[rollei_list] Re: OT Olympus XA (was Re: Rolleiflex 35mm Cameras)
- From: "Peter K." <peterk727@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:57:00 -0800
Oy Eric. You need to go back and look again. The travel you refer to is at
the lens. The lever that actually controlled the RF had more travel as it
was extended from where it connected to the RF actuator inside so the
accuracy was there. But hey, to each his own. Mine delivered some fantastic
photos and I was happy. This topic's a little oysgeshpilt.
On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 11:47 AM, Eric Goldstein <egoldste@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> With a very small focus travel from 3 ft - infinity (an inch or
> less!), a small rangefinder patch with little travel, and no
> rangefinder magnification, I'm talking accuracy. This is science, not
> preference.
>
> In contrast, many of my aux rangefinders have much more travel, much
> more obvious patches, and some magnification that increases accuracy.
>
> Zuikos are hit and miss... some are really very good, some really very
> bad. My experience with shooting hundreds of images with the XA is
> that the glass is ok but nothing special. At the time it was a way to
> have a camera small enough to carry always and capture a decent image.
> The clamshell design was highly innovative and easy to hold. The
> shutter vibration-free. The cat-eye iris was awful. The lack of manual
> over-ride on exposure wasn't great, either.
>
>
> Eric Goldstein
>
> --
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 1:41 PM, Peter K. <peterk727@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > You were talking accuracy. If you looked the patch was clear and the RF
> > accurate. What you are describing is your preferences. Much different.
> The
> > RF in the XA was spot on everytime I used it. Fall off? Yes, but never
> > printed full frame when using that camera so non issue. Personally, I
> would
> > rather have a photo in focus using a Zuiko then one that is more likely
> out
> > of focus (except for Infinity) using a Rollei 35 w/o a RF. Guessing is
> trial
> > and error. And no matter how good the lens was that made your out of
> focus
> > print, its still out of focus. ;-)
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 8:07 AM, Eric Goldstein <egoldste@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I have an XA bought new in the 70s. Highly innovatived design for the
> >> time. Performance-wise, it is a decent camera, but the focus travel is
> about
> >> an inch from inf to 3 ft and the rangefinder patch is fractional.
> Lens-wise,
> >> big time fall off in the corners and not the most highly corrected
> optic.
> >> It's fine for what it is...
> >>
> >> Eric Goldstein
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 10:07 AM, Allen Zak <azak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> On Nov 12, 2009, at 2:23 AM, Mark Rabiner wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>> The XA rangefinder is pretty much useless. It is much more precise to
> >>>>> use a decent hotshoe RF that's calibrated to a Rollei 35...
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Eric Goldstein
> >>>>
> >>>> My XA rangefinder was 100%.
> >>>> I never missed my focus;
> >>>> like I would with my Rollei 35.
> >>>>
> >>>> I liked that lightness of the XA.
> >>>> Sometimes plastic instead of metal is a good thing.
> >>>>
> >>>> The Rollei felt like it was made of lead or uranium.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Mark William Rabiner
> >>>
> >>> Likewise. The XA was one of my favorite cameras ever. Once, due to
> back
> >>> miseries making it physically impossible to carry my usual 500 lbs of
> camera
> >>> gear, I covered a news event using only an XA and XA2, and did a fair
> job,
> >>> at that. For years I never left home without it, and when the light
> meter
> >>> finally died and no spare parts available anymore, I was very sad.
> Then I
> >>> moved on.
> >>>
> >>> Allen Zak
> >>>
> >>> ---
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> >>>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Peter K
> > Ó¿Õ¬
> >
> ---
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--
Peter K
Ó¿Õ¬
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