I bought my XA at a pawn shop in Bozeman, Montana for $5. I fell in love with it, and used it almost daily for a number of years, until about 2017, when I accidentally left it on the commuter train in Salt Lake City. Wish I hadn't done that, but hopefully the person who found it is still using it and making amazing images with it.
I got my XA sometime during the 80’s. At the time I was working for National Park Service as a Park Ranger. I trained as a woodland firefighter and got called out to Forest Fires every summer for 4 years before going back to graduate school. The XA was my call out camera. It went with me on all the fires I called out to. It stayed in my front shirt pocket and never failed me. I always shot color negative film. My. Prints made it into my local a couple of times. I still have it. I need to replace the foam light shields. It is a great little camera.
I am using it daily for street photography. You are almost invisible with this camera in terms of sound and shutter noise. Focus lever is also great for zone focusing: Mid lever is exactly 1.5 meters, one third on left is 1 meter, one thrid right is 3 meters, very easy to memorize and you can set it without looking.
@@noirceur_ This was around two years ago, and the RB was at around $300 (the one I got was also pretty battered). I had some money saved up and sold the XA for to get the rest
I had one in the ‘80s. My grandfather gave it to me before I left for two months in England. It was (and is) the perfect film travel camera. I don’t know what became of that XA, but I bought another one and still use it. Brilliant camera.
The XA was my first camera ever in the late 90’s. My original one stopped working but years later I bought another one. It’s such a remarkable little camera to carry around!
Thanks for the video. Absolutely love my XA. In this digital day and age, film photography is a relatively niche hobby; for me at least it is as much about the history and evolution of the medium as it is about the creative aesthetic. In that context, the XA is very special in being the legendary Maitani's last design; it represented such a stunning example of thinking out of the box to produce a true masterpiece of industrial design and miniaturisation. It holds a special place in my film camera collection ( along with the OM) and I very much enjoy taking it out from time to time.
Glad to see you enjoyed it! Definitely one of my favorites, mostly for the compactness as you mentioned. It's easy to just have in your pocket at all times, should something interesting arise.
What I love the most about the XA, besides its true pocket size (much smaller than a Leica), is how well its ergonomics are designed. It is simple and a joy to use. If I had to name a fault, it'd be the feather light shutter button - it's kind of difficult to find the button when you are framing, and that can lead to a few wasted exposures ;-) But it can be remedied to by sticking some textured tape over the shutter button.
Every time I saw an XA in a shop, I'm always struggling a minute if yes or not I should buy a second one, this is by far the film camera I'm using the most. I took a lot of street but also some landscape of the mount Fuji and I'm just amazed by the results.
Great compositions Kyle. I just got a Olympus Stylus and there is something so fun and simple about removing all the thought process of exposure and just focusing on composition.
The thing I like about the XA is that it seems to render with this beautifully smooth glassy contrast - I'm not sure if it's how the lens vignettes that does it but all the photos I get out of it feel quite unique to the XA
@@KyleMcDougall tip: if the meter needle falls to the bottom and the battery seems to have died, just take the batteries out and put them back in. Works a charm.
I have a love hate relationship with this camera. It takes amazing sharp images, however them shutter button goes off if you breath on it. It's like a hair trigger on a gun, you will loose a few shots each row if you are not careful. I make it a habit not to advance the film until I'm ready to take a shot. The shutter is almost silent and you won't here it on a busy street. You wouldn't think you could do night shots due to the light wait and max asa of 800. However I have gotten shots at 1/15th because the shutter fires with so little pressure there is little camera shake. The range finder patch is tiny however if you cover the patch area with a little piece of black electrical tape on the front glass it really helps.
This has been my go to film camera since I purchased it a few mo the back. Then I found a lowepro case that was so lucky and got this camera like a glove. Black and white and color film render so nicely with this camera. The size and capability is the selling point.
Great video!! The XA has surprisingly good image quality! You're right about 35mm as well. There is a level of spontaneity and a low pressure feeling with 35mm when compared to medium format. It gives you a little more room to take some risks and experiment
I had the Oly XA when it was new in the stores in the '80s as a supplement to my Nikons. It was always in the pocket, so as they say, "the best camera is the one you have with you..." One trick is the manually input ISO (ASA back then), which you could use as an exposure compensation. Set your 400 ISO to 200 and you over expose one stop. Liked you video.
Excellent review, the XA has been on my "radar screen" for about 1 year. It sounds like you got a good example for a reasonable price. The only compact 35mm I have is a Pentax IQZoom, which does ok, but nothing like the quality of these you obtained.
Great video! Inspiring. I dug out my XA which has been sitting in my closet for 20+ years ordered batteries and film... and I'm going to shoot on film for the first time in 20+ years!
Having both XA and the Yashica T4 Super to choose from making a decision to shoot with two different perspective and getting different results! This is the quickest and quietest camera I own! It’s Perfect for street photography! Great review Kyle!
I know the Oly XA well. After viewing this video and seeing the well executed examples taken with the XA, I can honestly state it isn't the camera in so much as to whether it is in capable hands. - Truly some admirable work can be done with a camera whose viewfinder is not my favorite.
Great video! I have an XA and it has never disappointed me every roll is just great and super sharp the lens is just amazing. There is no camera with this size and features, at this price the same like the XA.
The lens is astonishingly good, slight wide angle, versatile and very sharp, which automatically led to a lot of large pictures ordered after first sighting of the developed roll. I was inofficial the "designated photographer" at friends events during those marvellous 80's.. due to these large pics (mostly 8"x11" or so) and genius small camera on boat trips, parties and so on, i did posess a Canon AE1 SLR too, but most of the time and on the go, the Olympus XA2 was hard to beat, no bulk just no hassle "sure fire" - complete concentration on getting the view/picture guaranteed! Should have made more of it, so many opportunities in this life. Cheers
I have had Olympus XA2 camera for-e-ver and since smart phones have not used it. Also didn't think anyone would still process 35mm film. I LOVE this camera.
I owned both the XA and also the XA4. The XA4 is also quite fun as it has a 28mm lens and instead of a rangefinder system it has zone focusing. Sometimes the wide angle is really nice to have! The lens is also really sharp. Can recommend the XA4 to anyone who doesn't want to fiddle with range finder focusing and wants to go a little wider than 35mm. Cheers!
Great first look at the XA, I had one for a while, ended up sending it down to a photographer in Australia as part of the Emulsive Secret Santa exchange and they loved it! They are awesome cameras with superb optics. As for TMax 400 and cupping, it does do that a lot, I find that leaving it hanging for 48-hours then backrolling it another 24 hours will reduce it enough to get it scanned. THen under a book before putting it in the binder.
Cheers, Alex. Yeah, definitely going to try backrolling it next time. I was shocked how much it cupped. Funny enough, just developed some cheap Fomapan 400 and it's incredibly flat.
The XA series are brill little cameras. I have the XA1 which is focus free and auto exposure and is so refreshing to use. Lovely work and vid as always Kyle. Peace from Manchester o/
These are great cameras! I try to carry at least 1 (or 2) around with me when out with friends for the day. Also, @ 4:32 on the video when you put the video camera down. That would have been an interesting scene for the XA!
I got onto the Olympus bandwagon with the OM1 back in the day, Ive had my eye on the XA for years but I still have an Olympus Stylus pocket camera that has taken a licking and keeps on ticking, clam shell wont snap shut now but it lives in my jeep console or motorcycle gear in all kinds of weather and conditions. Gotta love the reliability of the little camera that could, would and still does. Its held up better than me :) Good review Kyle, thx mate !
My Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 Deluxe was the last film camera I bought and still have it. While I bought an Olympus XA after it was released as my EDC camera, but it never worked out and I sold it soon after. Besides these two cameras and a E-PL1, they were the only Olympus cameras I had ever purchased in my four-decade journey,
Nice quick video on the XA. I am looking forward to your full review. I just got the XA and havent had time to take it out shooting yet. Planning a week away on holiday next month and will definatly bring it along.
Love the XA. I usually shoot old fully manual cameras (Leica M, Nikon F/F2). A couple weeks ago, I loaded my XA and took it out for a spin and it was refreshing to not think about all the settings and things as much. I agree with you about it being kinda fiddly. I've often found my finger covers the rangefinder window if i'm not careful, making it harder to focus and the shutter release is so sensitive, i've accidentally taken a few shots when I wasn't ready, but being able to literally fit it in your pocket makes up for it. The rangefinder patches are always dim on these, but i've found that the black dot in the center of the viewfinder trick (with a sharpie) helps a lot, at least for me.
I ended up selling mine because as the day ends and the light drops off, it was too hard to see the rangefinder patch and hit focus at 2.8. I replaced it with an MJU II which I find a lot more usable with the autofocus and integrated flash. Obviously has a few cons as well but either way, these micro compact 35mm cameras are so cool.
Saw your video come up after I just shot my first roll this weekend on the XA2 I just purchased. Having a such a pocketable camera to have on you is fun. And it’s capable of producing results like this at the $100-$150 price point. I agree on the Contax...Save your money and get an XA or XA2.
For me, I think I’d only invest in the Contax if I shot mainly 35 and it fit my as my main camera. But as a pocket camera, it’s too big of an investment.
The Olympus XA is a really nice camera with an outstanding optical performance. Fits in every pocket. Perfect for street photography. Invisible and very quiet. For family, landscape and architecture too. I like my XA. Designed by Olympus genius designer Yoshihisa Maitani. Weighs only 225 grams or about half a pound.
I just finally bought an XA after years of looking at them and passing. I've narrowed my cameras over the last year and now shoot with my Bronica ETRSi 645 (shooting a lot of Lomochrome Purple with the 50mm f/2.8) a digital Leica M240 (95% BW) and wanted a capable "full frame" 35mm film camera that will always be with me when I don't want to shoot digital or when I want to be "more free" than the 16 shots the Bronny gives me and I think the XA might be that camera. It arrives Monday, so will be interested in how you've gotten on with yours.
Anongst other cameras I have been using the XA since it was first released, got my hands on one way back in the late 1970s, they are great carry around cameras, although the lightness of the shutter button can often cost you shots, thanks for sharing this great video, I would also recommend the Olympus 35 RC and the XA4, all have great Zuicko glass, super sharp.
I opted for the xa2, I was in the market for more of a point and shoot and love the asa control. The colour saturation really surprised me! Great video, boosting me to put a roll of b&w through mine!
I used to have the XA2 zone focus model. In spite of it's simplicity, it saw me through my school and student days (early to late 80's). Unfortunately I misplaced it during our move to the UK way back when. The Olly XA series is a brilliant little camera range, there's a model in there for everybody. I am currently looking at a few XA1 models (fixed focus lens, non-electronic shutter with a Selenium cell light meter) for a pocket-clicker to complement my Praktica MTB5 and Zeiss Ikon medium format camera. And I simply adore Hastings - not as "touristy" as places like Rye Harbour, lots of raw "real" bits in it. Thanks for the video!
I was gifted one exactly like yours in a nice leather case ! First results ruined by worn out light seals ! - with light streaks all over ! should have checked it better! Ebay sorted the seals -have removed old ones and new ones are on their way ! Nice videos on RUclips explaining the whole process of replacing them. So back shooting film again - makes you more disciplined - fav film Kodak Portra 400 ! Hope to get some nice images - love your super everyday life creative images -well done !
XA users usually advance the film right before a shot due to the hair trigger. Also, try some ND glass above your negatives on the scanning bed. If this doesn't help then use old packing peanuts to squish it more.
I picked one up a few months ago after watching The Photo Department’s video on it. I throw it in my back pocket when I walk out the door, and mostly shoot Superia so I don’t feel so bad blowing through film faster then usual. Such a fun and excellent little camera. The shutter sound is comical though 😜
I was also looking at pocket 35mm cameras a while back, and ended up picking up the Rollei 35s (where most people are saying this and the olympus xa being the smallest camera. Would say the rollei 35 is also a excellent camera with such a small body, while having every control from shutter, aperture to focus. With the only downside that it needs you to be extremely familiar with zone focusing. But same with the XA, the body is so small that you don't know how to grip it, but it also kinda feels natural for the way that the dials are placed, you hold it like a rolleiflex. Very pocketable, would 100% recommend.
you got some great shots with a great point, focus and shoot. Everyone is searching for Leica rangefinders, spending thousands of dollars, when missing out on this very capable camera. The XA has crept up in price but is still a bargain. These make superb travel cameras when you want to shoot film but don't want to be loaded down with gear when traveling. They're also a great camera to leave in the trunk of your car when you want to grab a quick film shot. Sometimes you just see a scene that you know would be perfect for black and white film.
I just scored one for $35+ shipping. It was u tested but so far it seems to work great (except the frame count seems to be broken not not a huge deal) excited to see how the film turns out hopefully it’s working properly!
I carried one with me everyday for about 5 years until last year when my car was broken into and the camera was liberated from the center console. I tried a few different P/S cameras like the minox and chinon bellami but they aren't my thing. I just bough one yesterday and I haven't felt so excited to go out and shoot in a while. It feels like home.
I love my XA. Found it at a camera swap meet for $60 a few years ago, and it’s one of the best film camera purchases I’ve ever made. It’s the one camera I’ll never sell.
I went to Hong Kong in 1983(?) with a bag of Nikon’s and lenses. Bought one of these gems and shot about 30 rolls of Kodachrome 25 not using the Nikon’s again. A classic camera
The ability to manually focus a pocket camera is massive. After losing countless photos on my Olympus Stylus to failed auto focus, the XA gives me a lot more confidence. Also the Zuiko lens is a monster.
The problem of the camera Olympus compact camera are that electric circuits will failed time goes by, it will be nice if Olympus XA is mechanical not electronic 🤔👍 but overall it is compact and nice sharp compact camera and not much expensive compare to contax compact camera 😊
@@allthingsanalogue yup exactly, I also have my Olympus mju two of them I sold it out because sometimes I missed focus and also about the electronics in it 😅 but both are in good condition.
@@allthingsanalogue nice choice, but me I choose Olympus om-2n with zuiko 50mm f1.4 it's nice and sharp lens than my Olympus mju 35mm F3.5. Especially in lowlight situation it is good enough to have 😅🤔😊👍
Yes, great little cameras!🙂 I like my Olympus XA even better since I opened them (thanks to a RUclips tuto) and carefully cleaned their viewfinder and rangefinder... Before and after, it's night and day!
I'd love to see a follow-up review of this camera now that a few years have gone by. How many rolls have been put through it, how do you feel about it now? Thanks for all of your expertise!
I got one mostly because of the size and quite shutter. Was initially very disappointed, and had problem getting focus. Gave it two more rolls and it is pretty good, maybe not up to the hype. Found it easier to focus if you have a vertical line in the composition to help focus.
Now that you've mentioned "curly film, watermarks and dust" I've had the same issues with TriX I developed yesterday! Never had issues with Ilford, both 120 or 35... May be some of the Kodak components?🤔
Getting mine cleaned because of some fungus growing on the lens... But have you ever noticed the shutter speed readings being a little slow but the exposures are spot on? Really interesting camera.
Hi, if im not wrong the shutter speed readings and actual exposure is seperate. One of my XA has the same problem, shutter readings always slower than the actual shutter. As long as you are getting well exposure photos, i will not worry about it.
Really great looking shots from that Olympus! Any chance you could just edit the video description and give some details on your film process as you got such a great look out of this? Just what ASA you actually shot the T-Max at and what your dev process and timings were for these would be awesome and would be a great help in any video where you're shooting B&W and doing your own dev. Cheers!
@@KyleMcDougall interesting! I would never have guessed that you were over-exposing and pull processing on these shots as there's still so much contrast in them. Might have to give this combination a try myself at some point! Cheers for the reply and keep up the good work!
Not that you need any more 35mm GAS Kyle, but maybe look into the Nikon L35AF. That 2.8 lens is really super nice (Pikaichi, as they call it in Japan). Not quite as small as an XA, but a bit more to hold onto and the results are alongside the XA, if not better. Deciding whether to sell mine to top up my retirement fund...lol
Kyle! This vid is what convinced me I should hunt down an XA for myself. Now that I have three of them from bargain hunting I finally got around to making a POV photo walk youtube short with mine. Do you ever find time to play around with this thing anymore? Or does it not really fit into your workflow anymore? Mine was shelved for years but just recently came back out of retirement.
I got one when they first came out and it rode around in my shirt or coat pocket when doing field work, hiking, and skiing. My only issue with the camera was the feel of the shutter release plus me forgetting to focus with the rangefinder. Weight and size were key!
great new stuff Kyle, your b&w is gettin better and better - love the contrast about the curling: did you hang a weighted clip at the bottom when hanging the film to dry? the film will also be less curled when just using plain water as stop bath instead of a acid one...
Worth noting, especially when you're shooting at wider apertures: Since the entire lens doesn't focus as a unit (a moving element inside does the focusing), they had to make some engineering compromises that results in focus only being optimal for subjects at a certain distance (I believe it's about 2 meters from the camera). If you want to focus on things that are closer or further than that, you can, but those things will never be as sharp as something properly focused around that 2m point, even if you stop down. It can really show up sometimes with finer grained film, so be aware - this isn't going to perform in the range of situations that a good SLR lens will.
I just loaded a new roll of film into my XA. I so wish Olympus would have created a digital version of this, I have many ideas about it haha ex: keep the aperture priority design + full frame, EVF only (fix the focusing challenge), film simulations configurable by connecting to an app or computer. of course it'd be bulkier but they could still achieve of the smallest FF digital camera
I've had both the XA and the mju with the 2.8. I hated the shutter button on the XA and preferred the lens on the mju. Point and shoot lag was the mju's downside.
Nice review, thanks for your efforts. I've been shooting my XA for just under a year. I noticed some vignetting in some of your shots, it's something I've struggled with using this camera although it only seems to happen in certain situations. Did you notice it much? I feel like it happens the most for landscape shots when I am at smaller aperatures and focusing closer to infinity, I wonder if it could be a bad copy I have? Thanks again for the review. A great camera that I love having with me all the time.
@@topshelfherbsofalaskallc7918 This camera is never going to win landscape contests at infinity. It will get the job done, just don't expect miracles. And yes, 5.6 - 8 are the f stops I would use if doing that.
Hi Kyle, thank you for your video. It has inspired me to get my father-in-law’s old Olympus out and put a roll of black and white in it and see the results. Did you set the asa to 400 exactly to get those results or did you drop it to say 300 asa to slightly over expose. Just wondering. Mike
I bought my XA at a pawn shop in Bozeman, Montana for $5. I fell in love with it, and used it almost daily for a number of years, until about 2017, when I accidentally left it on the commuter train in Salt Lake City. Wish I hadn't done that, but hopefully the person who found it is still using it and making amazing images with it.
I got my XA sometime during the 80’s. At the time I was working for National Park Service as a Park Ranger. I trained as a woodland firefighter and got called out to Forest Fires every summer for 4 years before going back to graduate school. The XA was my call out camera. It went with me on all the fires I called out to. It stayed in my front shirt pocket and never failed me. I always shot color negative film. My. Prints made it into my local a couple of times. I still have it. I need to replace the foam light shields. It is a great little camera.
I am using it daily for street photography. You are almost invisible with this camera in terms of sound and shutter noise. Focus lever is also great for zone focusing: Mid lever is exactly 1.5 meters, one third on left is 1 meter, one thrid right is 3 meters, very easy to memorize and you can set it without looking.
I was stupid enough to sell my XA to buy an RB67, within the year I found myself getting a new one. It’s just a brilliant little guy
Hey, the RB67 is a awesome camera though.
How does selling a $60-$100 Olympus XA translate into you buying a $500-$800 RB67 with the profits?
@@CalumetVideo I agree 100%, the RB is one of my favourite cameras
@@noirceur_ This was around two years ago, and the RB was at around $300 (the one I got was also pretty battered). I had some money saved up and sold the XA for to get the rest
A water bottle just blew up in my bag and destroyed it...
I had one in the ‘80s. My grandfather gave it to me before I left for two months in England. It was (and is) the perfect film travel camera. I don’t know what became of that XA, but I bought another one and still use it. Brilliant camera.
The XA was my first camera ever in the late 90’s. My original one stopped working but years later I bought another one. It’s such a remarkable little camera to carry around!
Thanks for the video. Absolutely love my XA. In this digital day and age, film photography is a relatively niche hobby; for me at least it is as much about the history and evolution of the medium as it is about the creative aesthetic. In that context, the XA is very special in being the legendary Maitani's last design; it represented such a stunning example of thinking out of the box to produce a true masterpiece of industrial design and miniaturisation. It holds a special place in my film camera collection ( along with the OM) and I very much enjoy taking it out from time to time.
Glad to see you enjoyed it! Definitely one of my favorites, mostly for the compactness as you mentioned. It's easy to just have in your pocket at all times, should something interesting arise.
Absolutely. Looking forward to having this on me often!
What I love the most about the XA, besides its true pocket size (much smaller than a Leica), is how well its ergonomics are designed. It is simple and a joy to use. If I had to name a fault, it'd be the feather light shutter button - it's kind of difficult to find the button when you are framing, and that can lead to a few wasted exposures ;-) But it can be remedied to by sticking some textured tape over the shutter button.
Every time I saw an XA in a shop, I'm always struggling a minute if yes or not I should buy a second one, this is by far the film camera I'm using the most. I took a lot of street but also some landscape of the mount Fuji and I'm just amazed by the results.
My favourite camera of all time. The original Olympus XA. Great video as always 👍🏼
Great compositions Kyle. I just got a Olympus Stylus and there is something so fun and simple about removing all the thought process of exposure and just focusing on composition.
Thanks Brandon. And yeah, absolutely, it’s a nice change of pace.
The thing I like about the XA is that it seems to render with this beautifully smooth glassy contrast - I'm not sure if it's how the lens vignettes that does it but all the photos I get out of it feel quite unique to the XA
So far I'm a fan of the images it produces!
@@KyleMcDougall tip: if the meter needle falls to the bottom and the battery seems to have died, just take the batteries out and put them back in. Works a charm.
Trash camera man idk why you like it, only one lens with a shitty aperture limits idk why people want this
I love my XA! It's been definitely my most used camera since I got it a little over a year ago.
I have a love hate relationship with this camera. It takes amazing sharp images, however them shutter button goes off if you breath on it. It's like a hair trigger on a gun, you will loose a few shots each row if you are not careful. I make it a habit not to advance the film until I'm ready to take a shot. The shutter is almost silent and you won't here it on a busy street. You wouldn't think you could do night shots due to the light wait and max asa of 800. However I have gotten shots at 1/15th because the shutter fires with so little pressure there is little camera shake. The range finder patch is tiny however if you cover the patch area with a little piece of black electrical tape on the front glass it really helps.
I've been away from capturing my environment.... for too long.... you're bringing me back... appreciate the commentary.... especially since it's film.
Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
This has been my go to film camera since I purchased it a few mo the back. Then I found a lowepro case that was so lucky and got this camera like a glove. Black and white and color film render so nicely with this camera. The size and capability is the selling point.
Such a cute camera. Love the video too! I liked seeing the PoV + commentary on the photos to hear your thoughts
Great video!! The XA has surprisingly good image quality! You're right about 35mm as well. There is a level of spontaneity and a low pressure feeling with 35mm when compared to medium format. It gives you a little more room to take some risks and experiment
Absolutely! And thank you. 🙏
I had the Oly XA when it was new in the stores in the '80s as a supplement to my Nikons. It was always in the pocket, so as they say, "the best camera is the one you have with you..."
One trick is the manually input ISO (ASA back then), which you could use as an exposure compensation. Set your 400 ISO to 200 and you over expose one stop.
Liked you video.
Excellent review, the XA has been on my "radar screen" for about 1 year. It sounds like you got a good example for a reasonable price. The only compact 35mm I have is a Pentax IQZoom, which does ok, but nothing like the quality of these you obtained.
Really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this camera and seeing your images! Thank you for sharing with us!
Great video! Inspiring. I dug out my XA which has been sitting in my closet for 20+ years ordered batteries and film... and I'm going to shoot on film for the first time in 20+ years!
Awesome! Enjoy. :)
Having both XA and the Yashica T4 Super to choose from making a decision to shoot with two different perspective and getting different results! This is the quickest and quietest camera I own! It’s Perfect for street photography! Great review Kyle!
Glad you enjoyed this one!
I know the Oly XA well. After viewing this video and seeing the well executed examples taken with the XA, I can honestly state it isn't the camera in so much as to whether it is in capable hands. - Truly some admirable work can be done with a camera whose viewfinder is not my favorite.
Loving the new POV stuff, must make it so much easier to grab what you're seeing!
Thanks Alister. Still working on it, but it’s certainly helping solve a bit of the struggle that comes with taking photos + filming.
Great video! I have an XA and it has never disappointed me every roll is just great and super sharp the lens is just amazing. There is no camera with this size and features, at this price the same like the XA.
It certainly impressed me!
The lens is astonishingly good, slight wide angle, versatile and very sharp, which automatically led to a lot of large pictures ordered after first sighting of the developed roll. I was inofficial the "designated photographer" at friends events during those marvellous 80's.. due to these large pics (mostly 8"x11" or so) and genius small camera on boat trips, parties and so on, i did posess a Canon AE1 SLR too, but most of the time and on the go, the Olympus XA2 was hard to beat, no bulk just no hassle "sure fire" - complete concentration on getting the view/picture guaranteed! Should have made more of it, so many opportunities in this life. Cheers
I have had Olympus XA2 camera for-e-ver and since smart phones have not used it. Also didn't think anyone would still process 35mm film. I LOVE this camera.
Nice to see someone else exploring those hidden gems in hastings
That entire area is great.
My favorite 2nd camera from the 80’s next to my SLR, still using it today. Thanks for your video!
I have the XA 3 and it’s one of my favorite cameras, I bring it with me everywhere!
its an amazing camera!
@@TheReubenCook It is!! I’ve been on the lookout for the original XA to add to my collection!
I owned both the XA and also the XA4. The XA4 is also quite fun as it has a 28mm lens and instead of a rangefinder system it has zone focusing. Sometimes the wide angle is really nice to have! The lens is also really sharp. Can recommend the XA4 to anyone who doesn't want to fiddle with range finder focusing and wants to go a little wider than 35mm.
Cheers!
Great first look at the XA, I had one for a while, ended up sending it down to a photographer in Australia as part of the Emulsive Secret Santa exchange and they loved it! They are awesome cameras with superb optics. As for TMax 400 and cupping, it does do that a lot, I find that leaving it hanging for 48-hours then backrolling it another 24 hours will reduce it enough to get it scanned. THen under a book before putting it in the binder.
Cheers, Alex. Yeah, definitely going to try backrolling it next time. I was shocked how much it cupped. Funny enough, just developed some cheap Fomapan 400 and it's incredibly flat.
The XA series are brill little cameras. I have the XA1 which is focus free and auto exposure and is so refreshing to use. Lovely work and vid as always Kyle. Peace from Manchester o/
These are great cameras! I try to carry at least 1 (or 2) around with me when out with friends for the day. Also, @ 4:32 on the video when you put the video camera down. That would have been an interesting scene for the XA!
I got onto the Olympus bandwagon with the OM1 back in the day, Ive had my eye on the XA for years but I still have an Olympus Stylus pocket camera that has taken a licking and keeps on ticking, clam shell wont snap shut now but it lives in my jeep console or motorcycle gear in all kinds of weather and conditions. Gotta love the reliability of the little camera that could, would and still does. Its held up better than me :) Good review Kyle, thx mate !
My Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 Deluxe was the last film camera I bought and still have it. While I bought an Olympus XA after it was released as my EDC camera, but it never worked out and I sold it soon after. Besides these two cameras and a E-PL1, they were the only Olympus cameras I had ever purchased in my four-decade journey,
Glad you enjoyed this one! Gotta love a well used camera that has stood the test of time.
Had the Lomo LC-A+ for 8 years, and this came as a replacement 2 years ago. Such a wonderful little camera. Keeping it forever if I can.
Hope for you ! Mine is dead since 2 weeks.... 😩
Nice quick video on the XA. I am looking forward to your full review. I just got the XA and havent had time to take it out shooting yet. Planning a week away on holiday next month and will definatly bring it along.
Glad you enjoyed this one, Chris.
such beautiful images with a pocket machine, keep up the amazing work
Thank you.
Love the XA. I usually shoot old fully manual cameras (Leica M, Nikon F/F2). A couple weeks ago, I loaded my XA and took it out for a spin and it was refreshing to not think about all the settings and things as much. I agree with you about it being kinda fiddly. I've often found my finger covers the rangefinder window if i'm not careful, making it harder to focus and the shutter release is so sensitive, i've accidentally taken a few shots when I wasn't ready, but being able to literally fit it in your pocket makes up for it. The rangefinder patches are always dim on these, but i've found that the black dot in the center of the viewfinder trick (with a sharpie) helps a lot, at least for me.
I ended up selling mine because as the day ends and the light drops off, it was too hard to see the rangefinder patch and hit focus at 2.8. I replaced it with an MJU II which I find a lot more usable with the autofocus and integrated flash. Obviously has a few cons as well but either way, these micro compact 35mm cameras are so cool.
Saw your video come up after I just shot my first roll this weekend on the XA2 I just purchased. Having a such a pocketable camera to have on you is fun. And it’s capable of producing results like this at the $100-$150 price point. I agree on the Contax...Save your money and get an XA or XA2.
For me, I think I’d only invest in the Contax if I shot mainly 35 and it fit my as my main camera. But as a pocket camera, it’s too big of an investment.
The Olympus XA is a really nice camera with an outstanding optical performance. Fits in every pocket. Perfect for street photography. Invisible and very quiet. For family, landscape and architecture too. I like my XA. Designed by Olympus genius designer Yoshihisa Maitani. Weighs only 225 grams or about half a pound.
I love my XA... always in my pocket with a BnW in ready to snap ! Great review and great photos ... Thanks
Glad you enjoyed, Jerome!
I just finally bought an XA after years of looking at them and passing. I've narrowed my cameras over the last year and now shoot with my Bronica ETRSi 645 (shooting a lot of Lomochrome Purple with the 50mm f/2.8) a digital Leica M240 (95% BW) and wanted a capable "full frame" 35mm film camera that will always be with me when I don't want to shoot digital or when I want to be "more free" than the 16 shots the Bronny gives me and I think the XA might be that camera. It arrives Monday, so will be interested in how you've gotten on with yours.
The black and white twilight shots came out really nice. Would love to see what tweaks you make to your B&W scans.
Thanks Tom. Really happy with how they turned out. Most of the work was done in NLP with some slight tweaks after in LR. Mainly exposure.
Anongst other cameras I have been using the XA since it was first released, got my hands on one way back in the late 1970s, they are great carry around cameras, although the lightness of the shutter button can often cost you shots, thanks for sharing this great video, I would also recommend the Olympus 35 RC and the XA4, all have great Zuicko glass, super sharp.
I opted for the xa2, I was in the market for more of a point and shoot and love the asa control. The colour saturation really surprised me!
Great video, boosting me to put a roll of b&w through mine!
I have an XA2 here that I’ll have to run a roll through!
fantastic little camera. packs a punch and more than enough creative control form something with this form factor. love mine to death
For sure. I won't be getting rid of this one!
I still have mine, I thought it was a very cool camera back then and it still stands out.
I used to have the XA2 zone focus model. In spite of it's simplicity, it saw me through my school and student days (early to late 80's). Unfortunately I misplaced it during our move to the UK way back when. The Olly XA series is a brilliant little camera range, there's a model in there for everybody. I am currently looking at a few XA1 models (fixed focus lens, non-electronic shutter with a Selenium cell light meter) for a pocket-clicker to complement my Praktica MTB5 and Zeiss Ikon medium format camera. And I simply adore Hastings - not as "touristy" as places like Rye Harbour, lots of raw "real" bits in it. Thanks for the video!
Glad you enjoyed. And yeah, Hastings is a great place. I'll definitely be back!
I was gifted one exactly like yours in a nice leather case !
First results ruined by worn out light seals ! - with light streaks all over ! should have checked it better!
Ebay sorted the seals -have removed old ones and new ones are on their way !
Nice videos on RUclips explaining the whole process of replacing them.
So back shooting film again - makes you more disciplined - fav film Kodak Portra 400 !
Hope to get some nice images - love your super everyday life creative images -well done !
I love this camera! It's an absolute masterpiece.
XA users usually advance the film right before a shot due to the hair trigger. Also, try some ND glass above your negatives on the scanning bed. If this doesn't help then use old packing peanuts to squish it more.
Great video as always! Nice captures with your XA! I still use my XA once a while. Great little camera.
Thanks!
I picked one up a few months ago after watching The Photo Department’s video on it.
I throw it in my back pocket when I walk out the door, and mostly shoot Superia so I don’t feel so bad blowing through film faster then usual.
Such a fun and excellent little camera. The shutter sound is comical though 😜
Yeah the shutter sound is like the complete opposite of what I’m used to, lol!
I got an XA last year and it's fabulous. Normally an SLR shooter and I love how close this is but stripped down. Manual focus really takes it beyond!
I was also looking at pocket 35mm cameras a while back, and ended up picking up the Rollei 35s (where most people are saying this and the olympus xa being the smallest camera.
Would say the rollei 35 is also a excellent camera with such a small body, while having every control from shutter, aperture to focus. With the only downside that it needs you to be extremely familiar with zone focusing. But same with the XA, the body is so small that you don't know how to grip it, but it also kinda feels natural for the way that the dials are placed, you hold it like a rolleiflex. Very pocketable, would 100% recommend.
Definitely would love to try the Rollei out. Just waiting to find one for a reasonable price.
nice to see my home town in one of your videos ive shot this place so much its hurts now
It's a cool area!
you got some great shots with a great point, focus and shoot. Everyone is searching for Leica rangefinders, spending thousands of dollars, when missing out on this very capable camera. The XA has crept up in price but is still a bargain. These make superb travel cameras when you want to shoot film but don't want to be loaded down with gear when traveling. They're also a great camera to leave in the trunk of your car when you want to grab a quick film shot. Sometimes you just see a scene that you know would be perfect for black and white film.
I just scored one for $35+ shipping. It was u tested but so far it seems to work great (except the frame count seems to be broken not not a huge deal) excited to see how the film turns out hopefully it’s working properly!
I carried one with me everyday for about 5 years until last year when my car was broken into and the camera was liberated from the center console. I tried a few different P/S cameras like the minox and chinon bellami but they aren't my thing. I just bough one yesterday and I haven't felt so excited to go out and shoot in a while. It feels like home.
I love my XA. Found it at a camera swap meet for $60 a few years ago, and it’s one of the best film camera purchases I’ve ever made. It’s the one camera I’ll never sell.
I went to Hong Kong in 1983(?) with a bag of Nikon’s and lenses. Bought one of these gems and shot about 30 rolls of Kodachrome 25 not using the Nikon’s again. A classic camera
The ability to manually focus a pocket camera is massive. After losing countless photos on my Olympus Stylus to failed auto focus, the XA gives me a lot more confidence. Also the Zuiko lens is a monster.
The problem of the camera Olympus compact camera are that electric circuits will failed time goes by, it will be nice if Olympus XA is mechanical not electronic 🤔👍 but overall it is compact and nice sharp compact camera and not much expensive compare to contax compact camera 😊
Yes, Olympus mju ii always let me down. I will end up having at least one out of focus shot in a roll. The XA will always give me spot on focusing.
@@allthingsanalogue yup exactly, I also have my Olympus mju two of them I sold it out because sometimes I missed focus and also about the electronics in it 😅 but both are in good condition.
@@junichinomura4810 same, i sold my Mju ii and got the XA. No turning back, now i have more than one XA’s
@@allthingsanalogue nice choice, but me I choose Olympus om-2n with zuiko 50mm f1.4 it's nice and sharp lens than my Olympus mju 35mm F3.5. Especially in lowlight situation it is good enough to have 😅🤔😊👍
Agree so much, only thing that i dislike is the shutter release. Just like you I accidentily hit it like once or twice every roll of film.
Yes, great little cameras!🙂 I like my Olympus XA even better since I opened them (thanks to a RUclips tuto) and carefully cleaned their viewfinder and rangefinder... Before and after, it's night and day!
Had an Oly XA2 in the late 80s. Great image quality, great camera.
I really like my XA. I can stuff it in my pocket and it is with me, anytime I wanna take a quick shot. Picture quality is quite exceptional, too.
I'd love to see a follow-up review of this camera now that a few years have gone by. How many rolls have been put through it, how do you feel about it now? Thanks for all of your expertise!
I got one mostly because of the size and quite shutter. Was initially very disappointed, and had problem getting focus. Gave it two more rolls and it is pretty good, maybe not up to the hype. Found it easier to focus if you have a vertical line in the composition to help focus.
Now that you've mentioned "curly film, watermarks and dust" I've had the same issues with TriX I developed yesterday! Never had issues with Ilford, both 120 or 35... May be some of the Kodak components?🤔
I love my XA, it's such a little masterpiece! It's one of the cameras that I'd never sell.
Same dude, same!
The price and the tendency to curl are what made me look for other options for black and white 35mm film. I still love Tri-X and Tmax in 120 though.
Yeah, I was surprised with how bad it was.
Getting mine cleaned because of some fungus growing on the lens... But have you ever noticed the shutter speed readings being a little slow but the exposures are spot on? Really interesting camera.
Hmmm, can’t say I’ve noticed anything like that yet.
Hi, if im not wrong the shutter speed readings and actual exposure is seperate. One of my XA has the same problem, shutter readings always slower than the actual shutter. As long as you are getting well exposure photos, i will not worry about it.
I'm so old I bought the XA1 new. I always thought it was a cool looking camera. I think I still have it. I just have to figure out where.
I bought mine a few years ago, I love rangefinders and that’s what sold it for me
I love the XA. I enjoy it more than most point and shoots. Including the Yashica t4
Really great looking shots from that Olympus! Any chance you could just edit the video description and give some details on your film process as you got such a great look out of this? Just what ASA you actually shot the T-Max at and what your dev process and timings were for these would be awesome and would be a great help in any video where you're shooting B&W and doing your own dev. Cheers!
Thanks! Film was rated between 200 and 320 depending on the light. Developed in DD-X at 400 for 8 mins at 20 degrees. Agitations every min for 10 sec.
@@KyleMcDougall interesting! I would never have guessed that you were over-exposing and pull processing on these shots as there's still so much contrast in them. Might have to give this combination a try myself at some point! Cheers for the reply and keep up the good work!
Not that you need any more 35mm GAS Kyle, but maybe look into the Nikon L35AF. That 2.8 lens is really super nice (Pikaichi, as they call it in Japan). Not quite as small as an XA, but a bit more to hold onto and the results are alongside the XA, if not better. Deciding whether to sell mine to top up my retirement fund...lol
Oh yeah, definitely have checked out the Nikon in the past. It's a tempting one!
Kyle! This vid is what convinced me I should hunt down an XA for myself. Now that I have three of them from bargain hunting I finally got around to making a POV photo walk youtube short with mine. Do you ever find time to play around with this thing anymore? Or does it not really fit into your workflow anymore? Mine was shelved for years but just recently came back out of retirement.
A Great Point & Shoot I Loves This Camera
I got one when they first came out and it rode around in my shirt or coat pocket when doing field work, hiking, and skiing. My only issue with the camera was the feel of the shutter release plus me forgetting to focus with the rangefinder. Weight and size were key!
great new stuff Kyle, your b&w is gettin better and better - love the contrast
about the curling: did you hang a weighted clip at the bottom when hanging the film to dry?
the film will also be less curled when just using plain water as stop bath instead of a acid one...
Thanks, Thomas! And yes, weighted clip was at the bottom and washed for 5 mins in plain water.
5 min just for the stop bath?
Oh. Read that wrong. 5 mins for final wash. 1 min for stop bath.
I hate the curl of t-max as well - it made me change to HP5 which is pushed at 800 amazing and dries completely flat every time!
this was my bar life club life camera in san francisco in the 90s with the flash aa batteries and fujichrome or ektachrome.
Yo im a photographer from hastings im based in Portsmouth now but thats so awesome to see my hometown in one of your videos
Nice. Hastings is a great area to explore!
Worth noting, especially when you're shooting at wider apertures: Since the entire lens doesn't focus as a unit (a moving element inside does the focusing), they had to make some engineering compromises that results in focus only being optimal for subjects at a certain distance (I believe it's about 2 meters from the camera). If you want to focus on things that are closer or further than that, you can, but those things will never be as sharp as something properly focused around that 2m point, even if you stop down. It can really show up sometimes with finer grained film, so be aware - this isn't going to perform in the range of situations that a good SLR lens will.
Really wish I hadn't sold mine. Sold it partially to fund a Bronica S2A but even though I love that camera I miss this one a lot.
My only problem with my example is the light meter is one stop under exposed, not a huge deal though since I just shoot 400 at 200 etc
Really interesting film. The XA is really in the spotlight at the moment and no wonder- what a great 35mm.
I just loaded a new roll of film into my XA.
I so wish Olympus would have created a digital version of this, I have many ideas about it haha
ex: keep the aperture priority design + full frame, EVF only (fix the focusing challenge), film simulations configurable by connecting to an app or computer.
of course it'd be bulkier but they could still achieve of the smallest FF digital camera
Did you record with a different set up? Lighting, composition, and look in the room is phenomenal
New office. 🙂
Did I like this video? Yes. It is an awesome video? Also yes.
I've had both the XA and the mju with the 2.8. I hated the shutter button on the XA and preferred the lens on the mju. Point and shoot lag was the mju's downside.
Never not surprised at HOW NICE shots off this camera are. Little plastic wonder.
Absolutely!
When you shoot landscape what do you set your asa to? I’m a little confused on how to operate this camera, but I’ve been so exited to use it
All depends which film I'm using.
Nice review, thanks for your efforts. I've been shooting my XA for just under a year. I noticed some vignetting in some of your shots, it's something I've struggled with using this camera although it only seems to happen in certain situations. Did you notice it much? I feel like it happens the most for landscape shots when I am at smaller aperatures and focusing closer to infinity, I wonder if it could be a bad copy I have?
Thanks again for the review. A great camera that I love having with me all the time.
Hmmm, can’t say I noticed it too much. But I’ll have to take a closer look. The few images I did notice it on were when shooting wide open.
If you shoot at 2.8 it will vignette and it’s soft outside the center. Shoot >= 5.6 and it’s as sharp as you like.
@@kb5ql 5.6 on any occasion? or just for landscape??
@@topshelfherbsofalaskallc7918 This camera is never going to win landscape contests at infinity. It will get the job done, just don't expect miracles. And yes, 5.6 - 8 are the f stops I would use if doing that.
contax T2 is my main point and shoot. but i highly recommend a fixed lens olympus stylus...a great tiny 35mm that can easily be found cheap.
Hi Kyle, thank you for your video. It has inspired me to get my father-in-law’s old Olympus out and put a roll of black and white in it and see the results. Did you set the asa to 400 exactly to get those results or did you drop it to say 300 asa to slightly over expose. Just wondering. Mike
Cheers, Mike. Glad you enjoyed. And yes, I was eating this closer to 200 on the camera.