Olympus XA3 Stealth Machine.

John Bragg

John Bragg

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This week, as Lockdown is being gradually relaxed in the UK, I have taken the odd socially distanced walk and taken in my pocket my XA3. This was bought for £1 from Ebay in very good condition, apart from the usual foam rot on seals and a while ago I replaced those with the help of a Jon Goodman kit which has been money well spent. It is the third of my cameras to be re-sealed, but to my shame I hadn't used it since the refurb. It struck me that it may be one of the fastest street cameras and certainly one of the stealthiest. I am trying to capture the return of life to once busy spots and I am conscious that folks may not be keen to be photographed right now, but the zone focussing and near silent shutter has allowed me to remain invisible. I have just finished the first roll of HP5+ today and can't wait to process it. I would welcome advice and shared experience of using this tiny marvel. It has been a very Zen like experience and I can see it becoming one of my most used cameras. Now to blow the dust off the Canonet QL17 GIII that I have also been sitting on, but that is another story.
 
There's little to tell; wind the film on, open the cover then frame the subject and press the red button...

Try not to change the zone by memory as memory can fail and screw things up. That would be a pity as a lot can be squeezed out of all of the XA series.

Regards, David
 
The lens is stellar, if only I could remember to check the front before firing! What is useful to me is you can override the DX by taping the film capsule, and then set the speed on the front.

Just make sure you grip it well when shooting, my technique has been tested and found wanting. I try now to use faster film - this was Kodak Tmax 400 which I taped and shot at 800 (same developing - it's a superb film for flexibility). The little lever to add 1.5 stops for backlit scenes is a joy to use and perfectly calibrated. I prefer a rangefinder for street photography as opening the clamshell does take a bit of time, but it's undoubtedly unobtrusive!

hosshidef-1-of-1.jpg
 
David Hughes said:
There's little to tell; wind the film on, open the cover then frame the subject and press the red button...

Try not to change the zone by memory as memory can fail and screw things up. That would be a pity as a lot can be squeezed out of all of the XA series.

Regards, David
Click to expand...

Thanks David. I have been told that in good light all you need is the orange middle focus zone. Is that right ?
 
CharlesDAMorgan said:
The lens is stellar, if only I could remember to check the front before firing! What is useful to me is you can override the DX by taping the film capsule, and then set the speed on the front.

Just make sure you grip it well when shooting, my technique has been tested and found wanting. I try now to use faster film - this was Kodak Tmax 400 which I taped and shot at 800 (same developing - it's a superb film for flexibility). The little lever to add 1.5 stops for backlit scenes is a joy to use and perfectly calibrated. I prefer a rangefinder for street photography as opening the clamshell does take a bit of time, but it's undoubtedly unobtrusive!

hosshidef-1-of-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks Charles. That DX override appeals to me too. I usually scrape and tape my film cassettes to hack them to ei200 but the ability to select at will is great.
 
Another self illusion thread.
Small size of the camera helps to deal with image taker fears.
Once you grow from it, you'll realize what best disguise is to be very open of what you are doing. It is safest way to have no trouble with those who doesn't like to be photographed.
In the opposite, playing spy games with XA is direct call for trouble.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
Another self illusion thread.
Small size of the camera helps to deal with image taker fears.
Once you grow from it, you'll realize what best disguise is to be very open of what you are doing. It is safest way to have no trouble with those who doesn't like to be photographed.
In the opposite, playing spy games with XA is direct call for trouble.
Click to expand...

Thankyou for that. I could take a suitably heavy camera like my Bronica and it would be handy in a self defence situation.
 
John Bragg said:
Thanks David. I have been told that in good light all you need is the orange middle focus zone. Is that right ?
Click to expand...

John, it was me who posted that information, in the other recent thread on the XA series. As I said in that thread, it was something that I'd read some time ago - but can't remember where.

Some are sceptical of the idea, but my experience is that it is substantially correct. I've had far fewer blurry shots from my XA2 since adopting that approach.
 
tbhv55 said:
John, it was me who posted that information, in the other recent thread on the XA series. As I said in that thread, it was something that I'd read some time ago - but can't remember where.

Some are sceptical of the idea, but my experience is that it is substantially correct. I've had far fewer blurry shots from my XA2 since adopting that approach.
Click to expand...

Thanks Again David. I am looking forward to developing the film.
Its other great strength seems to be in lack of shutter lag. I was trying to capture my toddler mid air on a trampoline. I hope I succeeded
 
Re: Middle Zone Setting

Re: Middle Zone Setting

In the original brochure for the XA and XA2 is says the "universal focus™ position ..will assure excellent results even if you never bother to focus at all". And in the last XA/XA3/XA4 Macro brochure they call it the "Focus Free setting".

Having said/quoted that; mostly people remember this website, imo:-
http://www.diaxa.com/xastart.htm

I don't know why but when I checked the link it didn't go where I expected; this might just:- http://www.diaxa.com/xastart.htm

Regards, David

PS Thanks tbhv55; John, I'm the one with the long grey beard...
 
tbhv55 said:
I'll be interested to learn whether the approach has worked for you. 🙂 [BTW, I think you've mixed me up with David Hughes, who has also contributed to this thread (and many others!).]
Click to expand...

I am so sorry for my confusion, but thanks again. I have referenced that thread and that's where I got the info.
 
David Hughes said:
In the original brochure for the XA and XA2 is says the "universal focus™ position ..will assure excellent results even if you never bother to focus at all". And in the last XA/XA3/XA4 Macro brochure they call it the "Focus Free setting".

Having said/quoted that; mostly people remember this website, imo:-
http://www.diaxa.com/xastart.htm

I don't know why but when I checked the link it didn't go where I expected; this might just:- http://www.diaxa.com/xastart.htm

Regards, David

PS Thanks tbhv55; John, I'm the one with the long grey beard...
Click to expand...

Thanks again David. I was multi tasking and failing.
 
tbhv55 said:
I don't think that's going to help much, David - my beard is grey too! 😀 (but at least it's hardly "long" by any normal beard measure.)
Click to expand...

And my beard is grey and also getting longer. How many photographers of our age are bearded ? Just the men I hasten to add, although I'm sure women have the freedom to be hirsute.
 
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