Olympus XA (experience & review)
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- **MORE INFO HERE**
Fran filmed this episode. Subscribe to her!
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Music by Rodrigo Recabarren
www.rodrigoreca...
my friend George is the owner of this Olympus XA. Check his stuff here:
www.ourcity.lon...
AND NOW, SOME TECHNICAL DETAILS
All my videos are recorded with a Canon EOS M. Nothing fancy.
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Thank you for watching! If you can leave a like and share, it would help me a lot! :D
The shot of the couple kissing was amazing!
"...we are in London!" *double decker bus passes by*
Perfect timing!
Decisive moment :)
Let's not ignore the two cops on horses riding in the background while the double decker bus passed by. [London intensifies]
I have one of these (and wear glasses) and I solved the rangefinder patch issue by putting a black dot in the middle of the viewfinder with a sharpie. Also, did you notice the +1.5 exposure compensation lever on the bottom of the camera? Really helps with shooting backlit subjects. There is a "Lomo" point and shoot setting: just set aperture to f/5.6 and distance to 3m (both marked in orange) and it will be mostly OK. Really enjoy these videos.
The photo of the woman working at te food stall is so beautiful!
Awesome roll! The girl reading the book at 3:30 and the couple kissing at 4:03 were outstanding!
I love how you time your street photography! Very natural spur of the moment without the subjects noticing you.
Recently went back to film, and I've been shooting WAY more thanks to it. The convenience of digital is nice, but it's just not as inspiring as a physical medium is.
Loving your channel thus far, and as a drummer I've got to say the soundtrack of these videos is WONDERFUL. You've earned yourself a new sub.
You two are such an awesomely creative machine!!! I am addicted to Fran's channel and now, thanks to her mentioning yours, yours as well!
Love your photography and am loving the fact that I've got heaps of viewing to catch up on! Thanks for your ace work guys ☺️
Really enjoyed this video, Eduardo! Just coming across it after recently getting an XA myself. Impressive amount of fantastic photos taken with one roll, btw!
I like the mini review segment. Often the shots speak for themselves but it's good to hear how easy/difficult they are to use - I had no idea cameras of this form factor had more manual controls.
I have this camera and I fucking love it, you should have used it with color film because that's where it really shines
I wanted an XA for ages and then happened to come across one in, or all the places, a Flea market in Switzerland when I was out there on holiday.
It's not the easiest of cameras but its size makes it ideal to carry about everywhere and that lens is incredible for its size.
Eduardo. Thanks for putting this video together. My first thoughts are that the music is really good. The pace of it speeding up and slowing down is mesmerising. On the the XA. I have an XA, XA2 and XA1. I was given the XA after having heard so many amazing things about it so I was a bit hyped. Having used the XA2 before I found the XA very familiar and wanted to love it but that patch needs to be bright or bigger to be useful and it's neither so I fully agree with you. The focus dial on the top does seem to get around that problem though. Very well edited video. You took some real bangers
for me, the search for the perfect full frame mini film camera was over almost immediately after getting this beautiful camera. now i can carry the xa AND the fuji digital everywhere without the extra weight. although it takes a little getting used to, you can hammer nails with the tough little xa all day long at f4.
Love that shot of the girl reading on her back in the Park, you nailed the focus and composition there!
Regardless of the cameras difficulties, you managed a really great set with it!
i dont know too many tips for the street photography but this about take the shot and run away is awesome !
Your shots with this are incredible! Great street photography skills!
right!
The pictures in this are much better than what I imagined they’d be!
Eduardo You ruined my Olympus XA for me. That shot you show through the viewfinder revealed just how hazy my VF is lol. But I still love shooting mine. Thanks for sharing your passion and photos on here. Huge inspiration for me as I am a beginner film tuber who just posted a vid using this camera. You capture such amazing moments. The stuff I dream off grabbing when I'm out in the street. Thanks for being you man!
Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoy the journey of taking pictures and showing them online. It’s a great exercise that forces us to push our limits constany. :)
@@edpavez Thanks for the reply! I know you must get a ton of comments. Stay Blessed!
I agree with you about the XA. It's got such a large following, but it really does take getting used to. I think what gets people is the unexpected good quality of the lens.
Surprised I didn't bump into you. I think I was out shooting on that same day with the ONE_FILM crew on the Southbank :)
oh, that would have been fun!
Old Cameras true, I hated the xa at first but now it's one of my favorite cameras
Old Cameras Do you feel the Olympus XA is a better camera than the Rollei 35 S?
Robert Bruce I'd pick the Rollei. I think "better" is subjective. I'm sure many people would pick the XA over the Rollei because of the lens, but I like the manual controls of the Rollei.
Olympus XA its one of the best compact cameras ever. btw photos you made - amazing
agreed
I loved mine, which I had in the '80s. I even took it to England and France. Wish I still had it.
I've had an XA now for a bit and found a hack for it that makes it much better.
You stick a tiny black bit of tape in the middle of the view finder window and it strengthens the double image from the range finder patch.
Before it was far to faint to see and use.
HA - your voice crack at 3:00 mark is great. Thanks for leaving in your goof ups because it makes the rest of us (me at least) feel better about what an amateur I am.
Love the low angle street views in your shots, impressive visual effect! Got a unit from a garage sale a few years ago. Have not tried it yet.
I love my XA, it can go places almost no other serious camera can go, although so far I haven't gotten up the confidence to get as close to strangers as you do in this video.
Man, that guy was really feeling the selfie!
Great video!
The photos in the video were good but I think that some areas in the pictures had been a little too lightened up while scanning. Several pictures had a big visible white line across them.
Have you tried the XA2? I think you'd enjoy shooting it as it's essentially a simplified XA. Still has a great lens and the output is excellent. You should check it out.
I'm really enjoying this series. Keep them coming!
Very interesting choice for the soundtrack. Thanks for the film input, too.
The XA is a wonderful camera, and the Zuiko lens on it is absolutely fantastic. Good job, and great video.
Spoken as a true YT fanboy. The lens on the XA was designed to physically fit into the body without having to "pop out" for use. As a result, it has the worst resolution/sharpness, huge optical aberations, the most image distortion, and the worst vignetting (corner darkening) of any camera of its general type ever made
Some great shots. I feel largely the same about the XA. I used the XA2 (with iso 800 film) for a while, it was good for opportunistic shooting and easy to carry.
you can see lost of contrast on the center and heavy vignette. Was it the lens character?
Very good photos
I thought you had an XA2(or whatever the p&s one is) as I didn't even see the focusing patch. :P
I have an Olympus MJUii, but I got this camera to zone focus for street photography. Autofocus is great but sometimes Manual is the way to go.
Nice video. Compré una XA hace poco y estoy al punto de revelar mis primeros shots. También uso un Yashica Electro 35, que es mucho más grande pero que tiene el mismo problema con el foco. Buen trabajo - gracias.
check out the xa2 and 4. Zone focus actually makes this camera better. rangefinder is cool in such a small camera but hard to use.
The XA2 is a lot more like the Lomo LC-A....I personally find it a lot more fun to shoot with because it's zone focusing with three points. You would love the XA2!
Got quite excited to see you taking some pictures of the Global March for elephant and rhinos(those people with elephant masks etc.), I was doing something similar on the side of the Earth LOL.
There’s a person that repairs these and you can place semi dark yellow flash gel in front of the bigger window where your eye goes, the patch is a kinda blue I believe but yellows is the opposite color. You can also mark it in the middle of the big one where the patch is, with marker or gaffer tape. We are talking a few mm square just to block where the patch shows in the viewer. But you leave the smaller patch window completely untouched. It needs nothing.
I am about 7 of you view count. Great work man. an inspiration of mine forsure
I have the XA2 which is basically everything you expected the XA to be xD If you ever visit Nottingham I will be more than happy to let you take it for a spin.
The cool thing about that camera is that it has an electromagnetic shutter which is silent so it's perfect for street photography.
Interesting review as I've been thinking about an Olympus XA lately. You have some reasonable opinions to account for though. I think I'll have to keep pondering about this one a while. Great photos too besides the good review. You've gained a new follower. :)
I'm interested in your review after being set up with a proper contact lens in your right eye (the eye that looks through the viewfiinder. Love the honest review you gave in this video
I pretty such shoot f16/22 in daylight with this and either focus to infinity or min focus. Don't really bother with the patch.
Amazing photos!
Some nice shots there, I especially like the " girl alone on the beach " . All your shots look sharp and well exposed, Tri-X is actually 160 asa so shooting it at 200 with a 20% decrease in development is actually the correct way to go. Try the Olympus Trip the next time with zone focusing and see how you like that.
Keeper shots at 3:19, 3:28, 3:33, 3:49, 4:06, 4:31, 4:55, 5:43. That is over 25%; outstanding! You have quite a good eye for street photography. The pix are especially good, considering you weren't that comfortable with it.
The shot at 4:17 reminds us why a 35 mm focal length is nice. People don't know they are part of the pic so they won't object.
5:06 - we can see how the lens vignets.
Have you tried a Rollei 35? If not, you should. The Rollei is scale focus and manual exposure only. It is slow if you have to react and set something quickly. However, once it is set, you only have to bring it to your eye to compose and snap the shot. VERY fast. No warning for your subjects to act unnatural. ;)
Try the XA2. Its zone focus and just as sharp lens. I carry one everywhere with me.
I loooove my XA. It's the perfect street photography camera: compact, discreet and easy to use on the move. The only issue is that it has no option to shoot 1600-3200 ISO film and occasional vignetting, but that's not too big of a deal. And heck, I love the vignetting this lens produces.
Also look at the shot at 4:51 It's the usual "I got my finger in the shot"problem that dreads many first-time users of the camera. The solution is to hold it with your thumbs and index fingers so you focus with your thumb and not your index finger
Agreed about the ISO, I want an XA3 now because it goes up to 1600.
gracias por sus vídeos!!!
I can see where you're coming from with the XA. I have the same problem with the viewfinder because of my glasses. I'm surprised you didn't comment about the sensitivity of the shutter button.
If you want little focusing work, set the aperture and focus to the red/orange numbers (f/5.6 & 3m on my XA) . Then your Dog is good for within a few feet to infinity.
Ian Christie great advice
35 mm Lens, f 5.6 and focus on 3 m your depth of field is from 2.2 m to 4.6 m.
3.20..great shot, i'd buy that!!
some great shots man. you got to love tri x. would like to see a vid on composition. your shots all look great man.
Guayito soy tu fan! Sería cool que hicieras un video con tips de street photography! Saludos desde Guatemala.
great snaps, you're such a cheeky street photographer!
🙈🙈 una pregunta y lo mas probable esque no tenga q ver con esa camara, pero si es de camaras, pero harias un review de la camara que usas para grabar? es que veo tus videos y los de Fran y me encanta como graba, pero me gustaria saber si graba asi o hay añadirle algunas cosas como "Un dia soleado hara que se vea mejor" "el sonido que atrapa no es muy bueno y menos si vives en una ciudad ruidosa (la mia)" haha.
Y por cierto tus tomas son fantasticas!
I loved your video and your honest assessment.
you have a great eye my friend.
What is the name of the Recabarren song used in this vid? That was some black and white drumming!
hola Ed, estuvo súper bueno, no hablo mucho inglés pero puedo entender todo el vídeo sin broncas pero como en el vídeo pasado había modismos que no entendía y no había subtítulos y eso me puso triste ojalá el anterior vídeo le pongas sub porfa, Saludos desde México
I’m confused, if the camera was shooting in aperture priority, what has you say that you were over exposing all of your images? Is the camera not working properly?
Joe Lopez the shutter limit is 1/500 and I didn’t realize all the images were shot at 1/500, but the needle was showing the “overexposure” area. Therefore: overexposed pictures. Gotta pull the film.
Hi Eduardo,
I dont understand what you meant by overexposing the film. If it was at Aperture Priority, shouldn't the camera set eh correct shutter speed for ASA400?
Thank you!
You can overexpose by setting a lower ASA. :)
EduardoPavezGoye at 2:30 you mention you were overexposing the pictures, and I was just wondering how they was possible in an aperture priority camera.
Thanks for the reply! I enjoyed this video!
Amazing photographs!
Very cool images. 👍
Let’s forget about the XA , and focus on how great you are at capturing street competitions ! I mean fire !!!!
A few of my friends have these. I'd love to see you shoot a roll on the legendary MJU II (35mm 2.8). I just got one to replace my MJU Zoom. They're a favourite amongst my mates.
Great shots, my style of shooting. I miss people being around!
I really love this video! I’m thinking of buying the camera.
I hope you bought it
Please help to choice : Olympus XA or Minox 35GT or Rollei 35SE ??????
Hola Eduardo, qué escáner usas o cuál recomiendas? Saludos.
Keep them coming! Have you shot with a zeiss zm? It's amazing
Hi, can this camera do long exposure?
Really nice frames!
Great framing on the shots!
I love this camera... how did you find the lens sharpness? I have a camera for you to shoot with, if you are intereted. The Nikon L35AF.
I found it pretty good for a small camera, but I shot most of the time at f/11 so it has to be sharp at that aperture. This copy had quite a vignetting, I don't know if that happens with all XAs. the Nikon L35AF sounds fun. :D
I've found the XA (all of them) and L35af lenses vignette a fair bit. I think that's quite typical of fixed lenses designed for very compact size? I have just recently started using an L35af and really like it. It's a sort of jumbo auto-compact but with some 'real camera' features such as a filter thread, manual rating of film (to iso 1000) and basic exposure comp.
The XA, XA2, XA3 have 32mm-sized lenses acting as 35mm, so I guess that's where the vignetting comes from-the lens doesn't cover the image area!
ive watched all of your videos now and I can honestly say that I think the images you shot in this video and on this camera are some of your best.....maybe its worth the hassle?
You got some good shots though! This is actually my favorite camera and I've been shooting with it for years. I don't shoot street photography though, so I guess I generally don't need to focus as quickly.
how exactly were you over exposing if the camera meters and shoots aperture priority? Just curious to know what you meant. Thanks for the videos!! Si prefieres explicar en español, mejor :D gracias!
By changing the ASA from 400 to 200! :)
The aperture was open too wide for the max shutter speed on the camera to expose correctly. His options were either to stop the lens down more and let the camera expose properly then develop normally or expose as if the film were iso 200 so the exposure across the roll was consistent and then compensate in development
The problem I have with seeing film examples is that we only see a scan of the film whereas we need to see a scan of the print for the finished process.
But that's even further mediated: paper, developer times, exposition and chemestry, they all intervene in the process.
A scan of the film can even be "closer to film" than the scan of a print (unless you intervene the film too much). The print is not "the finished process", it's just another process. Not everybody takes pictures in order to print them. I sure don't.
@@edpavez When you see all of those famous photographs by Cartier Bresson, Ansel Adams, Fan Ho, Kertesz, Brassai, Capa etc. They are all from prints.
nice shoots, i love them.
Excellent choice of Music ;)
Creo que la XA2 o la XA3 se acercan más a lo que esperabas, ambas son más sencillas en cuanto a operación.
Hey Eduardo! First off i love your channel and all your videos, seriously. Excellent work. Now i know this video is nearing two years old but i have a quick question. I have the option of getting either an XA or XA2 for a really good price. Which do you recommend? I can’t decide between the zone focus or rangefinder. I’m planning on using it for my senior trip to Disneyland if that changes things. Thanks so much!
It depends on you, really. I didn’t like the XA’s rangefinder and much prefered the XA2 zone focus, but you might like it the other way. Aside from that, the are pretty much the same. I prefer the Minox 35 than any XA model, personally.
EduardoPavezGoye thanks so for the reply! I’ll have to look into that minox 🤙
I recently made a video about it. check it out.
Love that shot at 3:42. Nice!
Wow That lens is super sharp for zn old compact.
Edo! Haz un shoot digital con la eos M! Yo sé que ustedes con la Fran la usan (o la usaban) y es la única que tengo, podrías dar algunos tips también! Te lo agradecería enormemente, saludos!!!
tenemos dos y las usamos todo el tiempo. es un video que haré relativamente pronto (¡ya lo tengo planeado!). :)
Do you zone focus? What's your general setting when taking pictures in the street?
no, I manual focus every subject. my setting is the lens as open as possible and expose accordingly.
Pak Him Li there is a point and shoot "mode" on the XA when you set the aperture to f5.6 and distance to 8ft/2.4m. It's hard to miss because Olympus color coded these numbers so you would notice them. The focusing ring does move a bit when you close and open the camera, so the P&S mode is not really a stable thing to lean on for quick hip shots. If you want a better version of that, go for the XA2
Nice work, Ed! :-)
God I love these videos, thank you for the inspiration!
yep
man,please answer me.i have this camera.everything is working but,the red button up is not responding.But when i have the film release open is working.the problem is i no have film in hare?if i put film in camera the red button will working???
it should fire. change the battery or send it for repair. I don't repair gear and I don't have this camera, sorry.
i own one of these but i have trouble taking pictures indoors. if the light is artificial, the picture is blurry. does anyone know how to fix that?
Yes! Just the version i like the most. :)
Muy buenas fotos amigo, saludos desde chile y aguante tenemos explosivos jajaja
The first tests with my Olympus XA2 were ok, but after the roll of film was inserted, it only expose at 2 seconds. Strange...
u prefer a XA or mju i
Sounds like you need an XA2 instead. That is more of a direct Lomo LCA comparison.