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I thought I'd do kind of a mini review of my first impressions of the Olympus XA. Can't say I've ever written anything like this before!
When I first lifted the camera out of it's little presentation box I was quite surprised at how small it was, this camera easily fits into the palm of your hand.
The XA also has a dedicated flash unit, the standard one from what I gather is the A11 however the one I recvied with this was the A16 which is a lot more powerful.
Before I loaded the camera with film I had a good play with it. At first it was like a very fragile bit of kit but I put this down to the fact I hadn't really used anything this small that involved any kind of manual controls. I had a practice with the rangefinder focusing, again because it's all so small it took a while to get to grips with where to put your fingers etc.
The shutter release is so feather like it's unreal! The lightest touch will set if off this is somthing that again you get used to the more you play with it. The feather light trigger though makes it easy to hold the camera at very slow shutter speeds! Also, the actual shutter itself is very quiet indeed and can be hardly felt as it goes off.
My only critisism at this point is the part of the viewfinder that shows the shutter speeds. You have to get your eye is exaclty the right spot to see it.
I read many reviews on this little camera before I decided on it (and of course the advice on here!) and everyone said how good the lens is. I must say I agree 100%!
I took the XA out today and for the first time did some street photography! I've never tried this before but thought that's one of the things the XA is all about. Due to it's small size it tucks nealty into your pocket and of course there isnt any need to mess with lens caps etc as this is built in.
You could just whip the camera out, take a shot and put it back in your pocket before anyone can realise what your doing!
At the moment I've shot 2 rolls of film though the XA, one is Kodak 400CN (C41 B&W) and Fuji PRO 400H (C41 colour).
I only got them back from ASDA and Boots today so I'm still working on the scans.
However to give a little idea of the images you can get from the XA here are some quick examples
This is a quick shot from my car as a train went by at the level crossing. It shows how easy it is to keep steady on long exposures, this was taken at night
This is a shot of the Harris building in Preston
This a street play on the flag market, it was about young knife crime. The bobby looks interested!
This is next to the flag market, some nice posh flats. In front is one of the flag markets mamorials. (not quite straight I know...)
Some flowers at my sisters house (sorry about the dust on the scan!). These were taken as close as the XA would focus.
This last one was taken just as the sun was setting, again using a slow shutter speed.
All in all I like the little XA, takes a while to get used to the small size and light shutter but I think there is a lot of potential for this camera. Well worth a look on ebay for one.
I hope this was an interesting read for anyone thinking of getting one!
Thanks for reading,
Gary
(I'll post more pics when I get round to scanning them)
When I first lifted the camera out of it's little presentation box I was quite surprised at how small it was, this camera easily fits into the palm of your hand.
The XA also has a dedicated flash unit, the standard one from what I gather is the A11 however the one I recvied with this was the A16 which is a lot more powerful.
Before I loaded the camera with film I had a good play with it. At first it was like a very fragile bit of kit but I put this down to the fact I hadn't really used anything this small that involved any kind of manual controls. I had a practice with the rangefinder focusing, again because it's all so small it took a while to get to grips with where to put your fingers etc.
The shutter release is so feather like it's unreal! The lightest touch will set if off this is somthing that again you get used to the more you play with it. The feather light trigger though makes it easy to hold the camera at very slow shutter speeds! Also, the actual shutter itself is very quiet indeed and can be hardly felt as it goes off.
My only critisism at this point is the part of the viewfinder that shows the shutter speeds. You have to get your eye is exaclty the right spot to see it.
I read many reviews on this little camera before I decided on it (and of course the advice on here!) and everyone said how good the lens is. I must say I agree 100%!
I took the XA out today and for the first time did some street photography! I've never tried this before but thought that's one of the things the XA is all about. Due to it's small size it tucks nealty into your pocket and of course there isnt any need to mess with lens caps etc as this is built in.
You could just whip the camera out, take a shot and put it back in your pocket before anyone can realise what your doing!
At the moment I've shot 2 rolls of film though the XA, one is Kodak 400CN (C41 B&W) and Fuji PRO 400H (C41 colour).
I only got them back from ASDA and Boots today so I'm still working on the scans.
However to give a little idea of the images you can get from the XA here are some quick examples
This is a quick shot from my car as a train went by at the level crossing. It shows how easy it is to keep steady on long exposures, this was taken at night
This is a shot of the Harris building in Preston
This a street play on the flag market, it was about young knife crime. The bobby looks interested!
This is next to the flag market, some nice posh flats. In front is one of the flag markets mamorials. (not quite straight I know...)
Some flowers at my sisters house (sorry about the dust on the scan!). These were taken as close as the XA would focus.
This last one was taken just as the sun was setting, again using a slow shutter speed.
All in all I like the little XA, takes a while to get used to the small size and light shutter but I think there is a lot of potential for this camera. Well worth a look on ebay for one.
I hope this was an interesting read for anyone thinking of getting one!
Thanks for reading,
Gary
(I'll post more pics when I get round to scanning them)
