Olympus XA2 Focusing

Harlee

Harlee

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I just returned from Mongolia and China and took a number of test shots with my recently acquired XA2. While returning back through Beijing, I realized that I made a terrible mistake with the XA2. Instead of focusing it on distant [mtn symble], I focused 90% of my shots on closeup. I hesitated getting the rolls processed, but I also hated to have all of my shots of the Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc. just thrown in the garbage without at least seeing what the pics looked like. To my great surprise, almost all of them came out even with the incorrect zone setting. Don't ask me why I used the incorrect zone setting, I simply don't know.

Approximately 8-10 shots on my last roll of film ame out considerably sharper because I realized my mistake and used the correct zone focus setting. All this to say, I'm utterly amazed that the first roll and most of the second roll came out so well.

I think you'll notice the difference in the pics I've downloaded - I'm sure you'll be able to pick out the early ones which I shot with the wrong zone setting compared to the ones with the correct zone fitting. Three cheers for the XA series!!!
 
What a pity! Since I lost shot on street because of same issue, I take on trips only cameras I'm familiar - and in this respect I prefer if focus scale is on lens. Even C35 EF3 is easier [more natural] for me in this respect.

I don't blame XA2 - I just have to use it more to feel it without looking at controls.

Reading about your Mongolia trips makes me little nervous - I feel smell of travel, sitting here in front of computer.
 
You're very lucky!

You're very lucky!

I had a roll of 35mm film that I miss-focused on and it was disastrous! None of the pictures were salvageable, to say the least, I was very distressed.
 
XA2 Focusing

XA2 Focusing

I'm always glad to hear that I'm not alone when I've made a bad mistake. As soon as I return home after Thanksgiving, I'll post more pictures of my trip taken on the XA2.
 
Me too, shots where I know that I "forgot" to set the focus and lost a few possible nice shots. Most of my failures are perhaps covered by the default middle focus setting so I find that only when shooting in dim light do I see a problem.
I like the vignetting and wonder why it seems to be most noticeable at small apertures, rather than wide open as you might expect....This has been so extreme that it has spoiled a few shots.
Checking over my scans from the XA2, I found that the effect was very much more of a problem on Agfa APX400s film than on Delta 400. This too is odd, but I do recall from pinholing discussions that vignetting can change with the film used.

I hope that you get to use yours and enjoy it.
 
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Harlee, were most of these shots in relatively bright light with fast film? If so, the camera would select smaller apertures, hence the sharp pics from greater DOF that saved your trip.

Cheers
 
Olympus XA2 Focusing

Yeah, I came up with the same conclusion. The majority of my shots were on bright sunny days, and using DIN 400 film, it stopped down the lens and that's what saved the majority of my shots. Cheers!
 
Hi, forgiveness please for dragging up an old thread but it regards the problem I'm having with a recent xa2 purchase. Got it just before Christmas and decided to use it for the family get together on the Xmas morning, put in a roll of hp5 and as the gathering was indoors used flash on all of the snaps, also the camera was on the default setting, all the subjects were of around five feet from the camera. I developed the film a couple of days later only to discover that all of the pics were exposed ok but all out of focus , every one of them. By this time I had a second roll in the camera so used it at the bottom focus setting, I was hoping perhaps the default setting was just out of sync or something��Well all but one of the second roll displayed the same results, and that pic although better was still soft. Now I used flash with nearly all of the shots, they were all indoors, so perhaps an ultra slow shutter speed could be the cause,but I doubt it. I will try a roll out doors in better light, if we get some, but I'm fairly sure at this stage that the focusing is off on the camera, if it wasn't I would have got a higher percentage of keepers. I wasn't expecting MF quality, but I had heard a lot of goods things about the lenses on these cameras, the double whammy is its the first of my film cameras my wife had taken a liking to, point and shoot is her thing. It was a cheapie, €25, I can't imagine a fix being as cheap unless of course someone here knows of a quick fix��
 
dubtom said:
It was a cheapie, €25, I can't imagine a fix being as cheap unless of course someone here knows of a quick fix
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the focus distances are 2.7m (9ft) in the default setting, 1.2m (4ft) close by, and 12.7m (40ft) far-off. Depth of field takes care of the distances in between, but only when the lens isn't wide open. Indoors, the lens is probably wide open, so DOF will be shallow, and it's worse the closer by you are..

On top of that, it's of course possible that the linkage between the focus lever and the lens has become undone. To check, you can look over the camera (that is not straight on), and move the lever. You should see the lens move a tiny bit (1mm or so, because it's front cell focusing) in and out. The movement is small, but it should be there..
 
I should have read the manual Peter, you are correct. I was out by about 4 feet in my focus distance, and here is me blaming the camera:bang:
I'll get a roll in it pronto and try it out doors,I'm sure you are correct also about the DOF. Well that's my excuse about the bad shots down the drain.😱
Thanks for the help.
 
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