Olympus XA-2 - picked one up yesterday!

enomooshiki · Mar 12, 2012

Picked one up at a local camera sale mini convention event kinda thing.
at $25, I had to get one.

honestly, I didn't know much about the camera, except that it's small and full auto.
I am sad I couldn't get a flash for it, the Olympus A11. It would be a very nice addition for this camera.

running through my first roll right now. hope it comes out nicely.

zsas · Mar 12, 2012

Wooohooo welcome to the XA club, that camera is a gem!

Mike Wilde · Mar 13, 2012

Think of it as a miniature version of a good old Oly Trip 35. You range focus on one of four focus distances, and get a wider range of shutter speeds than the Trip 35 offered.

And you have it with you all the time, it is so small.

If you get addicted, then move on and hunt out an XA, for (challenging) rangefinder focussing, and the ability to select your own choice of aperture.

enomooshiki · Mar 14, 2012

Mike Wilde said:
Think of it as a miniature version of a good old Oly Trip 35. You range focus on one of four focus distances, and get a wider range of shutter speeds than the Trip 35 offered.

And you have it with you all the time, it is so small.

If you get addicted, then move on and hunt out an XA, for (challenging) rangefinder focussing, and the ability to select your own choice of aperture.

Yup, just went through a roll. Can't wait to dev and scan.

Would getting an XA considered an upgrade in performance?
I see that the XA lens is f/2.8 compared to f/3.5 for XA-2

mbsmith · Mar 14, 2012

Performance, maybe. But the real "upgrade" would be control. Like Mike Wilde mentioned, aperture control and actual rangefinder focus is the main advantage.

But I do love my XA2

Steve Smith · Mar 14, 2012

I have an XA and an XA4. I can't decide if I want to keep them or sell them. They don't get much use but every time I think about selling them, I eventually change my mind.

Steve.

Dr.Pain-MD · Mar 15, 2012

enomooshiki said:
Would getting an XA considered an upgrade in performance?
I see that the XA lens is f/2.8 compared to f/3.5 for XA-2

You do get more control with the XA, mainly the aperture and rangefinder focusing. The lens is also half a stop faster. However, I use my XA-2 far more than the XA and I actually think that it has a better lens despite the half stop difference.

Toffle · Mar 15, 2012

I've made steady use of the XA2 I got from Steve two or three years ago, and finally picked up an XA today. The big attraction of the XA was the ability to select apertures... In all my shooting, from 35mm to 8x10, I put great emphasis on my choice of depth of field. I don't know this for a fact, but I assume that the XA2 calculates exposures for maximum depth of field. I tend to go the other way... selecting the minimum DOF to cover my subject in a way that pleases me. I shall soon see if the XA controls are more "Tom" friendly in that regard.

Cheers,
Tom

enomooshiki · Mar 15, 2012

wow,

thank you for alll your insightful comments.

I would love to have control over the aperture,
Does that mean XA's auto exposure is like Aperture Priority mode?
and by Real RF focusing, do you mean i can actually focus through RF?

Steve Smith · Mar 15, 2012

enomooshiki said:
Does that mean XA's auto exposure is like Aperture Priority mode?
and by Real RF focusing, do you mean i can actually focus through RF?

To answer your questions in the order asked... yes and yes!

Steve.

snederhiser · Mar 15, 2012

Hello;
The point here is having a pocket camera that is easy to carry. Always have my XA-2 or my Nikon L35AF handy for the unexpected pictures when riding the bike. Both take sharp pictures, Steven.

enomooshiki · Mar 15, 2012

snederhiser said:
Hello;
The point here is having a pocket camera that is easy to carry. Always have my XA-2 or my Nikon L35AF handy for the unexpected pictures when riding the bike. Both take sharp pictures, Steven.

oh, no doubt about it.
since i got my XA2 last Sunday, it's been in my bag. I've already started carrying it around everywhere.

I work in downtown Los Angeles, where there are lots of interactions during lunch on streets.. and every lunch break so far, i've taken out XA-2 and took few quick snaps.

but, i think having a RF with little more 'control' would be nice to have when you are on a little more serious journey.

Olympus XA-2 - picked one up yesterday!

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