Olympus XA or 35RC: Which should I get?

I shot with an XA and an F3 for almost twenty trouble-free years. Then I switched to digital. The original XA is just a treasure.
 
Hi i do not have an XA. I have two RC´s.
The RC is nice to handle and does work without batteries. Sometimes the RF patch can be a bit weak. When compared to a Nikon 50mm the lens is great.
On the other side the XA is newer.
 
Spider67 said:
Hi i do not have an XA. I have two RC´s.
The RC is nice to handle and does work without batteries. Sometimes the RF patch can be a bit weak. When compared to a Nikon 50mm the lens is great.
On the other side the XA is newer.
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Hi i also do not have an XA. I have RC waiting to be little bit refreshed and loaded.
Weak RF patch, "electronics stopped working" and "stuck advance" syndromes kept me off XA, taking price into consideration.

RC is my kind of camera, so I feel after just keeping it in hand. To be fair, shutter release on XA-series is (were) innovative, cool and red (judging from XA2 I use) though I prefer conventional button better. Also size - XA2 is simple camera, but if I would have to deal with focusing on it, not sure if I want knitting lessons with tiny lever.

If RC would have low resistance button (read - no AE), I'd give it "five rolls" for ergonomics so I take off "half of roll". Wait, only "four rolls" remain - another "half of roll" goes away because aperture ring isn't designed for everyday's use, it's there for those who will run out of batteries in field or occasionally want to fool with manual settings - it's designed to be used mainly as AE camera with shutter priority. And I'm not saying it's wrong. RC seems to be perfect "four roll camera". Perfect. Except silly filter thread size, but for this I will not take rolls away, it's too cute otherwise.
 
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As for the filter size: It took me long time to collect a set of matching filters but there's a 43.5 to 52mm adapter available. Check on evilbay..
 
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On the other hand I used 52mm Filters by holdig them to the lens which worked as the camera is small and light enough...
 
This if very informative..Thanks for all the inputs!

I'm definitely getting the Olympus 35RC...Seems to be the more robust among the two :D

I also read somewhere that the shutter button of the XA's would fail to work when it has been pressed heavily for some time..Is that true?

EDIT: By the way, according to this [link] the filter size of the 35RC is 43.5mm..So is it 40.5 or 43.5?
 
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Yes, why not for occasionally used filter. If it's casual yellow/yellow-green/green or warming, then adapter or native 43.5mm filter seems better option.

In Mju period I almost bought Cokin adapter to use their sheet filters on cameras not having thread on lens. If one already has such legacy, it also could work for rare use.

UPD: I have seen complains about XA shutter, but can't comment on how often it goes wrong.
To be fair, I already mentioned I have XA2 which is nice camera with good metering and lens, but it costed me nothing compared to XA.
 
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I'm definitely getting the Olympus 35RC...Seems to be the more robust among the two
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I don't think you'll be disappointed - it's a great camera. And yes, although I use my XA a lot more than the RC, the RC is more robust.

I also read somewhere that the shutter button of the XA's would fail to work when it has been pressed heavily for some time..Is that true?
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Yes, I've heard of a few cases of that happening. But I've had an XA-2 since new (bought about 1989, I think), which I used around SE Asia for a few years and it has had some rough treatment, and I also have an XA and an XA-4 which I bought second hand over the past couple of years. And the shutter releases in all three are still working perfectly.

Anyway, when you get your RC please let us know what you think if it and post some photos (And maybe start saving for an XA too? :D)
 
I would DEFINITELY save up to buy an XA hahaha..:D

By the way, would you advise me to buy 43.5mm filters to protect the 35RC lens?

I read somewhere that it has a soft-coating, and I'm concerned about damaging it & having "spots" form..
 
As soon as you don't bump solid objects with lens, no need to protect - generally. Except you use camera in harmful conditions, and then think about protective case, too. And safety suite for you, in case if conditions are really bad :)

UPD: best move would be getting lens shade. Original are expensive and I can't suggest which from current to get. But it gives protection to image, and some say - to lens too. It really depends on type of accident - you drop it on concrete lens down, or gull hits front element or camera swims in sea. Best one can do for camera - use it, then it at least doesn't gum.

Don't overdo with lens cleaning, that's all. This is how I managed to scratch some on my first cameras. If you clean lens, do it properly. I promised myself not to touch lens in field if it gets little dirty.
 
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btgc said:
As soon as you don't bump solid objects with lens, no need to protect - generally. Except you use camera in harmful conditions, and then think about protective case, too. And safety suite for you, in case if conditions are really bad :)

UPD: best move would be getting lens shade. Original are expensive and I can't suggest which from current to get. But it gives protection to image, and some say - to lens too. It really depends on type of accident - you drop it on concrete lens down, or gull hits front element or camera swims in sea. Best one can do for camera - use it, then it at least doesn't gum.

Don't overdo with lens cleaning, that's all. This is how I managed to scratch some on my first cameras. If you clean lens, do it properly. I promised myself not to touch lens in field if it gets little dirty.
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Got it, thanks for the info!:D
 
Dmitri,

The Philippines is a great place for street photography -- one of the last remaining places in the world where people do not freak when you whip out a camera. The only problem you will have is to keep them from posing and grinning.

You made the right choice IMO. I have two RCs and an XA, and the RCs get much more use. They certainly feel much more solid.

Before you buy an adapter, you might check to be sure that the original mercury batteries are not still available in the Philippines -- if not in Manila then some new old stock in some small shops sa Pobinsya.
 
Scribo said:
Dmitri,

The Philippines is a great place for street photography -- one of the last remaining places in the world where people do not freak when you whip out a camera. The only problem you will have is to keep them from posing and grinning.
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Hahaha that's actually very true, although sometimes they do cover their faces..

Just don't shoot straight to their face, like that guy I saw on YouTube (forgot his name).

He shoots in-your-face and uses flash for "street" photography.

Btw, I might go for the Ricoh 500G simply because its minimum shutter speed is 1/8s, not 1/15s as the 35RC's :D
 
dimitriroleda said:
I'm deciding what to get between the two, but I can't choose 'coz they're both so good haha..

What do you guys think?

I'm buying either of these cameras for the purposes of street photography..So I want it small, quiet & unassuming in appearance..Which do you think would serve my needs best?

Thanks and I hope to hear from you guys soon!
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I would to with the RC, a quality product.
 
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