New Use for Olympus XA?

[ceflynn]

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Since the Leica X1 was announced, I have wondered just what the world looks like through an f 2.8 lens with a 35 mm effective field of view.

 

I found my Olympus XA 35 mm rangefinder in the back of a drawer. The lens reads: Olympus F-Zuiko 1:2.8 f=35 mm. The viewfinder is accurately matched to the lens. I see no reason why looking through the XA would not give a good idea of how a scene would appear in the X1. The view is a familiar and pleasing one, and I do not see how a better choice could have been made by Leica for their new camera.

[biglouis]

Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price but today you have to put up with no viewfinder. I would also imagine that the cost of assembling an intricate mechanical device was considerably greater in real terms than a digicam.

 

That said, I still find the X1 an attractive idea - I'm just not under any illusions that Leica is going to extract as much consumer surplus as it can from its fan base.

 

LouisB

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[Lucklik]

Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price

LouisB

 

I bought a Minolta Hi-Matic E for 5€ and I found out I can work very fast with it. It is as fast as my M6 or M7. This is due to the good automatic exposure (also on M7) but the big factor is setting the distance which I set before taking the picture and looking in the viewfinder.

This is why I find being able to put the distance in meters on the X1 so important. In street photography it is the difference between being fast enough or not being fast enough.

The reason why I put the Minolta into my closet is because its 40mm lens is too long for me. A 35mm like on the X1 is perfect fo me.

Take a look at my blog for pictures taking with the Minolta all showing the complete negative.

Een Minolta HI-MATIC E voor 2 capuccino’s Fotogordon’s Weblog

Een wandeling door de Gentse Rabot wijk Fotogordon’s Weblog

Surrealistisch Doel Fotogordon’s Weblog

Sorry they are in dutch

 

After D1, D2, K10D and others I'm back to film. I shoot 90% M6 and M7. A M8 or M9 is out of reach.

A X1 with a presetting manual focus might bring me enough to shoot digital again when I need fast results. AF of focussing on a LCD is just not fast enough for my way of shooting.

[zapp]

Yeah but it is a damn shame that 20 years ago you could get a capsule rangefinder with an absolutely superb lens on it for the equivalent of a quarter of the price but today you have to put up with no viewfinder. I would also imagine that the cost of assembling an intricate mechanical device was considerably greater in real terms than a digicam.

 

That said, I still find the X1 an attractive idea - I'm just not under any illusions that Leica is going to extract as much consumer surplus as it can from its fan base.

 

LouisB

 

But 20 years ago the Olympus XA was not a Leica design, so your price comparison is slightly off. The XA required film, now you have a digital sensor build into the camera and a decent lens for digital sensors requires a lot more effort than a film camera lens. You can still buy an Olympus camera for little money.

 

In short, the X1 costs a lot of money. If it delivers what many expect, it will be great.

[SJP]

The last time I used my XA was last Christmas, I was really surprised how large the vignetting was compared to my mental image of past results.

 

Maybe I should sell it to someone that will actually use it?

[biglouis]

But 20 years ago the Olympus XA was not a Leica design, so your price comparison is slightly off. The XA required film, now you have a digital sensor build into the camera and a decent lens for digital sensors requires a lot more effort than a film camera lens. You can still buy an Olympus camera for little money.

 

In short, the X1 costs a lot of money. If it delivers what many expect, it will be great.

 

With respect, I'm not entirely convinced that the X1 is a 'Leica' design. The XA was and remains for me the absolute zenith of capsule camera design. Leica will be doing good if it comes close to the XA for portability, ergonomics and results.

 

LouisB

[nhabedi]

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With respect, I'm not entirely convinced that the X1 is a 'Leica' design.

 

Why?