bmattock
Veteran
Dug out my old trusty Olympus XA2 yesterday and took the dog out for a walk in the Michigan snow. Film is Shantou ERA 100 B&W film rated at 200, developed in Diafine, scanned with Scan Dual IV and edited in The GIMP under Linux. Only minor editing done. A bit of levels adjusting, removed dust and cruft, cropped a tiny bit except for one which needed more. The film expired in 2007, but it seems to have survived despite being stored badly.
The XA2 is as I remembered it. Nice to use, handles snow and backlighting rather well. No trace of lens flare, which is good because it would be impossible to attach a lens hood to this tiny camera. The lens is simply not as sharp as the XA, and it's a scale-focus camera rather than a true rangefinder. So you get what you get. Still, sharp enough for basic snapshooting, and somewhat evocative of earlier times, I think.
My dog's name is Milo. He's a good boy.
Milo Backlit by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
Himself in Winter, Part 1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
Himself in Winter, Part 2 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
Milo Avoiding the Camera by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
Milo Blazes A Trail by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
The XA2 is as I remembered it. Nice to use, handles snow and backlighting rather well. No trace of lens flare, which is good because it would be impossible to attach a lens hood to this tiny camera. The lens is simply not as sharp as the XA, and it's a scale-focus camera rather than a true rangefinder. So you get what you get. Still, sharp enough for basic snapshooting, and somewhat evocative of earlier times, I think.
My dog's name is Milo. He's a good boy.
Milo Backlit by Wigwam Jones, on FlickrHimself in Winter, Part 1 by Wigwam Jones, on FlickrHimself in Winter, Part 2 by Wigwam Jones, on FlickrMilo Avoiding the Camera by Wigwam Jones, on FlickrMilo Blazes A Trail by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr
sreed2006
Well-known
If you are quick, you can put the last picture on the Photo Association thread, after the dog on the beach picture.
Looks like you two had a nice little stroll through the snow.
I have an XA2 in my unhappy camera box. Got it for free, and it lasted 2 1/2 rolls before it died. Someday, I'll have to see about getting it fixed.
Looks like you two had a nice little stroll through the snow.
I have an XA2 in my unhappy camera box. Got it for free, and it lasted 2 1/2 rolls before it died. Someday, I'll have to see about getting it fixed.
kuvvy
Well-known
Bought an XA2 a few weeks back. Mint with flash and in its box. Not used it yet though. Looks like your results are pretty good considering the out of date film.
tbhv55
Well-known
I have an XA2 which I still occasionally use (but not nearly enough
). It's a great camera for its intended purpose... I really should shoot with it again, soon.I also once had a dog... called Milo.
He was a great fella, too!Here's where the coincidences end... since we don't have snow here (yet!).
Joao
Negativistic forever
Great results ! The contrast between the dog and the snow in the first photo is superb.
I had a good experience with the Shantou ERA 100 film (the best 35 mm film made in China, IMO) and I regret that, as far as I know, it has been discontinued.
Regards
Joao
I had a good experience with the Shantou ERA 100 film (the best 35 mm film made in China, IMO) and I regret that, as far as I know, it has been discontinued.
Regards
Joao
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Interesting about the backlighting because I've also noticed that the other "overshadowed" camera made by Olympus, the basic μ-I handles back lighting well. All the others; XA, XA3 and XA4 and μ-II having a +1½ feature or spot metering.
And there's several P&S's that claim to have an automatic back lighting feature. Sometime I think they've all bought in the same chip to control the camera. We'll never know...
Regards, David
Interesting about the backlighting because I've also noticed that the other "overshadowed" camera made by Olympus, the basic μ-I handles back lighting well. All the others; XA, XA3 and XA4 and μ-II having a +1½ feature or spot metering.
And there's several P&S's that claim to have an automatic back lighting feature. Sometime I think they've all bought in the same chip to control the camera. We'll never know...
Regards, David
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
I continue to get more keepers from my old XA2 than I ever did with my serviced XA.
Chris
Chris
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Thinking about the XA2 and it's relatively low position as a status symbol (as opposed to it's status as a decent, useful camera with a good lens on it that anyone can use etc, etc).
With my 'high' status 1925 or 26 'hockey stick' Leica and case etc no one would think it odd if I said I keep it focused at (say) 8ft and at f/8 ready for grab shots.
Thanks to its clever design the XA2 is also kept in that state automatically but different figures for the focus... Better still it has two other focus points and they are dead easy to learn and use and the results are impressive. And the lens might be better than the old Elmar of 1925/26 ish but it just hasn't got the status. I guess it shows how weird things/people are.
Regards, David
Thinking about the XA2 and it's relatively low position as a status symbol (as opposed to it's status as a decent, useful camera with a good lens on it that anyone can use etc, etc).
With my 'high' status 1925 or 26 'hockey stick' Leica and case etc no one would think it odd if I said I keep it focused at (say) 8ft and at f/8 ready for grab shots.
Thanks to its clever design the XA2 is also kept in that state automatically but different figures for the focus... Better still it has two other focus points and they are dead easy to learn and use and the results are impressive. And the lens might be better than the old Elmar of 1925/26 ish but it just hasn't got the status. I guess it shows how weird things/people are.
Regards, David