#infinity stylus

There’s nothing new to be said about the Olympus XA. It’s a diminutive stroke of genius. A suitable representative of Yoshihisa Maitani’s design and development legacy.

In brief, this pocketable gem is a manual focussing rangefinder with aperture priority automatic metering, and a six-element 35mm f2.8 zuiko lens with max shutter speed of 1/500th. It’s a cult-favourite, give it a google.

The relatively short working distance and small window of the range finder can be a bit tricky (virtually unusable in very low light). It’s perfectly adequate in most lighting situations, with a little practice. Fortunatly the electronic shutter is so smooth and quiet it’s generally easy to stop down that lens a little for deeper depth of field and sharper corners.

When wide open corners are noticably soft. In addition, vignetting is pronounced (at least by my copy). It’s not an unpleasant effect, if that’s what you’re into, and I suspect most people who still shoot 35mm these days are looking to add such distinctive features in their images.

Olympus XA, Kodak gold

Olympus XA, Kodak ultramax, that vignetting tho’!

XA, kodak ultramax. The focussing scale above the lens helps to zone focus in low light where the tiny rangefinder split-image is virtually invisible.

XA, kodak ultramax.

Whatelse can you ask of a pocket camera? It’s weaknesses are as well documented as it’s strengths. Short fucussing distance, hair-trigger shutter release, thumb wheel film advance, a some what weak plastic “dust barrier” clamsheel cover, all features wholly integral to the compact design.

Ironically, I now find myself drawn back to the OM-1 for careful and precise TL composition. As fun and quick as rangfinders are, not to mention portable, I just don’t find myself trusting the view finder. It’s utterly baseless, by we all have our prejudices in gear.

Having next to not time lately for shooting, I’ve still managed to squeeze a few frames out of a few recently acquired cameras, all of which, incidentally, are olympuses. It began simply enough, with an old Trip 35 ($25) and a handful of expired 35mm film, or, if you will, as a bonus accompanying $25 worth of expired film. Even with a loose focussing ring and free-spinning iso dial, I was pleasantly surprised but the sharpness of the zuiko lens and accuracy of the old selenium meter. I’d run into trouble trusting the selenium meter in my zenit 11 and didn’t expect great things from a similar meter, decades older, but there really is no comparison. The Trip just works!

Annapolis Valley - Olympus Trip 35, kodak gold 200

West Lawrencetown Beach - Trip 35, Fujifilm superia 200

Well, one thing lead to another and an Infinity Stylus (μ-1, mju-I) was soon en route as a handy, pocketable carry-around. I’m not a huge fan of autofocus, but you can’t beat the convenience of the compact design, expecially when travelling. Again, I was blown away by the results.

Alleys of Trondheim - Infinity stylus (mju-I), Kodak ultramax gold 400

By this time my pentax, nikon, and canon bodies began collecting dust, and a windfall of inherited zuiko lenses (accompanying a broken OM-2n body) justified a proper olympus slr. Luckily, an OM-1 became available nearby (very cheaply, with it’s own broken 50mm lens) and has since become a very fast favourite. The compact design is a dream to carry around, and the controls, albeit odd, feel very natural once you get the hang of them. There’s something ineffably warm and sharp about the zuiko lenses that I find irresistable.

Crystal Crescent - OM-1, zuiko 50mm f1.8, Agfa Vista 200

Some respite - OM-1, zuiko 50mm f1.8, Agfa Vista 200

The Stacks - OM-1, zuiko 28mm f3.5, Agfa vista 200