Olympus XA - Photojournalist Review

[@MaxDavydov]

I just got Olympus XA, and it is a marvelous little camera. I haven't figured out how to make good photos with it yet, so your photos are a great example. And thank you for supporting Ukraine, this means a lot. It was heartwarming and sad at the same time to see photos of my hometown Kharkiv, wounded by the war.

[@DevinSanLuis]

Thank you for the compliment! Kharkiv is truly one of my favorite places in Ukraine. Having just come back from there again I already miss it! But I will have more photos to show in the future!

[@purrfessorr]

Man, this video is amazing. It's so well-made! I just picked up my Olympus XA (so now i have a trio of XA, OM-2 and AF-1) and I'm in love with this camera. Your video inspired me even more!

[@DevinSanLuis]

Cheers! This little camera is a hidden powerhouse! Glad you enjoyed the video!!

[@aperes1]

This was a great review. unlike any other review I’ve seen in its production values

[@DevinSanLuis]

That was the goal! Give the wider community a different look at a camera that has been talked about a good amount!

[@AaronYeoman]

Fantastic video about a fantastic camera. Ive just got one myself, any tips on focusing? Do you tend to use the range finder aspect of the camera (focus patch can be hard to see) or use DOF table calculation?

[@DevinSanLuis]

Thank you! I do primarily use the focusing patch! On my copy the patch is usable and doesn’t give me too much fuss. On the rare occasion that it does though or if I need to be moving quickly around without a lot of time I’ll wack it to F/8 and set the focusing tab just off of infinity. It tends to do the trick!

[@dillimeinbilli]

Hey man, great video. The images from Ukraine are stunning. I just purchased my second XA after owning one which was pretty banged up. First one had fungus on the lens and really bad rangefinder window + the shutter speed needle was dead but set to 5.6 and infinity focus still was a great shooting experience, really compact and discreet and disarming for people on the street. I’m hoping the new one - which is CLAed will be a bit sharper/cleaner. I’m wondering - what for you has been the sweet spot in film stocks for you with the XA? And any tips for someone on their second merry go round with it? I’ll basically be using it for travel and street.

[@DevinSanLuis]

Thank you for the compliments! Absolutely! I've run quite a few film stocks through this thing, it does surprisingly well with low ISO filmstock's such as the Panatomic-X shots (ISO 32). However I've also seen that anything more than 400 and the shots look a little overdone. So don't be afraid of low ISO stocks on a sunny day, and maybe some nice 200 through 400 speed films if you need just a little more light! Cheers! Keep me updated I'd love to hear how it goes!

[@IntrovertAmateur]

Dude, what an incredable production quality! And your story telling is also insanely good! Makes me want to use my XA right now and more often :) Keep up the great work! And my respect to you and your work in Ukrain!! 🙏☘

[@DevinSanLuis]

Thank you! It was definitely a bit of an experiment but one that really worked out I feel. A good way to keep content on the channel in between a lot of my more serious work. And damn straight use that XA more! Lol

[@nicklopro]

Yo I think I just watched a short from you with some of the same photos! I love your long form stuff! I totally agree on your take about this being a great street machine! But as an all around walk in the park camera it's a dream. Took mine to Big Bend. Way better than wearing a heavy SLR for long hikes

[@bluebiegrace1828]

I have a question: is it still focus even if if don’t use the focusing knob below?? Thank you 🙏🏼. Love the photos you took of Kyiv so powerful.

[@DevinSanLuis]

Thank you! The XA will need to be focused with the knob at all times if you want sharp images as anything below F/11 or F/8. However, it is possible to set the focus about where you need it to be, set the aperture to F/11 and not worry about it. I just wouldn’t do that all the time.

[@IncendiaHL]

Holy crap. I'm about to buy this camera, so I just wanted to see a couple of videos about it. Didn't expect to fall into a video that includes the other great passion of mine. The perseverance of Ukraine and it's culture. I'm even learning the language and it is beautiful. Thank you for this video and Слава Україні!

[@DevinSanLuis]

героям слава! That's the strategy! Draw people in with cameras and my photojournalism and hope they stay for the Documentaries and Interviews! I'm very glad to hear you're learning the language - it's really a difficult task!

[@reinhardankenbauer3241]

I never go out without! 😅 In the days of fakes on the basis of digital shots, I want to make sure I can prove I didn't change anything - this seems especially important for crisis photography in moments of history in the making, in times like the one we are going through NOW! 🎉❤

[@DevinSanLuis]

Exactly so! Having a psychical moment in history will increasingly become important and rare. Film forever!

[@macjim]

My dad had one… he wasn’t known to take many photos so his buying the XA was a surprise… he also had the detachable flash unit and the leather belt case too. I thought I still had the XA but on searching for it I couldn’t find it so I must have given it to a charity shop as I had gone all in on digital… sadly I regret doing so. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇦

[@DevinSanLuis]

A true loss! It is a fantastic little camera. I also have the flash unit but rarely find myself in need of it! Cheers to Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@cameraprepper7938]

I have just sold about half of my old analog cameras, one of them was the Olympus XA-3, the XA series are good compact cameras, but I like the Minox 35 ML more which I also sold.

[@DevinSanLuis]

Everyone will have a preference of course. I think the original XA is still the best out of that line. I sure probably do a purge of my camera collection soon too!

[@cameraprepper7938]

@@DevinSanLuis Have you tried the Minox ? Of the five cameras in the XA series some (as I) will argue that the XA 3 is the better choice.

[@DevinSanLuis]

I’ve never used a Minox actually. I’ve heard they are fairly reliable though. Sell me on the XA-3. What am I missing out on? Because one of the largest sticking point for me is having full control of my focus.

[@cameraprepper7938]

@@DevinSanLuis I have never had problems with my Minox 35 ML, but be careful with older models though. 🤣 "Full control with focus" on a XA, not more than with a XA 3 ! If you nned full control, then there is only SLR cameras. The XA 3 and XA 4 is a newer design and have faster shutter speed which often can be needed, the XA 4 can even focus much closer than a XA ! The most "bad" is the XA1 which is very simple.

[@carlosgrajeda1986]

@@DevinSanLuis I love the original XA. If I was to sell you on the XA3 though it would be that it can meter up to 1600 ISO, if you’re pushing black and white film to 1600, you’ll have sharp photos as the camera will automatically use faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures for wider depth of field at the higher ISO.

[@dt9r]

I have the entire XA series , still I do prefer the XA2 for point and shoot, but the XA is crazy good