Lomopedia: Olympus XA

Another classic compact from Japanese camera-maker Olympus, the original Olympus XA was the first and said to be the finest model from the XA Series. Find out more about this impressive compact camera after the jump!

Designed by the iconic camera designer Maitani Yoshihisa, the original Olympus XA was a 35 mm compact rangefinder camera introduced in 1979 and produced until 1985. Hailed as the benchmark and finest model of the XA Series, it was equipped with a true rangefinder focusing mechanism, which made it one of the world's smallest rangefinder cameras alongside Contax T. It had aperture priority exposure system, manual focus, and a fast 35 mm f/2.8 lens.

The Olympus XA remains a coveted compact to this day for its capability to take sharp, vibrant photos that rival those of bulkier SLR cameras. Its compact and revolutionary capsule design, easy focusing, and the quiet shutter have also endeared the Olympus XA to street photographers around the world.

Photos Taken by Our Community Members

Technical Specifications

Lens: 6 elements 5 groups F.Zuiko 35 mm
Aperture: f/2.8–f/22
Shutter: 10s~1/500s leaf shutter
Focusing: 0.9m to infinity rangefinder
Exposure: aperture-priority metering with +1.5 exposure compensation for backlighting
Battery: 2 LR/SR44
Size: 102 × 64.5 × 40 mm
Weight: 225 g
Year: 1979–1985

All information for this article was sourced from Diaxa, Camerapedia, and Olympus XA on Wikipedia.

written by plasticpopsicle on 2013-10-04 #gear #lomopedia #rangefinder #review #olympus-xa #olympus #lomography #rangefinder-camera #lomopedia