XA
So I'm the happy owner of an Olympus XA now. Yoshihisa Maitani's labour of love, this little beautiful rangefinder camera appears to have earned quite a number of fans around the world. (Phew. If that isn't proof of fanboyism, I don't know what is.)
My second camera, and I haven't joined the digital crowd yet. (The third, an Olympus 35 RC, has not seen much light or dark yet.) Nothing against digital (though there's a little prejudice against crowds, yes), I just happen to have this hunch that there still is a lot of unexplored fun in film, especially in B&W photography.
Fun is the XA all about. And the amazing thing is, they are going rather cheap (cheap, as compared to the Leicas and Voigtlanders and Hexars and Zeisses and Nikons and Canonets...) and really easy to find these days, in ebay. I was afraid of light leaks and other unknown events since the light seals are turning into black gooey stuff, but the first developed roll has not failed to impress.
Big salute to Maitani, who's also the daddy of the famed Olympus OM, Pen and Pen-F cameras. (OM, incidentally, stands for Olympus Maitani. Maitani famously carried a hand-made diamond pen all the time to autograph his creations, so goes the legend.)
Not too bad, eh? Guess I've reason to be happy. zeeshanmn's sweet testimonial alone makes it worth the money and more. (Thank you, thank you, again and again!) All the more so since he's one guy who inspired the whole madness.
Not tired of clicking yet? Also see the XA way.