JQ, there's no accounting for individual likes and expectations, so only you can know for sure once it's in your hands. Having said that . . . . .
The X10 was an integral part of Fuji's retro X-camera design family. It reminds me of a 7/8 scale rangefinder camera. If you're of an age where you remember and liked things things like Canonets or Electro 35's (or Leicas and Contaxes if your pockets were deeper), you'll be right at home. All metal (save for the buttons), glass viewfinder (seriously good, it zooms with the lens like latter-day point and shoots), hot shoe, etc. You can even get the accessory real leather 'never ready' two-piece case and a 'vented' lenshood. The absolute antithesis of most current plastic brick compact cameras.
Regarding your questions:
- - - - Remember, this is a really first class f2-f2.8 28-105mm lens, very sharp at all focal lengths. With this much faster lens (relative to a lot of compacts), you get really nice hand-holdable low light images, and the camera does sport four different Image Stabilization modes. These lower max aps put you a stop or two faster than most 'kit' DSLR lenses and into a zone previously inhabited by mostly top-shelf, constant f2.8 lenses. Not bad ! I try and stay at 100 to 400 ISO, so these fast apertures are a huge help for that. Plus, since you are twisting a ring on a metal-bodies lens, it just subliminally says, 'Hey, I'm a real camera', no idiot power-zoom switch like Mom's point+shoot from WalMart.
- - - - Again, this camera takes its cues from the X100. Fuji obviously had in mind to reach guys just like me who thought cameras were supposed to be metal bodied, have knobs for stuff, and were a little experienced, we generally knew what to do with a camera. Retro as can be, I think it embodies Billy Joel's idea that he 'likes things that look old, but work new'. All this thing need is a rewind crank and a back with no LCD, and it would be a 35mm camera just that fast. I often think this is the digital equivalent of the Rollei 35: A snapshooter for guys who had real cameras and knew how to use them.
- - - -A,P, and S modes work fine. I often shoot in Aperture priority, as like a lot of cameras, the various auto modes default to low f stops to boost shutter speeds. Since this isn't a DSLR, it takes a while to learn where the AF is locking on, so I try to stay around f8 to buy a little DOF insurance. And since the max focal length is 105mm and the camera is so light, I don't mind hand-holdable slower shutter speeds occasionally to keep the shot. You have three different metering patterns and -/+ exposure compensation easily available, so it's easy to find a way of working that suits you. And as Lightpath said, there are some good presets built into ADV and SP modes. It also does idiot-proof panoramas: I know, as it works great for ME ! And the flash automation, WB, and macro capabilities are mighty fine. I've yet to find the camera that reads my mind, so after a short learning curve, it's a breeze once you learn what it does and doesn't like.
- - - - I'm a mostly Jpeg shooter. I really am not interested in a lot of post processing, a calibrated monitor, RAW, etc. Snapshooter suits me fine. While I honestly have no experience with other brands, the consensus I see is that Fuji has better-than-average Jpegs compared to most others. Lately I have begun to play with RAW and RAW+Jpeg, and can confirm that the in-camera conversion is very useful and very good. Who knows where that's going to lead me . . . . .
For an 'all-rounder', I think it's terrific, and nothing I've seen from mine would make me sorry I bought it. It's a better camera than I'm a photographer. I find it's almost invisible to people, it just doesn't jump out at them the way a lot would. I've walked right into many places, right past security guards standing next to 'no cameras' signs, with it in plain sight and they didn't give me a second glance. Travels very easily: I have a small leather case with the X in it's case, an EF20 flash, several batteries and accessories, that's it. Tiny.
Regarding the reviews:
Whether it was caused by an internal process gone wrong in Fuji's production complex, the earthquake, whatever, the early cameras had an orb problem. Pinpoint highlights would register as a burned-in small circle. While Fuji was trying to determine the extent of the problem and formulate a response, the light-speed quality of the web resulted in a firestorm of bad PR (not helped in the least by some who were quite hysterical about it). In time (not nearly fast enough for some), Fuji resorted to repairing some cameras, and eventually replaced a ton of them. I had the occasional orb, but it did not keep me up nights. I sent mine in to Fuji in New Jersey who replaced it with a brand new one (thanks, Fujifilm!), and I was hardly put out to begin with. Over time, I feel like most people realize that Fuji labored mighty hard to do the right thing, and Fuji has become quite recognized for their firmware updates to their products. Cameras are seriously complicated beasts, and even Nikon has had their nose bloodied with the D600/610 situation, it happens to everybody from time to time. And some customers are never satisfied, no matter what. So I took all that with a grain of salt, and it worked out like I expected and am quite satisfied with mine.
For me, it was a good camera for $599. For $299, it's a steal ! Lot to be said for 'late adopters' . . .
JW
