Shooting shiny metal objects with Fuji X10

Fuji X10, iso 100, dynamic range 100%, 1/1.7 sec, F4.5

It  seems that the orbs will eventually ruin my life because now I am taking mainly different test images with the Fuji X10. It is well known that the X10 can produce so called white discs with sharp border, or orbs, on shiny surfaces and in photos taken at night. I have posted some examples in one of my early posts. Today I made several pictures under artificial light (fluorescent lamp through something that looks like a frosted glass). The photos were taken as JPEGs, with auto white balance.

The photo on the top was taken at iso 100, the best conditions for orbs. As you can see, the highlights on the watch and paperclips are clipped. The highlights were clipped even with exposure compensation below -1.0. Below I posted 100% crops from this image saved at high quality in Olympus Master. As you can see, the clipping is very strong but there are no white orbs. 

 Crop from the iso 100 image

 Crop from the iso 100 image

Next, the same scene was taken at iso 400, dynamic range 400% (see image below). As expected, the clipping was less pronounced and the borders of blown highlights were not so abrupt. I have not used compact cameras for several years, and I must say that I am quite amazed with the quality of iso 400/dynamic range 400% shot from the X10.

I tookmore photos using different setting. It seems that in such conditions the orbs do not pose a (significant) problem. There were some round clipped highlights on shiny plastic toy but I can see white dot on this object with my eyes. But for me these images are quite acceptable, if we are talking about highlights. This is a compact camera, not Nikon D700 :)

I am not trying to prove that the orbs do not exist in images from Fuji X10. I am trying to figure out in what conditions the X10 can be used safely. To be honest, I have expected to see orbs in these images at least on the paperclips. Maybe the light was not very harsh. Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise. Be aware that the orbs do appear at bright sun on cars or in night shots.

Fuji X10, iso 400, dynamic range 400%, 1/6 sec, F4.5

Crop from the iso 400 image

Crop from the iso 400 image

Update: I posted a couple other images from this test.