Olympus XA and BW400CN

kevco · 09-23-2010

After googling around on and off for a few weeks looking for an inexpensive, small camera I finally settled on the XA and ordered one from keh.com. It came today and (after a minor scavenger hunt for batteries) I've fired off 8 or so shots on a roll of BW400CN. I'm excited about the idea of a tiny, go everywhere film camera.

I've been browsing this forum looking for XA hints and tips and I saw a recommendation to shoot BWN400CN at 250 or 320 but it wasn't explained much. Should I be requesting the film to be pulled when developed? Or is the idea to overexpose and develop normally? What is the intended result? I'll probably shoot this roll as-is but I might fiddle with this idea in the future.

maggieo · 09-23-2010

I shoot BW400CN in my XA at 400 and get great results. Here's one of several shots I've got up at Flickr:

MCB At The Oven, August, 2010 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

If you click through, there's nine more or so from that roll, all shot at ISO 400.

Bingley · 09-23-2010

I think the recommendation to shoot BW400cn at 250 or 320 is based on the idea that a little overexposure helps bring out the shadow detail. And this film is certainly flexible enough so that works. That said, I'm w/ maggieo: I usually expose this film at box speed. I like the rich dark tones.

That's a great shot, maggie!

sparrow6224 · 09-23-2010

My sense has been that this film outdoors, unlike, say, Tri-X or other 'real' black and white films, tends to overexpose, so I'm surprised to hear that one would overexpose it further.

David Hughes · 09-24-2010

Welcome to the XA fan club.

I'll go along with using it at the stated speed. Experience of all the XA range except the XA4 is that the exposure is spot on all the time: I often wonder if they are centre weighted but can't see how the basic XA1 can be. As this is the first film I'd advise you to stick to the stated speed and normal development etc. And try a few shots into the sun with the little +1½ EV over-ride in use (and - perhaps - the lens wide open). You should get a pleasant surprise.

Regards, David

oftheherd · 09-24-2010

I have been exposing my XA set at the box speeds. It has worked well for me so far, even in difficult lighting. I would wait to see what your current roll looks like before trying to change ISO speeds. Some experimentation never hurts, but you need a base line first.

gliderbee · 09-24-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by oftheherd

I have been exposing my XA set at the box speeds. It has worked well for me so far, even in difficult lighting. I would wait to see what your current roll looks like before trying to change ISO speeds. Some experimentation never hurts, but you need a base line first.

I don't see a reason to wait: he could take a few pictures each time with a slightly different ISO setting, develop normally and judge the results.

Stefan.

Jim Edmond · 09-24-2010

My XA overexposed about a stop compared to other light meters on hand. So I used box speed with negative films. Yours may differ, so I agree with Stefan that you should bracket at least the first roll.

maggieo · 09-24-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bingley

I think the recommendation to shoot BW400cn at 250 or 320 is based on the idea that a little overexposure helps bring out the shadow detail. And this film is certainly flexible enough so that works. That said, I'm w/ maggieo: I usually expose this film at box speed. I like the rich dark tones.

That's a great shot, maggie!

Thanks!! I liked how Michael's face was lit by the screen on his D-Lux 3 and I got lucky with his expression on my second shot.

Harlee · 09-25-2010

I shoot XAs, a XA2 and a XA3 at the box speed of 400 in my XA and XA2 and box speed of 800 in my XA3 and they've always given me what I wanted. Strange though, I find I'm shooting my XA2 and XA3 more often than my two XAs, and I'm really getting to like them very much. My XA3 is really in mint condition with an AL1 flash and to me it's a great conbination. I'll head back into the Ukraine in November and will tote either my
XA2 or XA3 with me. Hope to bring back some nice pictures. Keep watching.

kevco · 09-26-2010

Thanks for the advice. I thought the previous advice to change the ASA setting seemed odd. I just got my first roll developed and scanned (shot at 400) and everything came out just fine (exposure wise anyway, the content is debatable).

It's a fun little camera and I'm looking forward to getting better with it. I sold off a bunch of darkroom equipment over that summer that was purchased cheap off craigslist but never used. I picked it up after getting a Yashica Electro 35 GT for $20 and had big ideas to get back into film. It's a nice camera but it was pretty bulky to carry around, especially because I'd also have my DLSR usually. Now I sorta wish I had kept it. I might just get a tank to do the negatives myself and then either have them scanned or see about a decent, reasonably priced scanner that does negatives.

Anyway, here's a shot from the test roll. I look forward to more in the future.

st3ph3nm · 09-28-2010

It's not the XA which is the issue, but the film. I think you'll find that a lot of people here recommend slightly (about 1/3 stop) overexposing BW400CN to get good detail in shadows. I now do that, and I do believe it's improved my exposures on both of my cameras. With colour film, I set the XA to the box ISO.