So I got an XA today

zsas

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Keep your eye more to the right of the view finder and the patch is easier to see
 
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tomalophicon

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Well my XA has died. Just stopped working. I replaced the batteries and still nothing.
Anyone got any ideas about where to start looking to diagnose the problem?
 

zsas

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Sorry to hear
Does the meter still work?
Does the battery check make a beep?

I once had something happen where mine seized up, but the meter still worked, so I took the bottom plate off and it was that the film rewind button that got stuck under the bottom plate, after taking it off, it freed it up, but my meter still worked so if your issue is dissimilar I am not sure.

There is somewhere on Flikr a XA step by step guide to opening up

But I am not sure of your repair aptitude and leave that to you to decide if a XA tear down is warranted
 

Steve Smith

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tomalophicon said:
Well my XA has died. Just stopped working. I replaced the batteries and still nothing.
Anyone got any ideas about where to start looking to diagnose the problem?
Click to expand...

Most problems with these cameras are usually due to dirty battery contacts. Try cleaning them before looking elsewhere. It is possible to have a bad contact which can pass enough current to make the battery check buzzer sound o.k. but not enough to work the shutter properly.


Steve
 
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tomalophicon

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Hi guys,
The meter doesn't operate, the shutter doesn't operate and the battery check doesn't beep.
I'll check the terminals.
Actually, does the XA2 take the same batteries? I swapped the new ones into an XA2 to see if they worked and it did. But if it's the wrong batteries I'll be happy.
Thanks for the lead on the flickr guide. I will open it up, not sure if I'll go any further.
 
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tomalophicon

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Hi guys,
I got into the battery compartment with an ear cleaner and gave it a good working over. It works now. Thanks for the advice.
Is there a solution like turps or metho that I can use to clean it more thoroughly?
 

Prof_Pixel

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tomalophicon said:
Actually, does the XA2 take the same batteries? I swapped the new ones into an XA2 to see if they worked and it did.
Click to expand...


The XA manual specifies silver oxide SR-44, EPX-7 o MS-76 cells

The XA2 also mentions LR-44 or A-76 alkaline cells


What battery type are you trying to use in your XA?
 

Steve Smith

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tomalophicon

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Prof_Pixel said:
The XA manual specifies silver oxide SR-44, EPX-7 o MS-76 cells

The XA2 also mentions LR-44 or A-76 alkaline cells


What battery type are you trying to use in your XA?
Click to expand...

It's a silver oxide watch battery; I'm not sure of the designation. I'll look later.
 

Toffle

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Just to keep this thread, I picked up a mint XA today to compliment my XA2. (I also got a Rolleifix )
It was a good day.
 

munz6869

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Periodically I go XA crazy, but currently the poor thing is back in the cupboard, whilst I wrestle with the delight that is a Rollei 35 with a fully functional meter (Thanks to Leigh Youdale and his spare mercury battery adapter!). Yes, zone focusing is an acquired skill, but when I get it right, the results are fab, and the camera design is so darn weird and stylish, and the shutter is less hair-trigger than the XA...

But I'll return to the XA in time, I'm sure...

Marc!
 

munz6869

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Well here's a snap of the 15th century Portuguese Caravel replica a guy made in his back yard, moored in Geelong a few weeks ago, from a roll of HP5+ I bought minutes earlier from an astonishingly well stocked (with Ilford materials) local photo store (Camera House Geelong). In good light, with ISO400 film - zone focusing is kind of easy, and even the cheaper tessar lens is so sharp...

Marc!
 

munz6869

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Turns out there is not much difference size-wise. They weigh about the same, and the Rollei is a smidge taller, and its lens sticks out perhaps a millimetre or two more in the folded position... What you lose in rangefinder 'certainty' you gain in manual control and a flash hotshoe, albeit on the bottom...

Marc!
 

Someonenameddavid

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If there is anyone out there has a speed graphic and would like to trade it for an XA and a Rollei 35 I'm your man.....
 

Spicy

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Just got mine AFTER a 2 week trip through Thailand and Cambodia. I went the day before leaving, guy had like 6 of them and none of them worked, so he tried to Frankenstein one for me before leaving, said it'd be ready at 1pm (flight was at 9). It wasn't. He managed to mix parts from a bunch of them and get one working upon my return.

Unfortunately, the lens is fungussed to hell (if that's a word, which I'm sure it isn't), and the meter needle arm doesn't work. I read about someone saying you can somehow take it apart and just wiggle it, sometimes they get stuck, but I'm not bold enough to try it. Rangefinder patch is incredibly dim, as well, but works enough to be semi-helpful in bright sunlight. Have like 4-5 pictures on the test roll -- maybe I'll try and finish it off and get it dev'd/scanned tomorrow...

I'm not too optimistic about the lens, though
 
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tomalophicon

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Very interesting. Looks like you get a real iris too
 

wblynch

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Pretty Cool. Can you get those Rollei's for $10-$30 like the XA?


 

munz6869

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Pretty Cool. Can you get those Rollei's for $10-$30 like the XA?
Click to expand...

The prices vary wildly - whereupon the early German ones are wildly expensive, and the Singapore ones not so much. I paid about CHF100 for mine, which is on the expensive side - but in my defence, I was on holidays, and it was a really nice camera shop...

Marc!
 
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