X-S1 further samples

skimble said:

seems to have the same tendency but needs to be seen In users hands, who is up to spend their money to find out I'm wrong

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Daniel Lowe said:

Am I seeing 'orbs' in the monument building shot? and the large glass building has some oddly rendered specular highlights as well.

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David247 said:

Daniel Lowe said:

Am I seeing 'orbs' in the monument building shot? and the large glass building has some oddly rendered specular highlights as well.

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Okay, I've poured through these images 3 times and can't find a single white orb. Highlights? yes, lots of highlights, some of them a bit blown, but not a single orb.

Try not to let imagination and paranoia make you see orbs where they aren't. There are enough people posting any blown highlight and calling it an orb when it isn't.

If you see orbs, please identify by Flickr URL Link the specific image and where you think you see orbs. I for one can't see them in any of these images. That doesn't mean it might not be a problem but I don't see it here. Of course it would have been nice if they posted full size images instead of limiting it to 1200 pixels. Highest ISO I found was 800 but in the 1200 pixel size looked very clean.

These images are still inconclusive to me. Orbs may be a problem but I didn't see them here in the sizes presented. Remember that a 2/3 sensor is still a "small" sensor and blown highlights will happen if the photographer is not paying attention to the subject and adjusting exposure or DR settings accordingly.

Noise management in the sizes presented looked good but inconclusive.
Sharpness inconclusive at sizes presented.

Camera has potential but nothing here that really tells us much about it. On the upside I didn't see the anomalies here that I saw in the full size Fuji samples. But the size presented was not supportive of detail analysis.

Photos are recent and as stated by the poster from a Pre-production camera. Didn't see a firmware version in the EXIF.

Still watching and waiting. Not giving up hope but not getting my expectations up either. 4 days before announced release in Japan, if that still holds in light of the orb issue.

--
David
Galleries: http://dwrobinson.zenfolio.com

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Daniel Lowe said:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myleicamp/6442880923/#/photos/myleicamp/6442880923/lightbox/

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Daniel Lowe said:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myleicamp/6442883281/#/photos/myleicamp/6442883281/lightbox/

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David247 said:

Daniel Lowe said:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myleicamp/6442880923/#/photos/myleicamp/6442880923/lightbox/

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Thanks for being specific.

I see 4 circular highlights behind a glass window that is behind the sculpture. They appear to be most likely recessed or suspended interior ceiling lights. The angle of view implies a slight elliptical nature but they are in fact circular. The edges are soft and undefined, not like the White Orb issue. They appear behind the glass, not on the image surface. The highlights are blown but do not have the distinct characteristics of the White Orb problem. The order and positioning of the lights is consistent with normal interior light spacing relative to the image parallax.

David247 said:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myleicamp/6442883281/#/photos/myleicamp/6442883281/lightbox/

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Okay, I see now the somewhat circular highlights in the building windows to the upper left of the earthen sculptures. They are not sharply defined edge orbs, and show apparent distortion probably from the glass. They also show a distinct color cast very unlike the white orb issue. Unable to discern from the current resolution exact source of the highlights. 2 possibilities arise.

1.) Interior lights (hence the color cast) with diffusion from the building glass. In a few other panes lights behind the glass are also identifiable including at least one fluorescent tube. The irregular edge appearance near window seams might be a result of pixilation.

2.) Due to the location of the yellowish highlights relative to the window seams they may also be external reflections. The color cast and diffused edge nature still imply normal highlights of some sort and their presence at the seams leads me to believe they may be external to the building. That is inconclusive though due to the low image resolution, a result of downsizing of the original not due to any known camera issues.

Neither image demonstrates White Orbs though which should not be confused with other highlight issues. The White Orbs are a real phenomenon on at least some X10 cameras, but they exhibit distinct near circular to elliptical patterns and with sharply defined edges and a complete white space with no detail or color. There are plenty of real "White Orb" issues shown in the forums but in my opinion, these particular issues do not qualify. They are just normally occurring highlights from internal sources or normal reflections.

I suspect we will need to see quite a few more X-S1 samples before we will know.

FYI, my professional years were mostly in military, technical, surveillance and scientific photography, with a tiny bit of pre-digital forensics thrown in. I'm not just shooting from the hip with my analysis.

--
David
Galleries: http://dwrobinson.zenfolio.com

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Daniel Lowe said:

Thanks David.

I can sincerely say that I hope you a right because I am really keen on the XS1.

But we do need to see a few more shots of the conditions that cause the problem to be sure.

I still think the ORB issue will be fixed with a firmware update shortly, hopefully if the XS1 has the same problem it will be fixed before the camera is released for sale.

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Kevin Coppalotti said:

If the orbs are around they should show in that shot of Thomas the tank engine, there are some orb-like bits but they seem to have 'fuzzy' edges giving a more natural appearance.

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