Who needs a leica?

[szekiat]

I must first confess that when i bought the XA, i was really skeptical about how well it'd perform. I mean, i've shot leica v4 crons, voigtlanders, a contax T3, and various other SLR 35mm lenses so i knew that i'd have high standards. But looking now at my first roll, i must admit, this baby looks really good, esp when shot with APX400 film! Its got enough sharpness at f4 to 5.6 for me to do a couple of A3 prints so far....

Just a few samples.....

 

[oldrangefinderguy]

Great stuff. In what do you soup your APX400? Great tonality. Also, although i like the first and fourth shots best, I'm most interested to know what's happening in the last shot.

BTW. The XA's a great little camera. It seems like I've had a lifelong quest for the perfect pocket camera. Tried Rollei 35, Retinas, Agfa Super Solinette, Vivitar EM, XA, and XA2. If I could find a camera with the size and weight of the XA, the XA's rangefinder and rounded corners, but the build quality, full manual control, and ability to take filters found with the Rollei, then I would never have to look any further. Still, while not perfect, the XA may just come as close as anything I've tried yet. It's my current take-everywhere camera. This is especially true during the summer months when I tend not to be wearing anything with pockets big enough for a Retina or my Fed or whatever.

 

[NickTrop]

These are very nice. On the subject of small rangefinders, for me the best is the Konica Auto S3. No, it's not XA tiny but it's "small enough". Oh, and the lens, that wonderful lens:

"Compact 35 Rangefinder with 38/1.8 lens, focusing to 36" The six element four group lens is an exceptional performer, called "one of the best semi-wide angle optics of its speed we have ever tested" by Modern Photography. Amazingly, ALL apertures had center values between 64 to 82 lines per mm."

http://www.cameraquest.com/kons3.htm

This superiority of this lens is evident, even in small prints. It is especially evident at wider apertures, with 64 lpm center res, shoot wide open, no worries. It's a bit softer in the corners as all are, but not bad either. Not only is the lens sharp, but it renders colors beautifully.

 

[gavinlg]

Those are excellet shots - thanks for sharing. I love my olympus xa too - I don't have anything as nice as that to show yet though - I'll have to work on some black and white

 

[szekiat]

souped the apx400 in ilfotec HC 1:31 at 21deg, 5.5mins 4 agitations every minute

Thanks for the kind comments guys. Still working on getting good shots with it at 2.8 though. The ebl is just a bit short to focus properly....

Oh and the last one was at speakers corner. It can get heated at times.

 

[mfunnell]

These are very nice. On the subject of small rangefinders, for me the best is the Konica Auto S3. No, it's not XA tiny but it's "small enough". Oh, and the lens, that wonderful lens:

I, too, love my Auto S3 - but I'm not giving up my XA! Sometimes a stop-and-a-bit plus better vf/rf is important - but sometimes small is a very large virtue. I'm lucky to have both, and they both get used.

...Mike

 

[Oldprof]

Who needs a Leica? People who think they must have Leicas need Leicas. People who are miserable without Leicas need Leicas. But you can take excellent and absolutely wonderful 35mm photographs without a Leica. 😉

 

[patrickhh]

Still working on getting good shots with it at 2.8 though. The ebl is just a bit short to focus properly....

I think this would be a point where a Leica should be better.

I "upgraded" from a Fed-2 to a Bessa-R and I find it more difficult to focus the J-8 properly, when shooting wide open at f/2. The viewfinder of the Fed-2 is crappy, in comparison, but its rangefinder is much better because of the large baselength.

 

[varjag]

A friend of mine shoots Oly XA happily, but the thing is starting to fall apart from heavy use. I guess a leica would be better at that too.

 

[Pherdinand]

my fifteen-bucks yashica gsn amazes me all the time i pic it up for a roll or two.
Just yesterday i looked at some 2200x3300 pixel scans and realized how sharp it is where it has to be, and how beautiful it works with a film like kodak e100sw slide.

But let's admit it, the camera feels a bit sloppy compared to a leica or contax and it is somewhat limited by its fixed lens and aperture-priority-only shutter.

 

[Kevin]

Leica-M bodies are very rugged and dependable and therefore an advantage to have on longer trips where finding a replacement body is difficult or impossible.

 

[Nikon Bob]

The XA and APX400 combination is working very well for you. Yes, you really don't need Leica to get very good results with RFs. I enjoy them all though.

Bob

 

[Trius]

Even though I'm a "zuiko addict", I agree with Bob ... I enjoy them all. The XA is as close to a perfect pocket RF I have found. I'd love to have full manual control, but admit I rarely need it on an XA. The baseline and lake of filter facilities are more serious issues to me, though I did see an article ages ago that had some sort of hack for using filters. My very dim recollection is that it was about creating a bracket that screwed into the tripod socket and would hold Wratten gels close to the lens. Clunky, but it should work.

 

[erikhaugsby]

Two of my ultimate favorite shots I took with an XA; and incidentally both of them were in the Vatican (one in St. Peter's, the other of the stairs exiting the Museum).

Hmmm...was it the XA, or was it the Italy part?

Regardless, it's a very competent little camera. My only nagging point is the viewfinder can get really dim with just a little bit of dirt, and when I tried to clean it out I ended up nuking the entire camera.
But the viewfinder is clean now. 😀

 

[oscroft]

An XA or a Leica? You have to have both 😀

 

[szekiat]

haha, thanks for all the comments. I actually have a lot of leica gear but the XA is seeing more everyday use now...... It fits into my work bag, which is important. My leicas stay hidden in the secret compartment in my car!

 

[Nikon Bob]

Even though I'm a "zuiko addict", I agree with Bob ... I enjoy them all. The XA is as close to a perfect pocket RF I have found. I'd love to have full manual control, but admit I rarely need it on an XA. The baseline and lake of filter facilities are more serious issues to me, though I did see an article ages ago that had some sort of hack for using filters. My very dim recollection is that it was about creating a bracket that screwed into the tripod socket and would hold Wratten gels close to the lens. Clunky, but it should work.

Funny you should mention that bracket and filter idea. I did see one for sale at a store and it is/was a regular commercial product. I can't recall the brand name though.

Bob

 

[charlesfoto]

I used to think I needed a Leica, bought into Leica, but quickly realized my Contax G2 and Mamiya 7 provided equal enjoyment, equal results, and now that I have a capable scanner, am in love with the Mamiya 6x7 negs. So, I guess I can say that I thoguht I needed a Leica, don't feel that way anymore.

 

[oscroft]

I actually have a lot of leica gear but the XA is seeing more everyday use now...... It fits into my work bag, which is important

Yeah, my XA is the camera I carry around with me when I'm not taking photos, and so I end up using it quite a lot.

 

[ferider]

The XA is a great camera. I have yet to use my "new" SP. Shown these
before, this was so far my best XA output:

The only thing I don't like about the XA is the square aperture.

Roland.