Olympus XA is a Hoot

<p>I finally got my little Oly XA and took it out for a test drive. Hard to find an RF much smaller than this little gem. I found it to be lots of fun with two little issues. My fingers kept wanting to move the sliding door a tiny bit off "open" which renders the shutter button dead. And, the little focus lever was a bit tough for my largish hands. Otherwise, this is a really nice camera to pack. Although it is a simple camera, it is fairly sophisticated with a nice aperture priority operation. And, you can't find a quieter shutter than this! Much more pocket friendly than my Canon AF35ML, or Nikon One Touch, or Nikon 35Ti. It takes silly good pictures.</p><div></div>

<p>I think it is actually the smallest 35mm rangefinder assisted manual focus camera.<br>

I got 3 and I love them. Well built, compact, good lens. The only thing I sort of don't like is the wind on clickiness. Its just loud. Oh and the square bokeh ;)</p>

<p>I love the XAs. In my hands, they produce an inordinate amount of keepers. Presently, I have three XAs and one XA2.</p>

<p>Never cared for them myself - horrible plastic contraptions. I prefer the Minox 35s myself even though they are also plastic. Each to his or her own.</p>

<p>I have one...a free gift thanks to the generosity of a PNetter. Great fun. My RF patch is almost impossible to see but with this focal length, I just guess!</p><div></div>

<p>BTW, as an historical footnote, Galen Rowell used an XA for some time. Pictures taken with it appear in at least one of his books.Renowned Mexican photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo also used two XAs in his later years.</p>

<p>I like it so much!<br>

<a title="CNV000033 by Costo, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2262/2266180520_5bc888f01f.jpg" alt="CNV000033" width="500" height="338" /></a><br>

<a title="CNV000033 by Costo, on Flickr" href=" <a title="201007-235-xa-rdpIII-28 by Costo, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5039501715_2c244abc23.jpg" alt="201007-235-xa-rdpIII-28" width="500" height="337" /></a><br>

<a title="201007-235-xa-rdpIII-28 by Costo, on Flickr" href=" watch your fingers! it is easy to put them into your photo with this camera</p>

<p>+1 Kim. Dynamic photos!</p>

<p>I love mine --- take it everywhere (see below). I also had a Minox 35(EL). Great lens (when it was working --- which was not often).</p>

<p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/5122514198_e69193b80f_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="432" /></p>

<p> Does the camera have the means for viewfinder diopter adjustment..I could definately get behind this camera if I could see the scene sharply.</p>

<p>There's no diopter adjustment on the camera. Add-ons? I don't know.</p>

<p>Hate to admit it but the XA is a better street-shooter than a Leica M or even CL -- quicker to use, more compact, nobody takes it seriously so it isn't as visible to the people you are shooting, and the lens is first-rate. The auto-exposure also seems to be extremely good.<br>

My favorite story about my XA is the time I dropped it about 3 feet onto concrete and the little needle that indicates the shutter speed quit working, but the shutter still seemed accurate, so I kept using it. Several months later I dropped it again -- accidentally, I swear -- and the needle fixed itself. Rangefinder/shutter all kept in synch. After 20 years or so the wind-on gears are wearing a bit, so negatives are not as evenly spaced as a Leica's, but there's no overlap and the camera keeps chugging along, a perfect travel camera.</p>

<p>Charles - -<br>

Yeah! I am a newbie to the XA, and have only had mine a month or so, but I am seeing the beauty of this little gem already. I really like that it is so small it doesn't draw attention out on the street. I have gotten some excellent results with mine and I am taking it more and more as my pocket camera.</p>

<p>It's funny, I guess, but I never would have even considered carrying a camera like this a few years ago. I considered them all "junk." I was obviously ignorant of a great little camera. I also enjoy my Canon AF35ML, although compared to the XA, the ML is huge and bulky.</p>