The Olympus XA is a camera that’s again become quite popular. Does popular mean good, though? Read on to find out!
Lately, the demand for compact, fixed lens cameras has skyrocketed. While the Olympus XA may not be the first small, 35mm camera, it’s definitely one of the most innovative. It’s become a beloved classic over the years and continues to impress to this day. Let’s hop into the details below.
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The good
- Super lightweight and incredibly compact
- Great lens
- Aperture Priority control
- Rangefinder focusing
- Self-timer and +1.5 stop backlight compensation lever
- Accurate metering
- Shutter speed indicator in viewfinder
The less good
- Sharpness fall-off in corners
- Some vignetting
- Some people hate the shutter button
Olympus XA — TLDR
When considering the Olympus XA, it’s easy to forget how old these cameras actually are. This camera was released in 1979, but feels way ahead of its time. It features aperture priority controls, a 35mm f/2.8 lens, rangefinder focusing, and a sleek, clam-shell design. The XA packs a ton of punch into this pocket-sized package.
Its lens is sharp and versatile. This camera is capable of some legitimate image quality, despite its toy-like size. Having aperture priority with a shutter speed readout and a +1.5-stop backlight compensation paired with rangefinder focusing gives the photographer plenty of control to coax the images they want from it.
However, it isn’t a perfect camera. The Olympus XA does draw some compromises for fitting all of that into such a small package. The lens vignettes a bit and does suffer sharpness fall-off in the corners. Its tiny size does garner some ergonomic complaints (though I find it doesn’t bother me much). The main point of contention people seem to have with it is the shutter button. It’s a hair trigger and a bit hard to find by feel. Once I got used to it, though, I’ve found it does help me get away with some slow shutter speed hi-jinks.
All in all, the Olympus XA is a camera worthy of its reputation as a desirable compact camera. In my opinion, its compromises are worth their payoffs. This year, it was the only 35mm camera I took with me on my vacation, and I never once regretted it. It’s combination of being incredibly easy to have in the pocket and delivering good images makes it the perfect travel companion!
Olympus XA — Does it photo?
A camera is a tool to make images, and the Olympus XA is certainly a capable one. It’s nearly as handy to have on you as a cell phone, but with the image quality of 35mm film. When it comes to cameras that actually fit in a pocket and deliver high quality results, the Olympus is hard to beat.
Focus
Normally, focusing isn’t something I’d mention on a manual focus camera. However, the Olympus XA is pretty unique in the compact camera segment. While many of its competitors chose to use scale or zone focus (where the user guesses distance and uses that with depth-of-field scales to determine focus), Olympus went with a true rangefinder in the XA.
What this means, is that when peering through the viewfinder, there is a yellow patch visible. When framing up a subject, this patch helps achieve accurate focus. It will split the subject into two images, like double vision, when not in focus. As the user adjusts focus, these split-images will align indicating an in focus subject. This makes the Olympus XA quick and easy to accurately use in most situations.
Sharpness
When it comes to sharpness, the Olympus XA does a good job. It’s tack sharp in the center. However, it does fall off a bit in the extreme corners. That said, it isn’t overly noticeable except for in photos with fine details in the corners. For example, photos that feature foliage display some smearing and loss of contrast in the corners.
Stopping down the lens does help a bit, although the corner issues never seem to completely go away. The photos of the Conoco station above were shot between f/8 and f/11. As you can see, there is still some slight vignetting as well. In the end though, for such a compact camera, the image quality is quite good. If you’d like to see these images in higher resolution, check out my Olympus XA album on my Flickr page.
Lens flare, contrast, etc
For the rest of its optical performance, the Olympus XA fares quite well. Contrast is great and holds up well even when pointed towards the sun. It’s also surprisingly hard to get the little lens to flare much. The fishing example above is the worst I’ve gotten it to flare, even after a dozen or so rolls of film. This lens isn’t afraid of a little bright light.
I’ve made sure to include samples in black and white and color in order to show off the lens rendering and contrast. All of my black and white samples are on Kentmere 400 and Delta 400 pushed one stop. This does increase the contrast a bit. Although, as the color examples show, it holds up well at box speed, too.
Olympus XA — Touch test
When it comes to fit, finish, and build quality, the Olympus XA really does seem ahead of its time. With a polycarbonate body, clam-shell design, and its technical features, it feels much more like a product of the late 80s or early 90s. If that is good or not will differ from person to person, but I love it.
The sliding clam-shell mechanism is great for a camera like this. It’s all rounded edges and slips into a pocket with ease. It also keeps the lens well protected. The plastic body keeps the weight next to nothing. Despite its diminutive size, the controls are mostly well thought out and easy to operate. The only exception is the shutter button.
While its over-sensitivity is something I’ve grown to like about it, the lack of tactile sensation can be annoying. It’s truly hard to tell for sure that your finger is on the smooth button. Something as simple as adding some texture could have gone a long way toward improving it. Having said that, familiarity goes a ways towards making it less annoying.
Features and build
There are some important and useful bits on the bottom of the Olympus XA. Here resides the tripod socket, the battery compartment, and an awesome little lever. That lever holds multiple functions. In its first position, it adds 1.5 stops of exposure compensation for back lit situations. Second is the battery check position. Lastly, is the self timer. In that final mode, it also serves a neat purpose by increasing the cameras footprint. It makes it handy to set on a flat surface, use the self-timer, and get that family photo.
For a completely plastic camera, it feels surprisingly solid. Even though it is super light, it does feel well made. It doesn’t rattle, parts move and click as they should, and if you needed more proof, there are quite a few out there still making photos. I don’t ever have any second thoughts about putting it in a pocket and going.
Ergonomically, the Olympus XA does what it can with its limited real estate. It isn’t a camera with ergonomics that anyone would gush about, but it works well. It’s easy to operate with a single hand. With the wrist strap in use, it’s quite manageable. Otherwise, there isn’t much to say about it. It’s a tiny camera and a little cramped, but it was well thought out, nevertheless.
Olympus XA — Tiny but mighty
In the end, if you’re looking at the Olympus XA as a way to get high quality 35mm film photos in a pocket-sized package, you’re looking in the right place. It enjoys a great reputation and I’ve found it lives up to it. It’s well designed, has a nice lens, and offers enough control to satisfy most.
The XA isn’t a perfect camera, of course. It’s lens is impressive considering its small size. However, it does have its issues with the corners. The controls are well thought out, but the shutter button is something some people just plain hate. It’s also so compact that some could say it’s too small.
On the whole, though, I haven’t once regretted my decision to get one. The little Olympus is a great travel camera. It’s accompanied me on hikes and bike rides, daily driving, and more while always delivering images I’m happy with. What more could I ask for from it?
Thanks for reading to the end! As a reminder, if you’d like to see higher resolution photo samples, click here. For more film content, click here. And if you are enjoying my blog, please donate via PayPal by clicking the button below to help me keep it going!