I bought my XA used in 1986 and it was so dusty inside the viewfinder that
the RF patch is as good as invisible, and the meter needle immovable.
Despite this, I've gotten good results guess focusing, even under available
light conditions. I shot a candid closeups of a visitor sketching art at a
museum under low light with my XA for a 35 mm view and my M3 and 50 mm
Summicron, and both are super sharp. At least on my example, f/2.8 does
not seem soft. One of the first rolls I put through the camera was a test
on Panatomic-X focused at 3 feet. Wide open looked very good, and the
sharpness at f/4 and beyond was terrific.
I also had the camera slide off a car hood and hit the concrete garage
floor. Aside from a small abrasion on the corner, the camera is a good as
it's ever been. I've partially disassembled my XA twice to dust out the
viewfinder, but can't get the RF patch clearer. If you want to try this,
you should know you have to pry the red shutter release off to get at one
of the screws that holds the cover on.
I love this camera even in its impaired state; using a newer clean one
would be really fun. If I can't carry anything else, I make sure always to
have my XA with me.
Alan M-R
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