Point and Shootout - Klasse S vs. Olympus XA 

Very useful comparison. I've owned three XAs and they've certainly captured some great images over the years. I've looked at the Klasse from afar for a long time, but so far haven't been able to justify a purchase at many times the cost of an XA (especially since I've never spent more than $100 on a camera). For now I'm content shooting a near-mint Minolta XD SLR I picked up for $75. Outstanding images but a heavier carry than a P&S, no doubt.

That is the kicker, you said it - 'how outrageously expensive they are' , me I'm a enthusiast, a hobbyist, I'm not a working photographer, I am a retired analogue camera repair man out in West Hill, Ontario, and I would rather spend $150 Canadian on a Nikon Fe/Fm complete with a 50mm lens, or spend a bit more and get a Minolta XE-7 with a 50mm lens and have a blast shooting to my hearts content, knowing that the photos will be free of the typical draw backs and restraints with those shot on any of the typical/popular point and shoot cameras available online. I believe the 'fun' that these point and shoots have, comes from a marketing direction of it being worry free, just point and shoot, no thinking required. At least that's what the camera brands were spewing back in the 80's and 90's. The young enthusiasts and photographers of today, they seem to gravitate to that mantra, and may not want to invest in the longevity of the equipment they own, preferring to spend their money on the experience and adventure of shooting film, and that too serves a purpose so I wish them well. Thank for the video Alastair.

Great comparison, thanks

Many modern compact cameras only read dx code while the xa has manual iso with fine increments that can be used both as as exp. Comp or for pushing film :)

Thanks for the comparison. It is relevant as some of us XA owners might be shopping for “upgrades”. I have to say I prefer your XA images tbh. I think it looks slightly exposed to the right and the Fuji seems underexposed a bit but I guess that’s easy to fix with the exposure comp in the Fuji.

I like your XA images better when comparing the entirety of it and not just the sharpness. Good review overall.

I think the XA images look lovely, and have their own character and quality...

Interesting comparison. I think I actually prefer the images from the Olympus. Much better to work with in post-processing or in the darkroom. The images from the Fuji seem overly contrasty to me. Your miles may vary of course.

An excellent presentation comparing the compact camera equivalents of a Porsche and a Toyota. I clearly remember when the Olympus XA came out. In fact, I bought one. The camera's best feature is how non-intrusive it is in a public setting. With that said, I eventually gravitated to a Rollei 35S and still use it.

Who ever is doing some your scans should clean their equipment. These are obviously scans with contrast added, I would assume automatically by the lab scanner, so talking about contrast and highlight detail becomes tricky.

Comparing 5:03 vs 5:13 while I do agree its Klasse S has more contrast and edges are more sharper, the shadow detail is lost and replaced with a lot of grain (looking more like digital noise seen in some early y2k point and shoot digital cameras). I feel the Olympus XA is more in-line with what the eye sees. The sharpness of the Klasse S provides doesn't feel natural. Look at the trees in the centre rock formation... With the Olympus XA you can see the trunk, branches, leafs. With the Klasse S most of that information isn't even visible. It's just a lot of grain.

The XA does have exposure compensation

Apples and Oranges. Different. Like comparing Leica M11 to a Nikon J5.

XA is not a POINT&SHOOT!

Alastair seems almost apologetic for this review. Its the first time I've ever seen anyone down-rate a camera because its lens was too sharp. My guess is that with all of the nonsense hype over the XA, he didn't realize what a piece of crap it is until he was too invested to just throw the video away and doesn't want to offend his XA cult followers. The lens in the XA is a 6=element 35mm 2.8, so it must be better than average? In fact, it was a unique design, quite complex, which Olympus used because it let them fit the lens in the thin body without having to "pop" it out to use. Optical quality was not a design requirement. In fact, it tests so bad that you cannot tell it is photographing a resolution test chart. It also achieves more distortion, more vignetting, than any other 35mm camera lens of its vintage, maybe more than any other. The optical chromatic aberration is obvious in the photos illustrated. Olympus never used that rotten lens in another camera, and no other maker has ever copied its design. Then there are the other XA deficiencies, like all plastic which breaks, a very crude aperture and shutter mechanism (crap bokah anyone?), a finder which is hard to use, and a rangefinder so dim and inaccurate that it is practically worthless. I bought mine decades ago for about $50. When production stopped in 1985, the Japanese collectors' market drove the use price of an XA from around $40 to $175. Then Japan changed its tax laws, and folks stopped buying them. The prices fell like a stone back to $50-75. Once the YT hype blows over, the XAs left will plunge again. The Klasse of course runs with the Contax T2 and Nikon 35Ti. There is no comparison to an XA, except laughter

Hhhm. The way you started off this video ... going on for quite a while how wonderful the Klasse was, and how much better it was than the XA, whilst minimising the good bits of the XA, or not mentioning them at all..., rather ruined the video as any kind of objective assessment. As in, you'd decided beforehand what you were going to say, and then cherry picked specific photos that you asserted proved your point. For me, actually they didn't.