5 Frames with the Olympus XA3 – By Martin Holmann

By marto_35mm

Ever since my brother gave me my first camera, a Canon A-1 for all of those wondering, I’ve fallen in love with film photography. At first, I shot exclusively on SLR’s, such as the aforementioned Canon A-1. I didn’t really feel the need to try other cameras, let alone carry a second one around with me.

As I went to Shanghai for an exchange semester, I quickly notice everyday scenes that grabbed my attention, but I rarely had my trusty SLR with me. I suddenly needed a small, pocket-able and fast shooting camera to carry with me everywhere.

After reading everything I could about compact cameras I found an Olympus XA3 in pretty good shape. I originally set out to find an XA, but since I don’t speak mandarin and I wanted to get a camera as fast as possible I settled for what I could find.

The Olympus XA3 is a tiny black brick. The only pops of color come from the white Olympus logo and the orange shutter button.  It doesn’t get more discrete than this. The shutter is electronically controlled and very quiet. Add a super shallow shutter button and you get a camera feels faster than it really is. Even the film advance wheel helps it pass unnoticed. I took countless street shots, nobody even noticed and when they did, they assumed that I was using a toy camera.

After I got my first film back, I was blown away by the sharpness of the lens. Granted a 35mm focal length with a max aperture of 3.5 doesn’t sound sexy, but this lens is very sharp and renders images in a lovely way.

It took me a while to get used to the zone focusing system, but after trying different speed film, I settled on 400 and 800 ISO  film for maximum depth of field and high shutter speeds, which ensured I could pull the camera out my pocket and take the shot as fast as possible without having to worry about blurry images.

I love this little camera. It the perfect take everywhere camera. Sure, it’s not the most technical and doesn’t have the best optics, but it’s perfect for those everyday moments worth capturing.

If you liked my quick thoughts on the XA3, feel free read the full review of the XA3, visit my blog and check my work on instragram at analog_photography_club

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About The Author

By marto_35mm
Hi, my name is Martin. I’m a product designer and I’ve been shooting film for the last 12 years. Unlike most of my friends, I started taking pictures on film. Why you ask? Simple, I always like the idea of taking photography as a hobby, but never really took the leap. One day my older brother told me he had taken a film photography course and then showed me the basics. Since I was so interested he even got me my first camera, a Canon A-1. I was instantly hooked. The haptics of old film cameras are something to behold and couldn’t be more different than their digital counterparts.
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Comments

loris on 5 Frames with the Olympus XA3 – By Martin Holmann

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

queste "macchinette", francamente, non mi fanno ne caldo ne freddo, non mi coinvolgono per niente nella ripresa!! chiedo venia, ciao a Tutti.
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marto_35mm replied:

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

Sorry to hear that. The camera itself isn't particularly remarkable, but the user experience is hard to fault. you should really give it a try.

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Will on 5 Frames with the Olympus XA3 – By Martin Holmann

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

I feel the exact same way about my XA2! Such a tiny gem.
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Dan James on 5 Frames with the Olympus XA3 – By Martin Holmann

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

Martin, I think this was the ideal camera for these shots and captures the spontaneity of the scenes in a way that a more sophisticated and complicated camera probably wouldn't have done. I especially like the shot with the blurred rail up the centre and the lady glancing back top right. And the couple portrait is that ideal balance of sharpness and timeless character.
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marto_35mm replied:

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

Thanks, Dan. I couldn't agree more. It's a camera made for street photography.

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Louis A. Sousa on 5 Frames with the Olympus XA3 – By Martin Holmann

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

Fantastic. What a series of cameras the XA is!
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Simon replied:

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

The wonderful genius of Yoshihisa Maitani. :-)

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marto_35mm replied:

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

He really pushed camera design to new heights.

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