Olympus XA2

[andrew_viny]

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<p>Hey guys I'm curious to know about the Olympus XA2. I've seen some interesting shots from it and have some questions. Is it just a simple point and shoot or is there some user control? Does it produce interesting color casts or was that just the particular processing by the photographers I saw? Is it a good camera? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it?</p>

<p>~Andrew</p>

 

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[patrick j dempsey]

<p>There are virtually no cameras, even ones with plastic lenses that generate "interesting color casts". Since the XA cameras don't even accept filters, if you see weird colors, it's either expired film, cross processed slide film, incorrect lighting balanced film, or digital post processing.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>If you want a small, pocketable full frame 35mm camera at a low price you might like the XA-2. It has a good quality, zone focusing 35mm f3.5 four element lens along with programmed autoexposure. Low light LED in viewfinder warns to attach flash or place camera on sturdy support for long exposure. The shutter can stay open for several seconds so you can get some really interesting low light picures. Expect to pay anywhere from a few dollars to about 20 USD for a clean working camera.<br>

Only controls are the ISO dial and zone focus. You can use the ISO dial to vary the exposure.</p><div></div>

[Brian]

<p>What it's got in its favour is extreme compactness and a decent lens for its size. Against is the lack of control - zone focus and program auto (tho' ISO is set manually).<br>

I have one but find myself preferring the Oly 35RC, which is not much bigger but a fully featured rangefinder camera.</p>

[ilkka]

<p>The XA is another almost fully featured rangefinder camera, same size and shape as the XA2 but with a faster lens, aperture control and rangefinder.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>Brian makes a good case for the 35RC. I have one too and like the degree of manual overides it has. My XA2 is mainly to go in pockets where the 35RC won't fit. Also, since the XA-2 is so cheap (I have a couple of 'em), I don't worry about anything happening to it. I once forgot it was in my pocket while I was playing volleyball. When I realized it had it, I took it out between serves, took a few photos, put it back and continued the game. No damage, even when I slipped and fell once.<br>

If you want some of the versatility of the RC35, but want XA-2 compactness, then go for the XA. It is more expensive, but you can set your own apertures and it has an exposure compensation setting. And also an f2.8 lens. I have one too. The rangefinder, though, is not as nice as the one on the 35RC.</p>

[eddy_d]

<p>Hello Everyone. I have a few questions. I just purchased an olympus XA2 with the a11 flash. I wanted an automatic camera to give to my mom since she likes her point and shoot auto film cameras. I found it is not auto in the sense of the film wind/rewind and do not know if she will like/use it. I saw the settings on the flash that read 100, 400 and full. what does full mean? I am thinking maybe I should not have purchased it for her since it may be too "complicated" for her to use it and I may look to get rid of it. I bought it today. Any help would be well helpful. Thank you.</p>

[ilkka]

<p>XA2 is not automatic in the current meaning. Film still needs to be loaded, unloaded and wound, film speed set manually, even focusing needs to be estimated. The flash has three settings, ISO100 and ISO400 are automatic settings for the films speeds stated. With these settings, the flash will adjust the amount of light it sends out so that correct exposure will be achieved, most of the time at least when close enough. Full means that the flash fires at full power with no control. This is more useful for XA which allows different apertures to be selected. On XA2 it might sometimes be useful as fill flash, but I would not bother. Just put either 100 or 400 ISO colour negative film in and set the flash ISO accordingly and don't worry about it.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>The <em>Full</em> setting is really meant for the XA. I checked the manual and it is for day time fill flash. It is not automatic so you have to have some idea of what aperture you need. As for the XA-2, when the flash is turned on it defaults to 1/30 second @ f4 so the <em>Full</em> setting will most likely cause overexposure.<br>

Are you in the market for a replacement for your mom's P&S or trying to find her something that allows more control? If looking for a replacement consider a used Olympus Stylus Epic. Sliding clamshell like the XA-2, but weather resistant, auto-everything, It even detects fluorescent light and will fire the flash even in a bright room to avoid a green cast.</p>

[ilkka]

<p>Easier way to do daytime fill flash on XA is to first turn the flash on by pushing the aperture slider to the flash position and then adjusting it down to suitable aperture. That way the camera will calculate ambient exposure and also fire the flash on automatic. By switching the flash ISO to 400 while using 100 film you get two stops under exposure for the flash. The camera still exposes correctly since that is based on the ISO set in camera.</p>