Historical Context

The Olympus XA2, released in 1980, arrived as the immediate follow-up to the groundbreaking original XA. While the first XA was a highly precise instrument aimed at serious enthusiasts who wanted full rangefinder control, Olympus realized that everyday casual shooters found the tiny split-image focus patch a bit slow and finicky for spontaneous snapshots. Master designer Yoshihisa Maitani went back to the drawing board to create a version stripped of all choices, focusing entirely on pure, uninterrupted speed.

Unlike the original XA which required you to manually choose your aperture setting, the XA2 is fully automated. It uses an electronic programmed shutter mechanism that controls both the aperture and the shutter speed simultaneously. The camera reads the light through a sensitive sulfur-cadmium cell positioned just above the lens glass and seamlessly selects a matching combination anywhere from 2 full seconds at f/3.5 up to 1/750th of a second at f/14. You simply frame your shot and let the internal computer handle the physics.