Olympus XA (First Impressions) 

I love this little guy it shoots so well. The camera is really cool too.

my favorite beauty influencer back again for another hit

Didn’t start the video by saying “well”, no Baxter appearance, and no photos taken of the toilets. Who are you and what have you done with our discount Ryan Gosling?

If you use the F/5.6 and hyperfocal distance of 8 (both marked in orange) you unlock the XA cheat code.

More dust, more dirt, more desolation. I got a Stylus 120 and a Minolta XG-1 and some other stuff from a lady who just "wanted it gone." I offered $120 and walked away a happy DuDe. There was a roll in the Stylus I had developed for her and it had some surprisingly good stuff on it. It had some photos of her late husband who passed away three years ago. She was glad to get the photos.

this is mostly for any mfs who think this camera is for you. I have been using the XA as my daily driver for a few years and I love it to death! the small form factor isn't an issue when you learn how to handle the camera correctly, which isn't the most intuitive compared to other cameras but is actually quite ergonomic. as for the sensitive shutter, it has and does still take pics when i'm not ready but it is however one of the fastest cameras i've ever used and is great for documentary style work. also i use the A16 flash (A11 is still fantastic and easier to come by) and that combo is unstoppable! due to the leaf shutter you can trigger the flash and sync at any shutter speed so it really shines as a fill flash that will still properly meter for the background. lastly i love the square shaped bokeh, when opened all the way up and you actually nail focus, this lens is really special and has a unique look that i hold dear to my heart. ALL HAIL THE ORIGINAL XA!

i use a XA for a couple of years now and mostly use it as carry along camera in my workbag which for me the perfect camera for it. Its small, kind of rugged, mostly manual controls and shoot full frame 35 with a decent glass lens. I wouldnt recomment it as a main camera but as a small camera you can throw in backpack or your pocket its perfect to have around

My favourite camera ever. I pick it up more than my Leica. Perfectly pocketable, fantastic lens, and great fun to shoot with

This is the camera I learned on! My grandpa bought it, then gifted it to my mom when she went off to college, then I stole it from her when I was in my 20s. Now I'm 32 and 7 cameras deep, but I still love shooting with this little guy! Surprisingly, I've taken some bangers with this thing.

A buddy of mine gave me this camera and its legitimately one of the most fun ones to use in my opinion

Thanks for making a video on a camera I was about to buy so prices go up thank you Jason very cool

Have both the XA and XA2. I find myself using it way more than my Nikon F2 or Leica M3. I love the portability!

Just bought my XA two months ago and I already shot some absolute bangers on it - probably the best feel camera still out there 🔫💥💥

Clearly this camera is better than the sum of its parts because this week's Jason felt less unhinged than usual so it must have done something. The XA is one cute and cool camera (if you haven't already, you should watch the Analog Insights video on it). Mine doesn't get much use, but for me it's kinda more a cute collectable in memory of the great Yoshihisa Maitani. Usually when I want something really small and easy I'll grab a P&S or if I am okay with a bit more control, it'd be the Agfa Optima 1535 Sensor (bought thanks to a certain analog photography influencer) or the Yashica Electro 35 CCN.

discount Ryan Gosling strikes again

love how jason gave up painting the dust out after 12:05 lol can't blame em

Ive been procrastinating selling my XA for way to long, thanks for driving the prices up

Perfect timing I have an XA2 and just picked up an XA for 10 bucks at goodwill yesterday

I have had my XA since 2010 and it's size has allowed me to capture some of my favourite film moments. Are the photos as "good" as the ones on my higher quality film cameras? No, but it holds a special place in my heart. Loved the video Jason!

As a photojournalist I can say I’ve used the Olympus XA a lot for my work in Ukraine. Superb for if you need to be unseen while still getting quality shots.

finally doing a review of an Olympus cameras!!!!!!

I have the XA2 and have had the XA before also. I call this my sketchbook film camera. It's so easy, compact and fun to shoot that I often have a roll of cheap consumer film, B&W or some creative effect film (Purple/Turquoise) as an EDC 35mm camera to carry with anywhere.

I stopped drinking flaming hot Mountain Dew and shitted my pants to watch the one and only temu ryan goslin

This has been my main camera for a while now and it’s always amazes me with what I can do with it! You eventually get used to the focus and can get insanely sharp pictures!

I got an XA3 as my 2nd ever film camera and it rocks as a stealthy street camera. The other XA series models have iso settings up to 1600, although they automatically read DX coding, which is handy if you forget to change it between rolls but you’ll need to cover the coding on the canister to push your HP5. I just picked up an XA4 which is the only model rocking a 28mm lens.

I currently have three of these as i like to buy broken ones on ebay and repair, usually its the shutter button mechanism being awful. ive replaced two with a microswitch that is so much more reliable than the stock shutter button. The original shutter button is two very thin contacts with a rubber piece between them, squishing the rubber down is what fires the shutter, this was designed to be very sensitive to avoid camera shake while taking the picture. I find this design is very prone to failure after a tiny bit of corrosion on the two contacts and is the most common failure point on the camera across all models in my own experience.

Olympus XA - "The camera that professionals take on holiday." So went the publicity of the 80s. I used an XA2, the dumbed down XA, in the 80s and 90s.I was hip before the hipsters! A real point and shoot. What a great little camera and the shutter button really is sensitive.

I think the shutter button is intentionally light to keep the camera steady when you press it. I think this helps a lot with such a light camera.

The XA3 has become one of my favorites over the past year. I love the heft, the controls, and the format. I can push things to 1600 and throw it at someone if they get too threatening with something more official looking. So great.

My favorite time of the week

I’ve had my XA for over 10 years, and amongst all the film cameras I’ve owned the XA is the only one I kept and still use. You can always have it on you. Also, idk what’s going on with your camera but mine doesn’t get vignetting and my photos are sharp and great tbh. Maybe something is up with your copy 🤨.

The XA is awesome. Fits in my pocket and takes superb images. A gem.

Another “frist” impressions what a treat

I used the XA from around 2011-2015 as a snapshot camera during skate trips and really liked having it always on me to capture whatever was going on in between. Shot a surprising number of images that still hang out in my long-term works portfolios. One thing to make life easier is to put a small square of tape over the viewfinder where the rangefinder patch is supposed to show up. For cameras with a dim rangefinder patch (which I imagine are most of them these days) this makes it significantly easier to focus since the overlay patch isn't competing with the viewfinder's brightness. Also don't overlook that little leg that will give you +1.5EV for backlight situations, it can come in handy. I also seem to remember there is a way to mod the camera where you can make it so the lowest ISO setting will be 1600, and that this was fairly common, but I think details have disappeared from the internet for all but a sketchy flickr thread.

Olympus really was the king of making cameras destined to be turned into “size doesn’t matter” jokes by youtubers.

Absolutely superb review of this cult classic. It’s a real PIA to shoot with but can become addictive if you can get used to the handling. Personally I don’t struggle too much, despite having dinner plate hands and sausage fingers. If you think the XA is difficult to shoot with, try its predecessor, the 35 ECR.

You’re not alone: thinking too hard about making a shot will trigger that shutter release. That said I weirdly love this camera having one passed down from my parents and one that I acquired in a garage sale. My second copy is well calibrated with the rf focus and while the seals are well decayed I have somehow avoided light leaks.

By the way, the lens is not soft. But at slower shutter speeds it's really easy to introduce motion blur because the camera is so light and the shutter button is that weird hair trigger.

When I was covering events that often became violent and I would likely be a target of organized resistance, I carried an XA on a cord around my neck. Instead of lifting up a target SLR, I'd use this little guy, get images when everyone else was bring battered, and it never let me down. But I knew how to load it, and how to develop the film for the conditions in which it had been shot. None of that is shown here. Love most of your stuff, but I think this is not to standard.

I have the XA3 and love it, but have always had my eye on the original XA

I ordered a Ryan Gosling photographer cardboard cutout from Temu and this is what I received!?

XA2 & 3 aren’t comparable. But then again neither’s an M6. I really rate my XA when I feel the need for a nearly fully manual, rangefinder equipped film camera and carrying an SLR is either too big or conspicuous. And every time I use it I find its diminutive size makes it more remarkable, not a negative. The perfect pocket camera.

Diet Ryan Gosling always there to come in clutch, love the videos.

As a ProPhotog at the time I did not have GAS !!!!! I bought it(1979)to take it to wild parties ETC.... It then stayed in my pocket (all of the time)W/Tri-X for very many years!!! Amazing camera even TODAY !!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Felt the same way about the Olympus XA 🙂this took me down the rabbit hole of looking for what I considered to be a better smallish camera 🙂I got the Zeiss Ikon S310 and the Robot Star II Vollautomat 🙂You should definitely try one of these 🙂 Comes with much better optics and prices were similar to the XA when I got them 🙂

I got mine in 1981 or ‘82. The amazing characteristic was the size. You could put it in your pocket and go skiing or do other things that would have been cumbersome with an SLR. It’s an aperture-priority point and shoot, and it had a flash that made it a tiny bit bigger. As you point out, its major strength is its size, but its major weakness is also its size. Best suited to situations where you want to sneak in a full-frame 35mm camera in your pocket when a Nikon F2 in the same pocket would be embarrassing.

A small cam series on the Rollei 35 line would go so hard

I love Olympus gear, I feel somehow it is always a bit more unique/advanced than its counterparts of the same eras. My OM1 gets perfect exposures every shot and through piles of rolls it never even has a hiccup. Absolutely adore it. Id love to see what you could do with one.

10/10, several notes

I do love that camera, its such a teeny tiny rangefinder, a gem of a design. Maybe just TOO small for everyday practical use.

my favorite hand sized camera !

XA2 was my first camera, age 7, I loved that thing! I think they were both available at the same time, rather than the 2 being a replacement - the XA for more serious photographers and ye olde hipsters of the day

The shutter on the XA is not as sensitive as on any Agfa Sensor camera where the button travel is about ½mm. And BTW, the pictures are not crooked, just horizontally challenged.

There's always at least one shot with my finger in it whenever I shoot on my XA. I love it so much though, honestly I think it's kinda hilarious when I see them

Originally bought the XA2 for the form factor, but then bought the XA despite some negative reviews of the rangefinder patch. Really love the camera and the fact that you can, as you said, confirm your focus - I always have doubts about the accuracy of focus with lots of pocketable P&S

I don't even shoot film and I felt offended by this video lmao. Great job on the sarcasm.

XA2 has been my most used camera the last few years! so good! & the shutter button is known to be SUPER sensitive on all the xa models, its best to just not wind up/advance immediately after every shot. Wait until you know you’re about to shoot

Never been this fast to a video !!!

I liked the burger joint photo a lot. Beatiful retro colors with the bright blue tv screen in the middle. Nice video also

The xa2 is amazing but there’s definitely a learning curve with the zone focusing.

With my XA3 I’m able to push to 1600. Taken lots of keepers on my trip to Bolivia

OMG so excited about this. I own an XA but don’t use it much tbh, it’s so hard to look into that tiny viewfinder, with the rangefinder patch tighter than your mom and being unable to see the whole frame… That being said, it’s a lovely little toy that will give great results when used properly. f2.8 so soft it’s great if you want to hide your herpes. Special mention to the most sensitive shutter button out there, a little touch and he shoots his shot, just your dad and here you are. Definitely will waste 1 or 5 on each roll, but since you get 4 more shots than usual, because so little of the film gets exposed to light when loading, it balances out.

LOVE this - "this complaint is kinda baseless, but it doesn't mean I don't hate it anyway"

dang it I would look so cool with that blue baddie...agree wish the later models kept the range finder

5:53 nice to see some scholar did the tape/sharpie mod to the viewfinder here for a clearer rangefinder patch.

good camera. got to try it one day

If you find the XA small wait until you try a mju1. Still the best point&shoot to me !

Awesome. I am going to Vietnam with just a backpack and not alot of space and I just got a Olympus XA2 and after this video I know I am packing the right bag. No idea how to use it 😂but will figure it out

god damn it Jason. Its the second time. First with the Polaroid 110 A and now with the XA. I´m watching and researching and ebay-ing a camera and then you drop a video about that camera lol anyway... gotta empty my cart now lol

damn the shutter sounds are accurate to the camera

That restaurant shot right after Caleb pouty face frothed my loins like a Starbucks steam wand 🥵

I find myself using the XA much more than the T3. Amazing camera!!

A great little camera, I just find it hard to focus. I miss focus with this more than any other camera, and often miss a shot because the subject moves whilst I’m fat-fingering the focussing knob.

I got a lot of tilted images with my XA, and also a lot of shots of my fingers because it's really easy to get your digits in front of the lens without realizing it.

been waiting for the day you picked up one of these

just started the video but I already know you love it

Hell yeah Jason love your videos my 35mm turns to 120 when I see you posted

This camera is always with me. My copy is so sharp at 5.6-8.0

Think I remember reading somewhere that those rangefinder patches can fade over time. So yeah, for anyone buying, your mileage may vary. It's weird that Olympus nailed it with the aperture priority on the XA and the OM10, and then just decided to let it go. What changed?

Cool video. I have the XA. Don't plan to get one if you don't like aperture mode. But XA need from 5.6 to 11 to get shaper shots.

Saw the vintage Bolex Paillard at 2:54!

Just sold my Olympus Yesterday. I feel I made a grave mistake. But new glass for my SLR seemed more enticing.

Is the Leica M6 and the razor sharp ridiculously priced multitude of lenses available for it better? Sure. Sold my M6 TTL system decades ago. Still have my XA and love it. Toss it in a backpack and have fun.

The shutter button is meant to be sensitive to avoid introduction of camera movement went shooting at lower shutter speeds. Hope that helps

13:35 His and hers!

For the size complaint they do have a little attachable flash with its own battery available them. My photo prof in college had one and I really should bother him about letting me try it.

Planning to try the XA4 with the 28mm lens? That wide the lack of RF is less an issue given the DOF.

Even though the camera doesn’t go to 1600 you can still shoot it at 1600 by underexposing by an extra stop. So 400iso at 800 but shoot a stop under exposed and then push the film in processing to 1600 rated film.

Oh yeah i was just thinking of selling mine thanks for the price boost

That Mac Dre shirt is high key killer.

I love this camera!!! I made my first video on it and it’s such a charm to shoot

That’s a great hat Jason.

A good point and shoot is always nice. Picked up a Olympus Stylus recently for $5 and its such a good camera. Solid video sir.

Square aperture might actually be kinda cool

your camera always looks brand new, maybe you should make a video about how to get shiny new cameras hhhhhh

"Is that a full frame range finder in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Fine to prefer the M6, but they're not really comparable. One fits in your pocket and the other does not, and I don't know a better pocket camera than the XA.

This was so good.

@6:12 According to Mr. Maitani, he designed this camera after observing a mother struggling to take a picture of her child with an SLR. It's designed for one-handed operation (hence small sliding clam shell, light touch shutter button). It was not meant for "real photographers."

Camera is dope