Canna (cultivar) | Fuji X10 | Bowen park, April 3, 3012 | flickr
The image on the top was edited in GIMP: the levels were adjusted, the image was cropped and unsharpen mask was applied. It was taken with Fuji X10 in Supermacro mode, iso 200, F6.4, 1/58 sec. The flower is cultivated form of Canna, Cleopatra or something similar. These plants are very common in parks, and come in different varieties and colors, such as red or mottled as on this photo.
We just passed 4000 frames on the Fuji X10. What can I say? It is my favorite camera right now :) It is probably 4 times lighter than my Olympus E-30 but has buttons for all important controls / functions. The Fuji X10 had changed my photo style: now I take many macro shots and significantly less "landscapes". The autofocus illumination is very useful for taking pictures of animals at night. It turned out that I essentially do not use the viewfinder because it is useless for macro shooting. Even for "landscapes" I prefer the rear screen because it gives the precise framing, shows the focus point, horizon level, grids and essential shooting parameters. I figured out how to use the camera strap for stabilization, and generally do not have problems with camera shake.
I am very amazed with the quality of images from this camera. Even with lowest setting of noise reduction (my default setting) the camera produces very nice images at iso 400 or even high, and I am talking about standard 12 Mp mode here. The colors are very pleasant. The on-board flash works extremely well. Because my pictures are nature-oriented, I don't have issues with the orbs. I got the famous white discs in some street photos, especially on cars, but none of my pictures of flowers or bugs have orbs. I've done some tests in this area but at some point I just lost the interest in orbs issue. I may replace the sensor in the camera in the future but right now I prefer to take pictures of bugs or flowers.
Obviously, it is compact camera with small sensor, and it is struggling in areas of low contrast. The most upsetting thing for my is the implementation of supermacro on the wide end of zoom. While it does help with depth of field it restricts the macro photography. The object must be very close to the lens (not all bugs like it) and the shade from the lens becomes a very serious issue: the rear screen is fixed, and in bright light it is very hard to see all details of the scene.
I suspect the difference in image quality between cameras from the same class is minimal, so it is all about handling and lens. On Fuji X10 I like both.
Just in case: I am not a professional photographer or camera reviewer. I used very few cameras, so my experience with different cameras are rather limited. The photos are the only credentials I can show. After all, cameras are designed to take pictures :)
The image below was taken in Supermacro mode, at iso 200, F5.6, 1/250 sec. The wasp was very active, and it was very hard to get closer. Size of the wasp (about 3 cm) and the color point to Abispa ephippium, Australian hornet. The flower is one of the Callistemons, probably cultivar but I am not sure.
Wasp on Callistemon | Fuji X10 | Victoria park, March 30, 2012 | flickr
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