Olympus XA2
I like my Yashica Electro 35 GTN a lot. It’s a stylish rangefinder camera capable of taking excellent photos. The only fly in the ointment is its size and weight. The camera wouldn’t fit even the largest pocket, and at 750g, it weighs more than my trusty Nikon D90. In other words, schlepping Yashica Electro 35 GTN around is not always fun. So I reasoned that a lightweight, no-frills, inexpensive film camera would be a useful addition to my analog toolbox.
Olympus XA2 with A11 flash
While there are several cameras that meet these requirements, I went with Olympus XA2 for several reasons. This camera features a unique capsule design, and it’s so small that it easily fits in the palm of my hand. Better still, there are plenty of Olympus XA2s on eBay at very reasonable prices. I bought mine in near mint condition for ~75 U.S. dollars (this included the original box, manuals, and A11 flash as well as shipping and handling). But if you are not picky, you can find one for much less.
I won’t bore you with a description of the camera’s features as they are covered extensively elsewhere on the web. I’ll just say that it’s a real gem of a camera which feels great in the hand and is ridiculously easy to use. The only thing you need to remember is to set the focus slider to the appropriate focus zone, and the camera does the rest. I took my Olympus XA2 for a short photo walk, and here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure.
No bicycles allowed
Colors
Converging lines
If you want to know more about Olympus XA2, the XA2 page should be your first stop.
