Olympus XA Goes to the Oregon Coast
When you work at a camera store it is far too easy to acquire "too many" cameras. What even is too many is a philosophical debate waiting to happen. But in my case, I have a lot of cameras. Over the years I have learned to balance them and pair them well with my creative inclinations on any given trip. I have well learned the lesson of diminishing returns in trying to take everything... or at the least, too many cameras. These days I select one or two main cameras, and maybe one or two supplementary cameras. For example a recent trip to the Oregon Coast saw me take along my Hasselblad 500C/M (main camera) and Reality So Subtle 6x6 pinhole (main camera) along with my Reality So Subtle 6x17 (supplementary camera) and Hasselblad Flexbody (supplementary camera). The Olympus XA was thrown in almost as an after thought. I had it loaded with a roll of Kodak Portra 160 that I was trying to shoot to expand my sample library (and Film Friday library) of images. One of the things I so love about this camera is how easy it is to throw in a pocket. Yes, it can be a main camera. I have carried mine in the past as my sole camera. It can also be a great supplementary camera. And yet it can also be something you slip into a pocket of your backpack or coat on your way out the door just because you can. In this case I did and in the event of it all I ended up using it more than my Flexbody or Reality So Subtle 6x17. Go Olympus XA.
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