Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/11/24

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Subject: [Leica] Olympus XA (OT)
From: amr3 at uwm.edu (Alan Magayne-Roshak)
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:10:27 -0600 (CST)

On Sat, 24 Nov 2012  Howard Ritter <hlritter at bex.net>wrote:

>Reading early releases on Sony's forthcoming ultrapremium-priced non-SLR 
>non-interchangeable, non-zoom-lens finderless full-frame digicam, >the RX1, 
>I couldn't help but think about its nearest film equivalent, and one of my 
>favorite past cameras, the little Oly XA. I'll bet a lot of >LUGgers past a 
>certain age used this little gem. How many of you still have yours? Use it?
======================================================================================================
I've got two, and one is loaded with Tri-X right now.  

My first one was bought used from a photojournalist friend who used it 
clandestinely in Poland during the Solidarity movement around 1980.  She was 
on a leave of absence there at the time, and found her Nikons were too 
visible to safely use during demonstrations, but the XA was easy to conceal 
from the authorities.  She got friends to smuggle her film out of Poland and 
the photos were published in the Milwaukee Journal anonymously.

I used this XA to shoot what is probably one of my five all-time favorite 
pictures:
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/Color/Solitude_AMR.jpg.html>

I'm very fond of the XA.  It's so tiny and quiet for situations like these:

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/Travel/Art_Man_AMR.jpg.html>
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/Candids/Heels_AMR.jpg.html>

Alan

Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer
UPAA POY 1978
University Relations
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
amr3 at uwm.edu
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/

"All the technique in the world doesn't compensate
 for an inability to notice. " - Elliott Erwitt


Replies: Reply from hlritter at bex.net (Howard Ritter) ([Leica] Olympus XA (OT))
Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Olympus XA (OT))
Reply from ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] Olympus XA (OT))