Olympus XZ-1 amateur snapshots + edits
Let me preface this with: I am a camera hoarder and I admit it. I have one full drawer of consumer compact cameras (most of them $5-10) to play with because I'm nostalgic and like crap.
But the Olympus XZ-1 stands out as a pocket cam that's actually worth using regularly.
I recently loaned it to my friend to take with her fam on a Grand Canyon trip, since she didn't have a camera. It's easy enough to use that her oldest kiddo could play with it (she's 8).
My friend doesn't even know how to edit her phone photos so I thought I'd make her memories from this trip look as good as possible.
SOOC, the jpegs can look a little disappointing, but with just a little editing, they turn out genuinely beautiful.
To me, this is a crucial step in evaluating a camera -- esp a vintage camera -- because you really can't know what you've got until you start working with the files it makes, like a sculptor with clay or a painter with paint. (Yes, Fuji stans, we know you don't need to do this 😉
Here's all I did to these:
- Fixed alignment as needed (newbs don't know how to level a horizon)
- Lifted shadows (newbs don't know how to not shoot faces in deep shadow)
- Used a warming "film-like" preset I made by heavily modifying a free one I dl'd, which also added contrast and color separation esp in the orange desert tones
- The occasional radial gradient +exposure in the middle, and vignette -exposure.
- little local adjustments (shadowed eyes etc)
- B&W conversion
Looking at these again after sleeping on it, the skin tones went a little too orange so I'll need to fix that. But the point holds, I think!
Conclusion: This is a really fantastic little camera. Even the jpegs can take editing! And it holds up well to the detail of the Grand Canyon which a lot of cheaper cameras really can't. It's definitely not worth $200+ Buy it Now; I waited for an auction and got mine for $70 and that's money well-spent for a 10 megapixel CCD sensor that makes highly pushable files, a tack sharp zoom lens in a pocketable format.
(I forgot to turn on raw shooting for her. But the XZ-1 has it.)
Uploaded files:
Your photographs make me regret that I bought a Fuji X10 back in those days as an EDC camera. 😉
Have fun with it and I'm looking forward to see more of your photographs with that little gem.
E.
Quote from ahoyhere on July 18, 2022, 5:06 amHere's all I did to these:
- Fixed alignment as needed (newbs don't know how to level a horizon)
- Lifted shadows (newbs don't know how to not shoot faces in deep shadow)
I still make these mistakes all the time lol
Great edits, I can't believe they are JPEGs! You obviously have some mad editing skill. 🙂
Seems like that camera is a gem for sure. I've been wanting a relatively simple camera to get my daughter (she's not even two, so I may be getting ahead of myself...). This one is on the list!
Quote from JBP on July 18, 2022, 2:37 pmQuote from ahoyhere on July 18, 2022, 5:06 amHere's all I did to these:
- Fixed alignment as needed (newbs don't know how to level a horizon)
- Lifted shadows (newbs don't know how to not shoot faces in deep shadow)
I still make these mistakes all the time lol
Oh don't get me wrong! I also make these mistakes! But not every single shot. Hehe.
Great edits, I can't believe they are JPEGs! You obviously have some mad editing skill.
Well I made her children and mother in law orange so...
Other than selectively fixing that in Photoshop, everything was Lightroom!
Seems like that camera is a gem for sure. I've been wanting a relatively simple camera to get my daughter (she's not even two, so I may be getting ahead of myself...). This one is on the list!
I recommend it! Probably not for a 2yo but as soon as she's old enough to not throw it and break it, yes!
My friends kid(s?) clearly loved it… lots of silly shots from inside the car, a lot of totally cockeyed landscapes, and some really fun selfies, like the one I posted.
This is fantastic content! Just shows the untouched potential that old forgotten gears has. Skewed horizon alignment....lol soapbox rant incoming. Opening my social media feeds, there's just something about Dutch Angles and not being aware of having a nice level background that really grinds my gears. I'm guilty of it myself, some of my cheesy cellphone pics I'd post weren't really straight either.
My dad had an old Kodak 6MP PnS that had fantastic JPEGs. I remember being a teenager, loving the experience of using it. I hardly ever wanted to use a cellphone camera then, and the same could be said for now.
I've been wanting one of these for a while. I keep on seeing people post that you can pick them up for less than a 100, but everything I see is in the 200+ range.
It's great that you let them use it to make memories on their vacation and then to also help with the editing is an added layer of kindness. Very nice!
Quote from RyanG on July 25, 2022, 6:48 pmI've been wanting one of these for a while. I keep on seeing people post that you can pick them up for less than a 100, but everything I see is in the 200+ range.
The trick is to set a saved search with a tool like Baywatch (iPhone app) that checks every few minutes throughout the day and then jump on a cheap one when it appears. The ones that you see available if you randomly search on any given day are sitting on eBay because they're priced too high. The cheap ones don't last.
I also set alerts on Mercari because people who don't know what they're selling often sell there. Be sure it's working on Mercari tho, their platform does virtually nothing for the buyer in terms of returns.
It's great that you let them use it to make memories on their vacation and then to also help with the editing is an added layer of kindness. Very nice!
Thanks. It's sort of a going away present… they moved away, military family… sighhhhh. 🙁
Quote from ahoyhere on July 25, 2022, 11:09 pmQuote from RyanG on July 25, 2022, 6:48 pmI've been wanting one of these for a while. I keep on seeing people post that you can pick them up for less than a 100, but everything I see is in the 200+ range.
The trick is to set a saved search with a tool like Baywatch (iPhone app) that checks every few minutes throughout the day and then jump on a cheap one when it appears. The ones that you see available if you randomly search on any given day are sitting on eBay because they're priced too high. The cheap ones don't last.
I also set alerts on Mercari because people who don't know what they're selling often sell there. Be sure it's working on Mercari tho, their platform does virtually nothing for the buyer in terms of returns.
It's great that you let them use it to make memories on their vacation and then to also help with the editing is an added layer of kindness. Very nice!
Thanks. It's sort of a going away present… they moved away, military family… sighhhhh.
Thank you these are great tips! I've been watching Mercari and saw 2 that sold for 50-65, so that's promising. I'm also going to download/install Baywatch and use it.
Thanks again, for all your help!
