Fujifilm X10 firmware: Appears not to fix 'white orbs'

Just an observation. Most of the people who are eagerly awaiting DPR's review of the camera have already decided it is a "brick" (like an Argus C3, I suppose), a worthless piece of junk, a scam, a sham, a scandal, etc. This being the case, who needs a review? The orbs exist. Whether this is a crisis, a tragedy, Obama's fault, or not a big deal will be determined by the camera's users and won't be changed by a test report.

http://photographic-central.blogspot.com/2012/02/fujifilm-x10-review.html

Why is there no discussion regarding ..

a) Influence of Fukushima disaster to sensible electronic components ?
Is there anybody who has checked this camera with a Geiger-Mueller counter tube ? Why do you exclude any influence of it ?

b) Weak AA filter or no AA filter.
Of what I would dream about, to have a X10 without AA filter.
I don't care much about these white orbs. When I make pictures of shiny objects, I use another camera. But I would like the advantages of weak AA filter or no AA filter.

So what do you think ? I hope Fuji will make no stronger AA filter with all your complaints. Because if you want these white orbs to be removed, picture quality in low light conditions might become worse in return. Is this what you want ?

So please don't talk about faulty sensors, but assumptions which can be the reason for the white orbs. Hope it has nothing to do with contaminated material from the disaster. Can this be excluded ?

I think Fuji's silence on this issue is abysmal! I'm shocked that a massive company like Fuji cannot just do a recall and fix the X10 (sure they lose a bit on money, a drop in the ocean to them) but they WILL earn back a little respect!! currently their silence is just dragging them further down the 'bad PR' blackhole, even loyal customers will think twice when the next cameras come out... I saved 3 months for the X10 but got me the P7100 instead, if Fuji had not been silent and come up with a plan (fixed sensor on new X10's & replacing the faulty sensors on those already purchased for e.g. I would have waited and got a new X10... but their silence and ignorance is astounding...

See what the paperweight, the brick, the defective sensor can do:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=40705161
It's so good to see a post without ORBsessive Compulsive Disorder...

Fuji - they should not change much. Enter the X10S the sensor of the X100 and I'll buy for 800 Dollar

I say it's time for Fuji to replace these faulty sensors with new ones that do not "bloom" with blobs. Expensive, yes (for Fuji), but otherwise, I now own a $600 paperweight, which I consider to be way too expensive for me.
If firmware cannot provide a fix, this may be the only logical next step from the X10 customer perspective(?).

I can deal with flare, but not this mess. My nightime city shots look like s%^t. And....good luck to anyone who is pre-ordering Fuji's XPro 1.

And here the comparison
the old Russian military base with the X100 photographed

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/upload?album=rusian-military-base-with-the-x100

old Russian military base (the former East Germany near the Polish border)
Here the Russians were stationed up in the nineties
slowly conquered the natur this terrain back

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/648896439/albums/old-russian-military-base

All Photos of the X10 - I think the X10 is already a great camera, but the balls interfere, if they occur
Fuji should think about compensation

OMG its a flagship compact.

White flag I supposed.

New firmware will not fix this camera,s white blobs. Time for Fugi to crap or get off the pot.

White discs? Orbs? I'm waiting for the next version where a Yeti appears in every shot. No wonder it's X-series camera... X as in X-files.

How come no one has brought up a supernatural explanation for this phenomenon? Could these orbs be the spirits of the Fuji founders? Perhaps they're disappointed with where the brand is headed and now haunt all new cameras.

Everyone has their own taste in photographic gear, though there are also image quality considerations when selecting equipment.

That said, a good photographer with an x10 will trance any Nikon or Canon below asp-c with kit lens - to do it you need to know your stuff, though the x10 is easily capable enough. Its a no holes bared photographers camera for a very low price.

If Canon aspc dslr users whinged continuously about near useless slow live view or Nikon equivalent users whinged continuously about not being able to have aperture changes reflected in live view without an exit and enter; we probably would not see all those wonderful challenge winning images associated with those stables.

Most traditional small Fuji owners wouldn't know a good camera if they fell over it, the x10 represents something completely foreign to their experience - its not a point and shoot, its a very complex professional camera capable of very professional results

In Europe faulty electronic equipment has a guarantee of 24 months.
If it's got a fault you can return for a refund.
As there's a firmware update there's a fault so why don't dissatified customers just return them?

Hah, try to bring this up to @fujiguys and hashtag #fujifilm and #orbs and they will completely ignore it on twitter.

Thanks Fuji for your silence!!! it indicates your contempt and disregard for your customers...its disgraceful that you ignore the issue and unethical to try legitimise it, you deserve all the bad PR you get!!

I've ordered the Fuji X10 and the Nikon P7100. I have also the G12 . The G12 is better than the P7100 and both are much, much inferior to the X10. I knew about the orbs but after reading so many angry comments and seeing the pictures I decided to give it a try. I managed to produce white orbs and black orbs as well as blacked areas but it's easy to fix and now I know how to avoid those specific situations when they might happen. I have some pictures where the problem appear and the next pictures not, after adjustments. Velvia color tend to produce then more, EXR modes (excellent) may solve it , increasing ISO a little bit too, and it's better after update. This camera has DSLR quality (bokeh and ISO) and the lens alone are worth the price. Excellent camera.
I have a magazine with a photo of a 80 ft Ferreti yacht in an advertisement and I found a white orb on a chrome plated rail !!
It's my first Fuji, if this was a faulty Canon (had many) would the fuss be the same ?

FUJI WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR _ FIX IT NOW !

After reading all the fuss, I went looking for orbs last night. I found a few. The handful of orbs in my pictures appeared from relatively intense artificial lighting which would blow highlights on most cameras. Speaking purely for myself, the orbs didn't bother me at all. If you think they ruined my pictures and that Fujifilm is the devil incarnate for having them, well, fine. I tend not to get worked up over small things.

Here's a link to my photo shoot on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=x10&m=tags&w=61266278%40N00&d=taken-20120217-&ss=2&ct=0&mt=all&adv=1&z=e

Many ask, Fuji will be explained

Sorry, Fuji has explained: it is blooming in the tolerance range.
I almost died laughing, but that's the statement from Fuji Japan

I think that from now on the Fuji will have difficulty selling the EXR sensor product to someone who is minimally informed about this fail.

From Imaging Resource,
Overexposure "Blooming"
A final limitation of CCD sensors is their reaction to severe illumination overloads. This is the reason for including a shiny pot lid in the Dave Box targets on the Imaging Resource website, because it reflects light sources back into the camera lens. In the face of extremely high light overloads, some CCDs will "leak" charge from the overexposed elements into adjacent cells. This phenomenon is called blooming, and various methods are employed to prevent it. It most frequently shows itself as a colored fringe around specular (shiny) highlights. Frequently, the sensor will bloom differently in each of the red, green or blue channels, producing the colored fringes where one channel has bloomed more than the others. The impact of this for your particular work will depend on its nature. If you intend to photograph a lot of chromed auto parts, blooming could be a big problem. It would be a complete non-issue in photos of bath towels.

There's a lot of speculation on this thread about what's causing the problem but none of these posters actually know, do they? Let's hope Fuji explain soon.

By the way when everyone's finally finished with the orbs you can move onto the following,
"The image area with high brightness might be recorded as "black-out" area, just in case of dedicated shooting condition, This unpleasant phenomenon is improved."

From latest firmware update.

Just googled 'Canon 5D Mark II problems' and 'Leica M9 problems'.

How long did they take to resolve the problems? Did they?

Some people on some sites went on a witchhunt and some defended the product exactly as now with the X10. I believe these companies didn't close down or go bankrupt.

Yet I believe people kept buying the cameras and they cost a lot more than the X10.

I guess if it doesn't hindersome people's enjoyment of the camera they'll keep on buying and using the X10.

Does this excuse shoddy workmanship? Of course not.

The problem exists. The firmware update released is meant to,
"Blooming (White disk) phenomena, which can be observed in EXR AUTO mode, is reduced."
Reduce is not to eliminate.

So many are missing the point when they attempt to advance the argument by claiming that the ORBs haven't been a problem for THEM in the type of photos that THEY take. That would be akin to claiming that a car that has a fuel pump that fails when driving up hills greater than "x" degrees is not defective because its only driven in Iowa.

No camera, be it a p&s, a DSLR or whatever, should be so shackled as the X10 is.

My X10 works fine.

I can produce white disc images if I want to, but my photographic style does not normally include shooting into the sun, or against highly reflective surfaces, or long exposures at night.

I have 3500 properly exposed images which don't show any white discs. I have some inconcspicuous discs and minor blooming on other shots which in no way reduce my enjoyment of those images.

No one I have shown those images to (apart from some dpreview posters) has noticed anything untoward. It simply is not a problem in normal use, for me.

I have several dozen images which do show white discs or blooming in a major way because I specifically tried to get that effect.

While it might be a problem for some, it is not a problem for me. I look forward to Fuji's next, similar camera, which I will happily perchase as an "early adopter."

I knew about the white disc problem before I bought my X10 at the beginning of November, so I have no excuse to be disappointed. I'm not.

Fuji have had many issues over the years with sensors, the F700 was a great camera in it's time and i couldn't get enough in stock to keep up with demand, unfortunately 18 months later about 80% started to come back with sensor issues, which at first Fuji dismissed before eventually accepting it as a problem and having to replace the sensors. Then there was the problems with the veiwing screens on the S2000HD which when ever shooting near a light source turned the screen blue and impossible to use anything other than Auto, again Fuji denied the problem before issuing a firmware update which didn't solve the problem, now the X10 and its Orbs and other problems.
I love Fuji cameras and have owned and used many of them over the years but i'm no longer prepared to take a risk on owning one. Fuji really needs to get it's act togeher as they are starting to lose customers, and are fast becoming a joke of a manufacturer, Kodak have already left the market how long before Fuji go the same way?