Olympus XA1, At the Mall

Analog Diary: Film photography favorites, image making with an Olympus XA1, a street shoot in the mall.

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Taking along the Olympus XA1, the simplest of the XA Capsula cameras produced by Olympus over three decades ago, is as easy as grabbing one and slipping it into your shirt pocket or purse as you are on your way out the door. The XA1, a full-frame 35mm film camera, is complete with its own capsule cover that slides back to open up the lens when you are ready for the action.

This true point-and-shoot camera is exceptionally easy to use and maintain, firstly because the electro-mechanical shutter system is powered by a selenium cell, the camera does not need a battery for its operation.

The fixed focus D.Zuiko 35mm F4 is, of course, focus-free, and images are sharp from 1.5 meters onward, and the programmed shutter ranges from F4/1.30 second to F22/1.250 second automatically depending on the ambient lighting situation.

Olympus XA1

Would you rather carry around a film camera instead of relying only on your handphone? Images captured on film may come out better than digital images when shot in natural lighting, as it has a higher dynamic range, and film grain is aesthetically pleasing. All said and done, when all photo images can always be enhanced with a little bit of sharpening, scanned film images can also be given the same treatment in your process workflow.

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