Spotlight: Olympus XA4 Macro

 

One of my favorite cameras of all time is the original Olympus XA from 1979. The tiny camera features precise manual focus via a rangefinder, as well as aperture priority exposure control, and fits in a coat pocket with room to spare. It's an absolute classic. I was intrigued, then, when a working XA4 Macro came in on consignment at the auction house where I work. My boss kindly allowed me to borrow it. 

The XA4 Macro was released in 1985, and has a nearly identical form factor to the first XA. It is quite a bit simpler in operation, however, with zone focusing instead of rangefinder focusing, and full program exposure versus aperture priority. The lens is also wider and slower, with a 28mm f/3.5 instead of a 35mm f/2.8. That said, it is razor sharp. 

The main gimmick of the XA4 Macro is in the name. The lens can focus pretty dang close! Down to 1 foot, even. To ensure well-focused images at its two closest pre-set focus distances, the included strap can be adjusted to precisely measure either 1 ft or 1.7ft from the camera. A nifty trick! So if you're buying an XA4 Macro used, make sure the strap is included. 

Focused at 1 ft

Focused at 1.7 ft

The viewfinder is very simple, with frame-lines (including marks for parallax correction), and a single LED that lights up if the camera thinks there's not enough light in the scene. A few different XA proprietary flashes are compatible with the camera - I used an Olympus A11 flash for some of my interior photos. Normal flashes will not work, as the camera has neither a hot shoe nor an x-sync port. 

I shot a roll of HP5+ with the XA4 Macro, which I pushed to 800 ISO. I am pleased with the results. All of my negatives came out well-exposed. When I guessed focus correctly or used the measuring strap, photos turned out nice and sharp. My favorite images are below. While I was only able to borrow the camera for a short while, I enjoyed my time with the XA4 Macro and will try to win it at auction! 

Triptych: Mountain Pass

 

I made these multiple exposures while hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in North Carolina earlier this month. Each darkroom print is 7"x5". Below are the individual photos, as well as a couple "rejects." 

Spotlight: Voigtlander Bessamatic Deluxe

 

While exploring St. Joseph, Michigan, I found this cute German Voigtlander Bessamatic Deluxe SLR tucked away below a table, hidden behind a bunch of junk, in a local antique shop. For only 38 bucks, I had to have it. But what film would I use? I was away on vacation. Luckily, I still had an emergency roll of expired TMax 100 stored away in my VW Beetle for just such an occasion. I loaded the camera up and started firing off frames. 

Released in 1962, the Bessamatic Deluxe is an enhanced version of Voigtlander's Bessamatic camera from a few years prior. One of the most notable improvements over the original is the inclusion of a full information viewfinder, which (for 1962) is a pretty lavish feature! The little protrusion between the "Voigtlander" and "Bessamatic" logos projects your current aperture and shutter speed settings into the viewfinder. Also viewable in the finder is a match-needle exposure meter that runs off selenium cells. I don't really trust 60-year-old selenium cells, so I used an external light meter for my exposures, but I could see how this in-camera meter was easy and convenient to use back in the day. 

The wheel on the left is how you change aperture... weird!

Adjusting the exposure settings on the Bessamatic Deluxe is pretty bizarre, and a bit of a chore. Twisting the ring around the lens will change both the aperture AND the shutter speed at the same time (to keep you at the same exposure value). To change only the aperture, you must twist a knurled wheel on top of the camera, beneath the film rewind knob (Huh?! What?!). There is NO way to independently change the shutter speed. So, my method was to first change the shutter to what I wanted (which would also change the aperture), and then adjust the aperture with the wheel on top of the camera. German engineering at its finest! 

One other strange thing about the camera has to do with the focusing. The Bessamatic Deluxe features a split image assist on its focusing screen, and around that split image is a small matte ring which shows the current focus of your lens. However, beyond that central split image and small ring, the image will always look in focus. You can be inches away from your subject with the lens set at infinity, and everything on the focusing screen will look totally sharp except for the small ring and split image in the very middle. I have never seen this before. It's disorienting at first, but once I was aware of how it worked, it didn't make any difference in the shooting experience, really. 

Here you can see that this little fox ornament is completely out of focus (judging from the central focusing aids), but the rest of the screen is totally clear. Also, note the nifty aperture/shutter window at the top

The mirror on the Bessamatic Deluxe is not instant-return, so the finder goes black once the shutter is released. You must re-cock the shutter before you're able to see anything through the finder again. I don't hate this, because I always know if the camera is ready to fire when I put my eye to the finder. 

Lenses on the Bessamatic Deluxe are interchangeable, but mine only came with a standard 50mm f/2.8 Color-Skopar, so that's all I got to use. On the days I used the camera it was pretty overcast, so I was forced to shoot wide open at f/2.8 for the majority of my exposures. I wasn't really impressed with the image quality, as a lot of my images came out very soft. Was this the fault of the lens? I'm not sure. Maybe it was the expired film I used, or maybe my camera is slightly out of alignment. Regardless, I'm not overly pleased with my results, but I got a few decent images out of the roll. Take a look!

Into the Woods

 

I made this 4x multiple exposure with my Nikon Zf and 26mm f/2.8 Z Lens. 

Spotlight: Canon EOS-1

 

The Canon EOS-1 is the very first professional grade EOS camera, and was released in 1989. I grabbed mine at a camera show last year for about $150. 

The EOS-1 looks similar to an EOS 650 (the very first Canon EOS camera from two years earlier), but is bulked up to fit the demands of an enthusiast or professional photographer. The build is much more substantial on the EOS-1, and it sports autofocus that, according to Canon, is four times more sensitive than the 650 model. The EOS-1 winds film at a rate of 2.5 fps, which can be upgraded to 5fps with an optional accessory. It has all the exposure modes you could ever need, including program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. The shutter can fire at up to 1/8000 of a second. Woah! Focus modes include single and continuous, which both rely on a single central focus point. Multiple exposures are possible. Cool! 

As the top-of-the-line autofocus camera in Canon's lineup, the main competition for the EOS-1 was the Nikon F4, which I have owned for nearly ten years. While I personally prefer the F4 mainly because of its traditional tactile knobs and dials, as well as its interchangeable viewfinders, I will concede that the autofocus on the EOS-1 is much more reliable.   

Like the F4, the EOS-1 is no lightweight. This boy is beefy. It's not the sort of camera you want to carry around all day while exploring a new city or walking through a rural countryside. While it normally takes a single 2CR5 battery, mine came with an attachment grip that allows for the use of more common AA batteries, which is convenient, but adds on to the bulk. Though large and heavy, its rounded design makes it very comfortable in the hands. 

I took my EOS-1 with me on a trip to Michigan, and was very pleased with the performance of the camera. The autofocus worked wonderfully, even when I was chasing down chipmunks in deep shade with a big ol' 70-300mm lens. Only a few times did it miss focus, and never by very much. Yep, besides the weight, I have no qualms about the EOS-1. I will always be a bit of a Nikon fanboy, but sometimes it's nice to see what life's like like on the other side! Take a look at some photos I made with the camera, all shot on Ilford HP5+. 

Spotlight: Leica M5

 

The Leica M5 is a professional rangefinder camera from 1971. The auction house I work at got one in on consignment, so I was able to test it out. The opportunity got me excited, as it had been about nine years since I'd put film through a Leica. Spoiler: I wasn't disappointed! 

People often complain about how ugly the M5 is compared to the classic M3 and M4 cameras, but I find it rather attractive in person. While it certainly looks a little clunky in photographs, when held in the hand, the M5 feels premium. While the M3 is objectively one of the best looking cameras of all time, I think the M5 has all the other M cameras beat. I always hated the diagonal rewind  knob on the M4, M6, and M7 cameras -- The M5 has the knob on the underside of the camera, which gives the camera a cleaner, more uniform look. 

The viewfinder of the M5 is absolutely crystal clear, with a rangefinder patch brighter and more contrasty than anything I've ever used before. Yowza! This excellent viewfinder/rangefinder combo allowed me to focus quickly and accurately, even in the somewhat dim light of the auction house. I also appreciate how the current shutter speed is displayed in the finder, and how the oversized shutter dial let me easily change my speed without forcing me to pull my attention away from the subject. There is also a light meter viewable in the finder, but the meter on this particular M5 wasn't working (corroded battery), so I didn't get to try it out. 

One odd thing about the M5 is how the timed shutter speeds only range from 1/1000 to 1/2. Every other M-series Leica to my knowledge also has a 1 second timed speed. Not that it really matters to most people, but it just seems odd to omit the 1 second speed. Hmm. Another M5 oddity is how it's the only M camera to have three strap lugs. I admire this, even though I didn't dare attach one of my straps out of fear of scratching the finish! 

Overall I found the M5 enormously enjoyable to use. I'll certainly put in a bid once it's on the auction block, though I think this little guy is gonna end up well out of my price range. For the roll I shot with it, I used Ilford HP5+ film, pushed to ISO 1600. The lens was a 50mm f/2 Summicron. The subjects are my co-workers at the auction house, who are all excellent people! :) 

Don't worry, Boss. It's only apple juice!