Olympus XA2 blows my mind

[ericdan]

much cheaper and much more fun for me at least.

 

[Chan Tran]

I didn't know it's program mode.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Well, your XA2 seems like it produces sharp photos. Mine has been a disappointment.

Back in 1981 I was planning a trip to Norway and I had only a Pentax SP500. So, wanting a small backup camera, I went into a Shutterbug store and was shown an XA2, which I bought. At the time, I didn't know about the XA. Well, almost all my XA2 shots are soft - noticeably less sharp than from the Pentax's 50/2 Super Takumar - and this was visible even on 4x6's.

Yesterday, however, at the Puget Sound Photographic Society's annual swap meet, I found a nice and fully functioning XA. So, I suspect that will be better. I have to say that it seems to be the perfect take-everywhere pocket camera.

 

[ericdan]

Yes, it's nice if you want a rangefinder. I tried one in the store and focusing is easy and probably much more accurate than the three zones you get on the XA2. But if I wanna shot a rangefinder I still have my leica.


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[thuggins]

Shhhh. If you shoot almost any lens that's in good condition at f/5.6 or f/8.0 you'd have a hard time differentiating. Vast majority of lenses perform terrifically when stopped down a couple of notches.

While stopping down will improve the sharpness of any lens, closing the aperture does not magically make a poor lens great. I've seen enlargements of many images where the quality of the lens is apparent.

But it is not just the lens that makes the XA2 excel. It (along with every other Oly) can meter even difficult light pretty much perfectly. I've read comments folks make about the number of shots they lose from bad exposure and never understood what that meant. I've shot E-6 pretty much exclusively for the last 20 years and almost never have an improperly exposed shot from any of my Oly's.

 

[ericdan]

Here's the mustache distortion.

 

[bvy]

I don't get it. I'm looking for a mustache?

 

[ericdan]

Yes, looks just like the sample image on wiki.

 

[ericdan]

On a closer look I think it resembles pincushion distortion more than mustache. Anyways, it's not very obvious unless you shoot brick walls all day.
It's a fun camera otherwise. I just shot 13 rolls of slide film on a vacation with the XA2 and have no complaints.

 

[bvy]

Okay, but it doesn't strike me as terribly pronounced -- except maybe in the lower right. I'd call it pincushion more than mustache.

 

[ericdan]

Exactly! I bought this camera for 4 dollars.
I really have no complaints.

 

[bvy]

If you like the XA2, I suspect you'll love the XA.

 

[ericdan]

Thanks for the recommendation. I was thinking about getting that first. The store I got my second XA2 from had a few XAs, too.
But I have a Leica with a 35mm summicron, the XA would just be duplicating that I thought. (at a tiny fraction of the cost)

The XA2 I thought is a nice snapshot camera for family vacations. I noticed that not having to meter and focus keeps my wife much happier on vacations, too.