80’s MEMORIES: MY BELOVED OLYMPUS XA
Posted on February 20, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi
The very first Olympus XA came out in 1979, mine was in 1980(XA2). First the XA, complete with manual rangefinder focus, and then the less expensive XA2. Since it was given to me, I extensively used it till the 1990s. It was light and easy to carry, a little masterpiece of optical and industrial design. It took great photos, too. The clamshell could protect all optics and once opened it could shoot instantly. The XA had very complex lens, nice point and shoot, the viewfinder was bright, a manual thumb wheel, manual rewind with release button and crank. The XA, with its tiny, toy-like looks, has never been taken very seriously by people but it was an ideal pocketable, street photography camera; it was pure cute and a joy to behold.
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