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ljclark
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Blow me away?
Uh...
No.
theranman: If it ain't offered in all black for the same price, fuggedaboudit.
I've been using all-black cameras for several decades. But I got one of the very first X100 cameras -- which meant silver & black. And to tell you the truth, I'm fine with that. I use the X100 solo, and people notice it, but not in the same way they notice my M9...They notice it, then stop noticing it. On outings with friends, some just assumed it was an old 35mm fixed lens RF.
I also use the X100 to supplement my M9 (provides always-ready 35mm FOV). I have an X10 in all black, but that's a smaller camera (and I don't much like the looks of the silver & black X10) and people just see that as another P&S.
So I have my marker in at my local camera store for both an X100s (silver & black) and an X20 (all black).
marike6: With no OLPF (Optical Low Pass Filter) and the sharp Fujinon lens, this camera should provide excellent IQ. I will definitely be buying an X20 unless I decide to go all out and plunk down for an X100s, a kind of dream camera for me.
Sean Reid recently posted a comparison on X-Pro1files between Lightroom 4.3, Capture One Pro 7, the Fuji-branded SilkyPix EX, and SilkyPix 5.0.30.0. At this point in time it appears that he prefers Capture One and gets credible results.
marike6: From DPR X20 Preview Conclusion, reference to the G15 and XZ-2 the author writes:
"But there's every reason to believe the X20 will be able to hold its own in such exalted company, and we're very much looking forward to getting our hands on a reviewable camera to find out.
I know DPR likes the G15 and XZ-2, but this statement is puzzling. Why would the X20 merely "hold it's own" against these two 1/1.7" cameras?
The X10 already beats them for high ISO, color depth, DR. The new X20 with it's 2/3" X-Trans sensor, no OPLF, PDAF, OVF with shooting data, 1080p60 at 36 mbps, peaking, should not only exceed the performance of the G15 and XZ-2, but may even challenge the RX100 for IQ, AF and handling.
In other words, the cameras with the Sony 1/1.7" sensor (XZ-2, MX-1, G15, P7700) have good IQ but the larger sensor X20 should have no problem exceeding their output.
I really like the Pentax MX-1 a lot. But knowing the X20 will likely have better IQ and handling, I ordered the X20.
I agree with Andy. Looking at the numbers/specs is just measurebating. More than one camera has wrong-footed it when it came to producing good images in the real world. And as we saw with the X10, controversial characteristics can pop up.
Donar: Is the slow startup problem also fixed? I stopped using my X100 because startup time could take several minutes! And in between that time it looked like it was dead/broken and was not going to startup at all. Oke when I re-formated the memory card the problem was gone, but I like to work with large sdcards for a reason so was thinking of the OM-D EM-5.
I really like the panorama mode for the X100, but the internal stitching isn't that good, especially with white highlights (snow). Is that fixed? (does anyone know how the OM-D panorama mode works? The NEX-7 panorama mode seemed to work better than the X100's.
Several MINUTES to start up? Several would be at least three minutes. So if you turn the camera on and count carefully from "1" to "180", the camera might not be on at that point?
AbrasiveReducer: My only question is, what should people do until late May (which sounds like a date that will slip)? I have yet to get a white orb so I'm not personally concerned, but if I was having this problem, this would be frustrating. At least they've made it clear that it's the sensor and developing and producing a new type of sensor cannot take place overnight.
At this point, I certainly don't want them to rush the "fix". "Mayish" is fine for me.
chiane: My God, could they sprinkle that with any more rose petals and perfume? it's like their spin team (I really mean marketing team) went into overdrive to make this problem sound as mundane as humanly possible and their camera as fantastic as humanly possible. I don't work in advertising, but do the people that do really think they can fool customers by writing flowery prose?
Trust me...It aint the spin team. It's the legal team.
SeeScape: No Blooming or White Disc problems with my X10.
I am a scientific.biological photographer with over 36 years experience in cameras, optics, macro, micro and digital imaging systems, etc. I have followed this discussion and have owned an X10 for several months now, as a walk around pocket camera. I have not had a blooming or white dics problem, nor have I been able to create the problems if tried. I have extensively test the X10 against my main Canon 5D Mk II and Canon 40D with a variety of lenses and in many low light and super highlight situations. I have no more blooming with the X10 under extreme conditions than with the DSLR Canons. Otherwise the X10 is a great camera, vey well made, good exposures, great sharp lens and excellent IQ.
So, I guess I am a lucky SOB or perhaps some of the X10's made it though the quality control gate in good shape. I will be interested to see how the 'X20' compares.
Just to try...Have you shot reflective objects on a dark background at low ISO? At the time of the firmware 1.03 "fix" I tried before and after updating and was amazed at how easy it was to produce orbs. Maybe it's the extra 10 years of experience I have, but I would be surprised to find a competent photographer who COULDN'T produce orbs on demand -- almost in minutes. (Or maybe I'm glad I shoot Nikon instead of Canon.) I bet I can get orbs with your X10 with no problem at ISO 100, and we can see them essentially gone at ISO 800.
That's not to say that the orbs will rule your life and ruin your photographic karma, but they are so darned easy to produce...And I couldn't make my Ricoh GXR (smaller sensor P&S) produce any under the same conditions. Some of the reaction we see here is way over the top, but the fact remains that the little buggers can pop up.
Midwest: They will be releasing the X10's certificate of live birth.
Will we see the original, or only a certified copy of the information? Rush Limbaugh wants to know!
SF Photo Gal: Really kind of a shame. Seem like Fuji was making a comeback with some really interesting camera, but given some of the issues with the X100 and now this, I would certainly give pause to being an earlier buyer of the X-Pro1.
LOL. The "dropped by" part was easy. The harder part was slowly shoveling money into the earmarked part of the savings account for the past year, figuring out what gear was heading for eBay, and deciding not to go anywhere for vacation this summer.
Dropping by a little before closing also gives me a chance to find out what's on my dealer's mind and how business is. I'm lucky to have a local store with competitive pricing and that also establishes a relationship with the customers. Local camera stores run on slim margins. In all this back and forth and finger pointing with Fuji, we sometimes forget about that dwindling number of local brick-and-mortar stores.
When you have a family to raise, feed, and put through school, you can't waste shelf space on stuff that doesn't sell. That means you have to trust the manufacturers to give you product that works. Does Fuji expect that retailer to look you in the eye and tell you that everything is in spec and the orbs are your fault?
ljclark: DPR,
Thanks for another late Friday news item posting. Sometimes I wonder how much it helps, but this way the article stays on top for a couple of days and gets good exposure over the weekend -- and thus a nice slug of responses from your readers.
The "wonder" comes into play when I look at this mix of technological arrogance and corporate denial, coupled with slow X10 sales and a glut of used/returned X10s on the market.
My local dealer told me that his distributor called him and said that he has plenty of X10s in stock. Unfortunately, so does my dealer. :-(
Barney,
You guys did just fine. Take it easy, make it right. Really, the late release works to the advantage of X10 owners and when Fujifilm gets some customer focus, it will prove to have been an advantage to them also. (They just haven't figured that part out yet.)
But don't you spend much time here on the weekend. Fixing typos is fine, but don't try to fix beliefs. ;-)
SF Photo Gal: Really kind of a shame. Seem like Fuji was making a comeback with some really interesting camera, but given some of the issues with the X100 and now this, I would certainly give pause to being an earlier buyer of the X-Pro1.
I cancelled my order for an X-Pro1 (and three lenses). It wasn't so much because of the technical details of the X10's problem, but rather because I no longer have confidence in Fujifilm's ability to communicate effectively and truthfully with their customers. This past week I also sent a letter (real paper, via UPS) to Kayce Baker expressing those concerns, but haven't heard back yet.
I like my X100 (no SAB problems with it) and would like to be able to trust my X10. Instead, I'm going to shelve it and take some time to reacquaint myself with my Ricoh GXR. Certainly not the IQ (or potential) of the X10, but a real shooter's camera.
Meanwhile, I dropped into my local store Wednesday evening and bought an M9 -- moving up from my M8. Certainly more money than the full X-Pro1 kit, but it just didn't seem to make sense to continue supporting Fujifilm's attitude.
DPR,
Thanks for another late Friday news item posting. Sometimes I wonder how much it helps, but this way the article stays on top for a couple of days and gets good exposure over the weekend -- and thus a nice slug of responses from your readers.
The "wonder" comes into play when I look at this mix of technological arrogance and corporate denial, coupled with slow X10 sales and a glut of used/returned X10s on the market.
My local dealer told me that his distributor called him and said that he has plenty of X10s in stock. Unfortunately, so does my dealer. :-(
sarkozy: Fuji says on the phone:
Professionals are satisfied with the X10. The Orbs are Result the sensor design and the high aperture of the lens
Many professionals use the ORBS consciously as a stylistic device - guys
this is the way . . .
I'd like to see some actual attribution regarding those "Professionals". I'm sure Fuji can provide names, direct quotes, and perhaps links to the works of these "professionals".
As to using the ORBS consciously...So how come we didn't see much use of hard-edged white dots on digital images the past 10 or 15 years? Those would be super easy to add with almost any photo processing software.
Sarkozy -- If what you say is factual (an I have to ask that question) Fujifilm management is well beyond the cranial-rectal inversion phase. They are completely turned inside-out.
ljclark: I pre-ordered the book. When it arrived I was stunned.
This is certainly street photography. But I wonder if the same ethos would have been applied had she lived out on the prairies somewhere. Maybe not, because she might have found other things to do in her off hours. I guess the point is that we'll never know.
However, I think the reviewer missed some avenues of comparison by tending to emphasize the "street" at the expense of "photography". We need to go back a little farther in history to bring the focus back to the subjects rather than where they happen to have been located. One point of comparison is the work of another woman photographer -- Dorothea Lange. Lange's shooting ethos was based upon three considerations: Hands off...A sense of place...A sense of time.
Application of the genre "Street Photography" to this book is accurate, but incomplete. The "how" is important, but not nearly so much as the "what".
Spend some time with this incredible book.
Two Dorothea Lange quotes:
"... my own approach is based upon three considerations. First – hands off ! Whenever I photograph I do not molest or tamper with or arrange. Second – a sense of place. I try to picture as part of its surroundings, as having roots. Third – a sense of time. Whatever I photograph, I try to show as having its position in the past or in the present."
"This benefit of seeing...can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives, and look thoughtfully at a quiet image...the viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate."
I pre-ordered the book. When it arrived I was stunned.
This is certainly street photography. But I wonder if the same ethos would have been applied had she lived out on the prairies somewhere. Maybe not, because she might have found other things to do in her off hours. I guess the point is that we'll never know.
However, I think the reviewer missed some avenues of comparison by tending to emphasize the "street" at the expense of "photography". We need to go back a little farther in history to bring the focus back to the subjects rather than where they happen to have been located. One point of comparison is the work of another woman photographer -- Dorothea Lange. Lange's shooting ethos was based upon three considerations: Hands off...A sense of place...A sense of time.
Application of the genre "Street Photography" to this book is accurate, but incomplete. The "how" is important, but not nearly so much as the "what".
Spend some time with this incredible book.
makofoto: Nothing's perfect ... make it work for you:
http://images33.fotki.com/v1073/photos/4/43793/4909192/RaeBearbyRhet-vi.jpg
Sooooooo
I didn't realize they got that big when they grew up.
Is the girl teaching it tricks? Sit. Stay (the hardest trick). Roll over (the easiest trick). Get the paper. Play dead. Shake.
Marty4650: I suppose this will kill the popular and often expressed theory that Dpreview shills for camera makers.
It sure looks like they are trying very hard to be objective and to provide the most accurate information they can.
Notice how the DPReview bulletin appeared right at the start of the weekend? When the industry PR machines are sleeping?
It may be coincidence, but how handy that the preliminary results of testing would have at least two days at the top of the news item column...At least two days for harvesting comments from consumers and customers.
Bravo DPR!! :)
Rob Klein: Well, all of this may be true, but I can say that my X10 with both the old and the new firmware does NOT exhibit the white orb phenomenon. Perhaps, I am just fortunate or too dumb to notice.
Did you test both versions of the firmware under controlled conditions at low ISO?
rodek: I wonder if this orb problem is relating to a certain batch of cams. (Same problem 9 years ago with S2).
Maybe users who encountered this problem can mention their serial nr so we can see if its narrowed down to a specific production period.
Btw, I am still not able to produce orbs, so I might be one of the lucky guys
(I also posted this request in the previous related item on this orb problem)
Nigel,
Physics? Perhaps. But I've tried to get orbs with two other digital cameras (a Ricoh GXR and a Panosonic DNC-TS3) -- both with smaller sensors than the X10. With the GXR I used exactly the same indoor controlled conditions and set the cameras up the same way (including shooting both RAW and JPEG.
How come I can only get orbs with the X10?
As to the response from Sweden...That's just blathering. I'd love to get a deposition from that guy.