clear perfect.

 

[jstout]

no good

no good

Any good? No, not really... It totally lacks the snob appeal of a classic (German) rangefinder camera, although the pictures are the same. My XA2 kodachromes are indistinguishable from the chromes from my OM-1n or the Nikkormat, but it really lacked the heft, the feel, the charisma, the je ne sais que. No one will want to steal this thing, so how good can it be? People will smile when they pose for you using this innocuous instrument, but perhaps not with that knowing, informed kind of sage smile of the cognoscenti, although the casual smile may be more relaxed. It is best left in the bin. The clear, saturated chromes can never overcome that plastic feel memory. A failed experiment.

 

[crispy12]

I had an XA, and it's true the rangefinder is barely usable. Its like a micro version of the canonet and yashica rangefinders. It takes me at least 5secs to focus it so I just scale focus most of the time. It's hard to miss at f5.6 and smaller. It is good to have though, even if my usage of the rf focusing is only about 10%.

 

[68degrees]

Any good? No, not really... It totally lacks the snob appeal of a classic (German) rangefinder camera, although the pictures are the same. .

I really like your style.

 

[zsas]

Congrats 68F (or should I say 20c 🙂). I've been diggin thru thrift bins for a while now and never stumbled upon any flavor of XA. I do have a XA not 2, 3 or 4, but, the whole line is a heck of a line of cameras. They take great shots, and its pocketability allows it to often be the "best" camera...because the best camera is the one with you! Congrats on your find, $1.50 is great. Make sure to check the seals, as they degrade (least I've seen that on the XA). Needed a John Goodman seal kit to get it back to square one.

 

[68degrees]

Congrats 68F (or should I say 20c 🙂). I've been diggin thru thrift bins for a while now and never stumbled upon any flavor of XA. I do have a XA not 2, 3 or 4, but, the whole line is a heck of a line of cameras. They take great shots, and its pocketability allows it to often be the "best" camera...because the best camera is the one with you! Congrats on your find, $1.50 is great. Make sure to check the seals, as they degrade (least I've seen that on the XA). Needed a John Goodman seal kit to get it back to square one.

Thanks. Also I just noticed that the seals dont look very thick. I also noticed in the instruction manual that the shutter speed ranges from 2 second to 1/750th. Thats pretty impressive.

 

[zsas]

Wow, 1/750 is great, think the orig XA is only 1/500. Love an XA w PanF+ on a nice bright day...6 element coated lens, for $1.95, you've a nice find! Watch the flare, but sometime it can add charm...

 

[68degrees]

Wow, 1/750 is great, think the orig XA is only 1/500. Love an XA w PanF+ on a nice bright day...6 element coated lens, for $1.95, you've a nice find! Watch the flare, but sometime it can add charm...

The XA2 only has a 4 element lens. XA has 6. I learned today that you can tell how many elements an Olympus lens has by the letter on the lens.

The XA has and F zuiko, the F stands for the 6th letter of the alphabet so it means it has 6 elements. The XA2 has a D zuiko. D is the fourth letter of the alphabet so it has 4 elements. and so forth. pretty cool.

 

[68degrees]

I think the XA2 is the ultimate stealth camera. Im not really into taking pictures of strangers without their knowledge. I feel creepy doing that.
But if I was into that or got interested in that to the point where I liked it more than I dislike feeling creepy then I think this XA2 would be the ultimate stealth camera. Especially if detailed in black.

 

[zsas]

Interesting, didn't know the XA's lenses were different, but in truth, you prob can't see the differences, the Flickrs I've seen of the XA line are always a joy. Have fun!

 

[Greyscale]

The XA2 only has a 4 element lens. XA has 6. I learned today that you can tell how many elements an Olympus lens has by the letter on the lens.

The XA has and F zuiko, the F stands for the 6th letter of the alphabet so it means it has 6 elements. The XA2 has a D zuiko. D is the fourth letter of the alphabet so it has 4 elements. and so forth. pretty cool.

The Trip 35 has a D Zuiko, and it has what many consider to be one of the finest lenses on any compact camera, so I think that you will be OK. 🙂

 

[jtm6]

I bought an XA recently. I love using it because of all the thought that went into the modes of operation. I usually just zone focus it even though it is an RF. I'm still not sure if I like the 1979 futuristic, "feather touch" touch-sensitive shutter release button. If you hear a tiny click while you feel around for that button, that means you found it and yet it was instantly too late. 😉

 

[Bill58]

I had an XA that I bought used, but it was a "money pit" due to numerous repairs over 6 years. It finally became unrepairable (thankfully) due to major electronics failure and I'll never buy another.

 

[Lawrence A.]

I find the XA rangefinder quite usable. All you have to do is increase the contrast with a little black tape on front of the window and it works great. I love using it, and get great result.

I've been pleasantly surprised at how good the little XA1 that I got for $2 at a thrift is, though. This is from my first roll, HP5+ developed in HC110 dilution H. It's really a delightful little machine, even if I do still prefer the focus and aperture control I have on the XA. This is a great one handed shooter that I can shoot while walking the dog.

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[Lawrence A.]

I had an XA that I bought used, but it was a "money pit" due to numerous repairs over 6 years. It finally became unrepairable (thankfully) due to major electronics failure and I'll never buy another.

I've got 2. Never had a problem with either one.

 

[Noll]

Of course its fine. Fine is an understatement. Just put in some new seals and Amazon or the 'bay are your best friends for batteries.