Olympus XA2 – A Brief Guide to my Every Day Carry Camera

The Olympus XA2 is tiny, it is quick to turn on, it’s zone focus, and has a brilliant lens. In my humble opinion, it is the best EDC (every day carry) and travel camera, and a good first camera if you are starting with analog photography too.

This is my second XA2, I came across this blue XA2 in an Amsterdam thrift shop. I put a battery in to check if it works, and it did. I bought the camera for 50 Euros – what a steal. I don’t hoard expensive and rare cameras, I am not a collector. It was okay to let my GAS take over and fork over the cash for this camera. I had some Nikon SLR with me for vacation, this XA2 was a fun little bonus for the remainder of my trip. I popped in a roll of Portra 400  and proceeded to document my trip.

Quick History

The XA2 was designed by Olympus´s legendary designer Yoshihisa Maitani and was introduced to the market in 1979. The XA2 is essentially a simplified version of the XA and was aimed at more amateur photographers.

Build & Design

The only thing that is metal on the XA2 is the back door, the rest is completely made out of plastic. The plastic is very sturdy however, you don’t have to baby it by any means, additionally, it does not scruff easily. All in all, it is very durable. The electronics all sit in the main body, there is nothing attached to the back door, so there are no cables that could break, also no screens means there is little that might fail.

The XA2, while being a marvel of technology for the time, is not very pretty to look at, at least in my opinion. It is an example of form following function. Everything is deliberate and has a reason, it was not made to look pretty. The standard version is black, there were versions in red, blue, and white, also there is a pink version.

As stated before, this thing is very pocketable. It easily fits into the palm of my hand.

The lens is a sharp 35mm f/3.5 Olympus D-Zuiko. I don’t crop to 100% or like to pixel peep, I have never had any issues with the lens. If I messed up a shot, it is because of user error and not the fault of the camera, the lens has never let me down when I was providing the correct conditions. All sample images are unedited 6MP scans from a Noritsu scanner, square images have been cropped.

Lightmeter

I have heard that the light meter could be faulty in difficult situations, but I haven’t found this to be true.The light meter performed well in my opinion, I was at fault for the bad exposures because I was using Kodak Gold 200 in these dark scenes.

Zonefocus

There are 3 Zone focus settings to the left of the lens, that you adjust with a little lever.

Close: 1m-1.5m

Middle: 1.2m- infinity

Far: 2.5m- infinity

When you close the front, the focus lever is reset to the default middle setting (if you changed it).

I never use the far setting, I leave it in the default setting most of the time. I have missed a few shots because I didn’t put it into the close setting. A good rule is that if you are sitting across from each other at a table, pop it in close mode…

The shutter is the only thing that makes noise. It is very quiet on the street, no one would notice it. This with the camera’s size and atypical look makes this a great camera for street photography.

The shutter can only be used when the shell is open. It is rather sensitive, so be careful! When you press the shutter button, you will hear 2 clicks as the shutter opens and closes. Be careful to not move the camera until you heard the second click. In low light, the time between the clicks is, of course, longer than in bright light. So keep that in mind.

Viewfinder 

The Viewfinder is big and bright. There is no information in the viewfinder, except for a green light for when a longer shutter speed is going to be used. The frame lines almost fill all of the finder. This may be a caveat for street photographers who want to see what goes on outside the frame.

Modes

The camera doesn’t have modes. You can’t adjust the shutter speed or aperture. You just open and shoot.

There is a self-timer that you can activate with a lever on the bottom of the camera.

If you attach the flash, you need to activate it with the lever below the lens.

Ergonomics

After you slide open the shell, the XA2 was made for one-handed operation. Your thumb rests on the film wind wheel, which has grooves and is easy to grip. It is so light, long durations of use should not be a problem. With its size, be careful not to put your fingers in front of the lens.

Operation

You turn the camera on by sliding the shell to the left. This reveals the viewfinder, the lens, the light meter, the ISO dial, and the flash lever. The shutter button is now usable.

The film wind is a wheel with grooves as found on disposable cameras. The counter goes to 39 frames, which you often get as the camera is so small, and so you lose little film while loading. To rewind the film, there is a rewind button on the bottom and a crank on the top.

Sample Images

Pros

1. Easy to use
2. Quick to get up and running (only need to slide open the shell)
3. Zonefocus
4. Size
5. Fast lens for Point and shoot f/3.5
6. Ability to set ISO Manually
7. Ability to add a flash
8. Lens is protected
9. Cheap and available
10. Durable

Cons

1. Can be a bit dull to use
2. Plastic
3. No Flash built-in
4. Flash increases the size

Conclusion

This little beast is a no-brainer. It is so small, it fits into the palm of my hand, it fits in any pocket. There is no excuse to not have it on you. Then you notice the ease of use. It is truly a point-and-shoot. Its default focus setting is good 99% of the time. You hit the shutter and it just goes. No motor needs to focus the lens, there are no safety features that prevent the shutter from working, there is no annoying flash setting that you constantly need to turn off.

I have had this camera with me everywhere, on planes, in bars and restaurants, while skiing and rollerskating, in the desert, and at the beach. It is never cumbersome to carry with you, and once you get the first few rolls back and see the images that this thing captures, you will always want to have it on you. This thing is meant to be used and abused, it is a tank, it is a workhorse. Due to its low price and durability  you do not have to baby it, and having it on you becomes second nature.

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