Hi, I finally got round to write something about my recently purchased Olympus XA4. I had owned an XA2 for almost a year before I bought the XA4 and you have to know the latter is a rare bird. First of all it was produced only in 1985 so there's probably not many to go round these days, second it has got a wide angle 28mm lens so no wonder it is so hard to come by.
Here's the camera itself:
It differs from the XA2 by quite a number of things and what sets it apart from the other XAs is that it has a focal length of 28mm (the rest have 35mm). The XA2 has three focusing zones: close, mid range and far. :) represented by a bust, a couple of people and mountains respectively. The XA4 has 7 focusing zones: 0.3 - 0.5 - 0.7 - 1 - 1.5 - 3 - infinity which gives greater precision, but then again at 28mm what difference does it make if you focus at 1.5 or 3m. After using it for some time I can say that it does make a difference, but getting the hang of setting the value without looking (this camera is known for being used for candid photography) is a little harder than in the XA2 where you had only 3 positions.Here's the camera itself:
Having scanned the first roll of slide I was amazed at the quality. I once compared the XA2 with my Nikon + Nikkor 20mm 2.8 lens stopped down to f/8. For some strange reason the XA2 was considerably sharper. Well. the XA4 is even sharper!
The light metering is great, but I don't see the differences between the two XA in this matter. They are both great. When the camera needs compensation you just have to alter the iso value for this shot. Eg ISO800 instead of the nominal ISO400 of your film for +1E.V. or ISO200 for -1E.V. The XA4 has one advantage when ISO sensitivity is considered, it do
All XAs have a central shutter so you will be amazed what long exposure time you will be able to make hand-holding (I had a couple of occasions where I held a really long exposure like 1/5 to 1 sec[only my estimation] and they worked out great while I was sure they would be smudged)
The leash of the camera can be easily used to measure the two closest focusing distances 0.3m and 0.5m (when extended)
Macro shots (0.3m measured with the leash):
Macro shots (0.3m measured with the leash):
This camera is amazing and I recommend it to anybody who is able to buy one which is not that easy after all.
More technical details availavle on this www.
