At 14:29 6/11/99 , Barry wrote:
>FWIW, the intended uses of this camera would be as a backup to my OM
>bodies, snapshots at parties, and occasional news pix when I need to
>be more inconspicuous than my Domke full of Zuiko will allow. I'd
>like some sort of zoom, but anything 35-70 or so would be adequate.
>If I need much more than 100, I'll reach for a "real" camera.
>
>BBB
Barry, I scanned some of the replies and may have missed it, but didn't see
anyone mention the XA. It was touted as the world's smallest 35mm full
frame when originally marketed and is relatively light weight. I would
recommend the original XA over any of its successors (-1 through -4)
although the original is harder to find and more expensive. It is an
Olympus alternative to the current P&S models. The better half has an XA-2
we bought years ago and it took *very* good photos for a P&S . . . the
glass is excellent. Zone focus (three zones) and the programmed AE system
on it and the other successors instead of a rangefinder and greater
exposure control are why I recommend the original. Now she uses the Stylus
140 and does very well with it. Olympus and C*n*n always seem to emerge
among the very best 35mm P&S.
I also have a *very* small camera for the type of photography you described
. . . and would be less than honest if I didn't confess it's a Rollei 35S
(40mm f/2.8 Sonnar [Carl Zeiss]). Bought it new about 1979 when living in
Germany. It was the world's smallest 35mm full frame when originally
marketed in 1966 . . . and whether the Oly XA series deserved its claim is
debateable. The XA is smaller in one linear dimension only (with clamshell
closed on XA and lens collapsed on Rollei) and certainly lighter; the
Rollei is slightly smaller in the other two linear dimensions. Both the XA
and the Rollei 35 (and successor variants of both) are still among the
smallest full frame 35mm cameras ever made and noticeably smaller than
current 35mm P&S's, mostly because they do not have a flash integral to the
camera. Haven't dimensioned a Minox, but it would be about the same size .
. . or if you're really feeling weird you can get a LOMO. On the redeeming
end, when I bought a Rollei 35T in 1978 and the 35S a year later, the only
other camera seriously considered was the XA. It is why I bought the XA-2
for the better half a few years after that.
-- John
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