Christmas lights

Canon 40D, ISO 1600, 16-35mm @16mm, 1/15, f/2.8

Team photo

A couple of years ago I bought a Ricoh 35 ZF camera to complement my Canon AE-1, with the plan of "shooting a roll of film now and then." Two years later I just developed my 150th roll, and I've acquired a small pile of cameras, either for free or on the super cheap. All of the cameras pictured here are in active rotation.

Clockwise, from lower left: Canon Elan IIe, Olympus XA2, Ricoh 35 ZF, Kodak VR35 K14, Olympus Stylus, Holga 120N, Slim Black Devil, Super Ricohflex, Yashica 35 GSN, Canon AE-1, Olympus Stylus Epic

Olympus XA2

Since I started shooting film in earnest a couple years ago, I've acquired a small pile of inexpensive film cameras. The smallest of the lot just might be my favorite: the Olympus XA2.

 

I don't love it best just because it's small. I mostly love it because it's damn simple to use. It is a zone-focus model, meaning you guess the distance to your subject and move the slider  to match. There are three positions:

• White People: 1.2m to 1.8m
• Orange People: 1.2m & up
• Mountains: 6.3m to infinity

The focus resets to the middle (orange people) position whenever you close the clamshell. So when you open it, as long as you're 4-5 feet from your subject, there's no need to fiddle with it. When I'm taking a landscape shot I sometimes remember to flip the switch upward, but for 99% of my shots I just open, point, shoot.

The lens is a sharp, 35mm f/3.5 4-element Tessar type. It's not as fast as the one on my Stylus Epic, but this is really an outdoor camera anyway. Did I mention the lens is sharp?

You wind the film using the thumb wheel in the upper right. Takes a few swipes to advance it all the way. The shutter will not fire unless it's wound completely. The viewfinder has framelines built in, but they're not exact - there will be a little more in your shot than what you see in the rectangle. A green light goes off if the exposure will be 1/30 or slower.

Like the fancier XA, the XA2 features a hair-trigger of a shutter button. It feels strange at first, because it's a flush-mounted electromagnetic button that goes off with a slight touch. This is good because it helps you minimize camera shake, and there is no appreciable lag when you're ready to shoot.

Shutter speeds are 1 - 1/750 second.

The XA2 is a rugged little beast. It feels properly heavy in hand, and I prefer to carry it in a cargo shorts pocket or jacket pocket. It's a little too bulky for a pants pocket (remember, you have to fit a 35mm film cartridge inside). I don't like a strap because I am normally shooting from the hip or a low angle with it without even looking through the viewfinder.

There's a little self-timer/battery check switch on the bottom for long exposures and self portraits!

ASA speeds can be set manually from 25-800. You can fiddle with this to set exposure compensation, but more importantly it allows you to use a 2-bath developer like Diafine that tends to effectively boost the rated speed of your film. If your only option is DX coding, you must find another developer since you're stuck with the rated speed.

Sometimes simplicity is a fantastic thing. When you shoot with the XA2, there's little to worry about other than what's in the frame. And nobody on the street knows you're even shooting pictures. I've loved this spectacular little beauty since I bought it for a measly 20 bucks or so.

Eating dinner

Super Ricohflex, Ilford Delta 3200, f/3.5, 1/50

I am new to medium format, but I love it. Other than the venerable Holga, I have a Super Ricohflex TLR I picked up for a song. It's pretty tough taking pictures of a child unless she's sitting down...or at least not moving for a few seconds (yeah, right!) This is a snap from dinner time, made with available light. I processed the film in D-76, 1:1 dilution.

In the yard

Olympus Stylus Epic, Fuji Neopan 400. I replaced the Stylus Epic I used to have for just $20 on eBay, because it was the DLX model with a stuck panorama mask. Needle-nosed pliers fixed that! This is the 35/2.8 model with a spot meter, normally a little more expensive than I got it for. As you can see, the lens is sharp.

Now I have three clamshell Olympus cameras...the XA2, Stylus, and Stylus Epic. It's such a perfect camera design. I slightly favor the XA2 because I don't have to focus and it has no shutter lag, but I find all three useful. Indeed, they are all currently loaded with film.

JC's Playground

5D Mark II and 28/1.8 lens @ f/16...7-bladed aperture yields the cool 14-point sunstar. I metered on the bright point of light to create the silhouette. The cross is atop a church across the street from the playground.

Roof and clouds

Olympus Stylus, 35mm, Legacy Pro 100

More angles and shadows

Omni Hotel parking lot, Charlottesville, VA...same staircase as in previous post.

Angles and shadows

Omni hotel parking lot, Charlottesville, VA

Arlington, VA

Olympus XA2, Legacy Pro 400 (rebranded Fuji Neopan)

I've heard people say that winter's a bad time for photography. Oh, please! The shadows, naked trees, and low-angle light create wonderful opportunities. Don't make excuses — make pictures.

Film rules for B&W, I'm convinced. I'm scanning for now, but one day I'll build a proper darkroom and do some real prints. And my B&W negatives will last longer than me.

The Olympus XA2 is a wonderful pocket camera. It's tiny, built to last, and simple to use. Three-zone focus and an ASA dial are your controls. The clamshell design is pure genius, and the wide-normal 35mm focal length is sublime. In fact, it's becoming my favorite focal length. Plus, it's "full frame!"

Tracks

Self portrait

Megapixel insanity

Great post on Petavoxel. It's the first in what's grown into a short series of posts in reaction to all the 14-megapixel small-sensor compacts announced at CES. It's well-written, concise, and should be read by anyone shopping for a camera if you ask me.

Serious photographers have known this for years, that packing more and more megapixels into the same small space was detrimental to image quality. But no matter how loud the plea to the general public, it has fallen on mostly deaf ears. Let's hope the tide is starting to turn.

Footsteps in the snow

Made with the Ricoh 35 ZF and Arista Premium 400 (actually Kodak Tri-X). "Sunny 16" exposure of 1/500 at f/16. The light meter is not functioning, but these old cameras are great because I can simply remove the batteries and do everything manually. I taped a cheat sheet to the back but I am using it less and less as I get a better sense of exposure. It's a great way to learn, actually.