Replacement for Fuji X10

Flowers of Burdekin Plum. Fuji X10, Supermacro mode

I've got Fuji X10 long time ago, shortly after it  became available in Australia. The camera was used fairly extensively, and it started to show some signs of wear and tear. It lost a rubber thingy at the back, which is not surprising considering the local climate with temperature over 40 C. It freezes occasionally, which is again, not surprising considering the local humidity. But it seems that our 'orb generator' will not survive for very long. I hope it would last till release of rumored X30....

I often use Fuji X10 in supermacro mode, or macro at long end. The quality is good enough for my needs. The XF60mm macro lens can produce a stunning images but the autofocus (speed) on early versions of the X-E1 firmware was not very impressive. The latest firmware adds a very nice manual focus assist option but I don't have the macro lens. On other hand, it turned out that XF55-200mm is very handy for modest close-up shots. The magnification is ok, and 200mm is not very obtrusive for various bugs.  Obviously, 200mm provide some extra reach, which is handy for shooting distant objects such as flowers on trees etc.

Blue Triangle Butterfly. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm (crop)

Fuji X10 and X-E1

Bahnamboola falls, Lamington national park. Fuji X10, panorama mode

On the recent walk at the Lamington national park I used two cameras, Fuji X10 and X-E1. Most pictures were taken with the X-E1, but the X10 was more fun to use. The X10 is better for macro (compared to XF18-55mm), and the panorama mode works better for me in X10 (with X-E1 I usually get a lot of vertical banding). Obviously, image quality is better on X-E1, especially in shady or low contrast areas.

Bahnamboola falls, Lamington national park. Fuji X-E1, polarizer

Camera deals in Brisbane

Sunny day | Fuji X10

It was cold and rainy in Brisbane couple days ago, and I went though my 'summer' photographs. I like this picture because of its warm colors.

The ground is covered with yellow Tipuana flowers. It is not a native species, but it is very popular ornamental tree in Brisbane.

BTW, Harvey Norman shop in Queen Street mall, Brisbane, has a huge sale because of the store closure or relocation, or something like this, and Fuji XF1 is selling for ~$380 (AUD). I guess this is ex-demo camera. This is very good price for Australia. In my favourite shop Fujifilm XF1 is priced at $490. The store has a good selection of DSLRs, mirrorless and compact cameras for major manufactures: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus (OM-D E-M5, E-PL5) Samsung (but no NX300). Most models are discounted for 20%.

Fun with Fuji X10

Jumping spider | Fuji X10 (crop)

We went to a local park where kids found a tiny but very energetic jumping spider. These spiders can jump at considerable distance, and kids spent some time playing "jump, little spider, jump, jump, jump".

Once again I appreciated the versatility of a compact camera. For me, Fuji X-10 beats Fuji X-E1 as a fun camera. I guess the same can be said about any advanced compact cameras: Olympus XZ1, Nikon P7700, Sony RX100 etc. The progress in sensor technology is truly amazing.

The spider was released to natural environment :)

Jump to me! | Fuji X10 (crop, resize)

Passiflora flower with Fuji X10

Passiflora sp. | Fuji X10

It was cloudy, and the light was suboptimal. Even on f4 the camera produced enough depth to capture this big flower, so I was able to get a sharp shot at 1/34 sec & iso 200. The image was cropped in GIMP and the levels were adjusted a bit. That's the beauty of a compact camera: no hassle with autofocus in supermacro mode. Well, to be precise, much less hassle compared to the dedicated macro lens on Fuji X-E1. I have little doubt that Fuji X20 would produce more resolution, but I am happy with the amount of details from the X10 in supermacro shots. The image above was cropped, and the hi-res photo is available on flickr.

Funny mushrooms with Fuji X10

Stinkhorn mushroom, Phallus rubicundus | Fuji X10

Yesterday I had Fuji X10 with me on my traditional lunch walk around the campus instead of Fuji X-E1. Why X10? The answer is simple: supermacro mode. I wanted to take picture of very small fruits/berries, about 5mm in diameter. Obviously, I took some other pictures, too, and in fact ended with flat batteries, both the main and spare. Yes, I am a real shutterbug, and it is just fun to use this camera. [I bet the same is true for other advanced compact cameras.] Both our cameras, X10 and X-E1, have very similar user interface, so it is very easy to switch between cameras. I wish both model would use the same batteries... I also got an impression that the rear screen in X-E1 is more useable / visible under different angles but I have not done any direct comparisons.

In Brisbane both X10 and X20 (which is not yet available) cost less than XF60mm macro lens for the X system. Fuji X100 is just $850 (AUD), $60 higher than the macro lens.

Funny mushrooms | Fuji X10

Back to the X10

Royal Children's Hospital, Herston, Brisbane | Fuji X10

I was unable to use Fuji X10 for a couple months and hence did not visited the Fuji X10 group on flickr for quite some time. It is very active group, thanks to it's admin and some other active members (I enjoy this group, so consider it as a promotion :)). Anyway, I decided to upload a couple old pictures from the X10 and replace some other with hi-res variants. I was surprised to see that within last two-three months number of members of the group went over 3,000. That is 50% increase! From what I remember, the group rapidly got ~2000 early adopters, but this number was quite stable for several months. There was some growth, but not substantial.  I guess it might be related to ORBs / white discs debacle,  and the situation was changed with the sensor replacement / update in X10.

The name of the group was changed to X10 & X20, in anticipation of the new camera :)

Lace Monitor, or Goanna | Fuji X10

(updated with image at the original resolution)

Fuji X10, orbs and me

I am puzzled with popularity of my posts on orbs, or white discs, appearing in some pictures from Fuji X10. Fuji X10 with the original sensor was / is prone to spectacular highlights clipping resulting in appearance of white discs. The issue is fairly common in some situations, e.g. on shiny cars at bright light, but I have not seen any orbs in my photos of plants or animals. Anyway, under pressure from the owners of the camera the company replaced the sensor in Fuji X10. Current X10 cameras should not have such problem., however the company never made any statement regarding the sensor upgrade in latest cameras. Another Fuji camera with the same 2/3" sensor, XF1, does not produce orbs.

Why people are still searching for orbs?

Macro

Fuji X10, supermacro, aperture priority, 12MP, iso 200, 1/900 sec, F2.8, exposure compensation -0.3. 

GIMP: levels, crop, resize, local unsharpen mask 

For me one of the most attractive features of advanced compact cameras is supermacro mode. Because of small sensor and wide angle the depth of field is enormous on compact cameras. Unfortunately, all current (serious) compact cameras have supermacro mode at wide end of the zoom. It does help with DoF but the distance between lens and the object is very small. It is OK for flowers but with bugs it is complicated. The "last year" models of advanced compact cameras  are cheaper than dedicated macro lenses for most DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. Plus no need to change lens every time I want to shoot macro.

Nikon 1 system probably also would have enough DoF but unfortunately, the dedicated macro lens is not yet available. Probably AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm F2.8 with FT1 adapter can be a viable solution but the whole set will be big, heavy and definitely more expensive than enthusiast compact cameras. Obviously, for someone with a collection of Nikon lenses the situation might be different. I don't have any Nikon glass.

Rumors on Fuji X10 replacement

It is not a new rumor, but I missed it. Anyway, lets propagate an interesting rumor. In major US camera shops Fuji X10 is selling at the discount price now. Unfortunately, it was not a case in Australia last time I've checked the prices :( Well, here in Down Under, we can get a "grey" X10 even cheaper from places like Kogan but it is a parallel import. According to this post on the DPReview forum, the replacement for Fujifilm X10 is coming next year. To summarise the rumor, the X11/X20 will keep the same sensor but will come with nice improvements. The new camera is not expected within next several months.

We have Fuji X10 as our family camera, and I love it. It is just fun to use. I wish one day Fujifilm will make a similar camera around 1" sensor. I'll buy such model instantly :-). I glad I bought the camera before I learnt about the orbs issue which is turned out to be irrelevant for my photography. At some point Fujifilm replaced the sensor in Fuji X10, and the latest cameras are orb-resistant (but I'm not sure about "grey" market cameras). Their slim model with the same 2/3" sensor, XF1, also does not have problem with a severe sensor blooming.

It seems that next year the company will release some interesting products. After all, in some Australian shops Fuji X100 is listed as discontinued for some time, and the replacement for this model is also expected in the nearby future.

Back to Fuji X10

I take many pictures of plants for the subsequent identification. For the identification I need detailed pictures with big depth of field for "general view" and some macro shots of flowers etc. For this purpose the advanced compact camera is "all in one solution".

For example, the photo below was taken at 1/85 sec, ƒ/3.6, ISO 400 and the focal length was 7 mm (28 mm eqv), exposure compensation -1.0. The bush was in the shade, and the light was not really great. Both the small sensor and short focal length contributed to the depth of field, which is big even at f/3.6, so nearly the whole bush is in focus. It was windy, and I boosted the iso to get reasonably fast shutter speed. There is some noise in the picture but it is not dramatic (check the hi-res image on flickr). On calm day I would not hesitate to shoot at 1/20 sec and low iso.

After playing with Fuji X-E1 and XF18-55mm lens for  a couple of  days I doubt that Fuji X10 will collect dust, just because it is very convenient camera for close-up shots. As all compact cameras with small sensor, Fuji X10 does not like low contrast or shady areas, where X-E1 is shining.

Pavetta australiensis | Fuji X10

No Fuji X-E1 zoom kit in Down Under

I was told in local camera shop that the X-E1 kit is expected to arrive in Australia around mid-December. It seems that the kit zoom is very popular, so there might be a supply/demand issue as with Fuji X100. The bodies are available in several Brisbane shops. For me, zoom is just very convenient. I may buy 60mm macro, but in this case the total package will cost me extra A$400+. Price of X-E1 zoom kit + 60mm is ~A$2100, while X-E1 & 60mm kit + 18-55mm is close to A$2500.

The problem is that at the moment I can use only Olympus E-30. The thing is just heavy. I also get used to Fuji colours. 

I don't really like XF1 because UI (not enough buttons) and slow lens. Fuji X100 looks like a very good camera but I am not in street or indoor photography, so it might be not the best camera for me.  The forgotten camera, Fuji X-S1, is just too big for me, and I don't really need a superzoom. I can get another Fuji X10 but in local shops it is still priced at around A$600. In Kogan it is under $400 which is really tempting price. I don't know if these cheap X10 are orb-free or not but the orbs do not bother me. And I do like Fuji X10.

The picture below was taken at 7mm (28mm eqv), f/3.6, 1/85 sec., iso 400, exposure compensation -1. It was windy. The photo was edited in GIMP (levels were changed). The full resolution image  is available on flikr. To get the same depth of field even on (m)4/3 camera the aperture need to be closed and the iso boosted to something like 1600 or more. It is possible on Olympus OM-D E-M5 but I would not do it on my Olympus E-30.

Pavetta australiensis | Fuji X10

Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 for 300$

Ted's cameras shops have Fuji X-E1 in stock. I don't know if Ted's got the zoom kit or body only. I know that in other camera shops in Brisbane X-E1 body is available but the zoom kit or Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 lens are not. It looks like a very interesting business model to me: the zoom kit will save ~500$ over the separate purchase (based on prices in Ted's cameras). So, people not interested in zoom lens can make a couple hundred dollars from buying the kit instead of body only. Guess what would happen? Easy: the zoom kit is not yet available but the X-E1 bodies are on the display in Australian camera shops.

In other shops such as Digital Camera Warehouse, the difference is smaller (~350-400$) but still significant to stop me from buying the camera with the 60mm macro lens now and getting the XF 18-55mm OIS zoom later. I would rather save the money for XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 OIS expected to be released in the first half of 2013.

In meantime I am exploiting the Vivid (Velvia) mode on Fuji X10. The images are punchier (obviously), and generally very pleasant. The other thing I enjoy is Panorama option. It is possible to make a better panorame with a dedicated software and full-res images but for the web - the output from the camera is more than sufficient. 

Great Court, the University of Queensland | Fuji X10 (panorama mode), GIMP (levels)

Panorama with Fuji X10

Jacarandas at the UQ lakes | Fuji X10, in camera panorama | October 30, 2012

Not bad for the hand-held camera. The image at the original resolution is available on my flickr page. The levels were changed in GIMP, and the image was saved at a lesser quality.

I am still amazed with features in Fuji X10. Most of these things are new for me. Olympus cameras have auto panorama mode in the supplied software but it did not work well for me. I am talking here about my old compact cameras. Yes, I lived in a cave all that time :-)

Fujifilm X10 for ~400AUD

Kogan now sells Fujifilm cameras. Fuji X10 is offered for 389AUD plus shipping (19 dollars to Brisbane), and the famous Fuji X100 is listed for 779 dollars. It is Kogan, so both are grey import. The lowest X100 Australian price I know is 998 dollars in CameraPro. Kogan also has very low prices for Nikon DSLRs, with D3200 body for 438 dollars (this is  a 24MP DSLR!), and Nikon D5100 with 18-55mm lens for 439 dollars. Granted, D5100 will be replaced with new model very soon but this camera has one of the best APS-C sensors.

Personally I buy cameras in local shops in Brisbane. I know people who bought cameras from the Kogan shop. They were happy with the purchase. Because it is a parallel import, most products have "back to the shop" guaranty. I don't know if Fuji X10 is now shipping with the new sensor or not, and it is unclear if the company will replace the sensor in "grey" cameras. Early production runs of Fuji X100 were prone to SAB (sticky aperture blades). While I never had issues with any digital camera during warranty I do prefer peace of mind.

Unfortunately, both Nikon and Canon cameras and lenses cost more in Australia than in the US, and the difference cannot be explained just by GST (local sales tax). From what I learnt the australian camera retailers are essentially hostages of the prices set up by the companies, and cannot do much. It is probably not just that factor, no doubt high wages and rent also contribute to the final price.

Low noise in Olympus XZ-2

The dpreview site had published "real world" samples from the latest advanced compact camera from Olympus, XZ-2. While the full review of the camera is not available yet, according to comment from the dpreview member the noise level is significantly lower compared to the previous model, XZ-1, despite of having a slightly smaller sensor and higher pixel count. The camera is now also has better user interface. However, Nikon P7700 with its new bright lens looks like a very strong competitor. It is really handy to have 200mm at f/4.

I am not in the marked for an advanced compact camera. I guess Fuji X10 will hold quite well in term of noise against Oly XZ-2 but frankly I don't care. With bright lens and optical image stabilisation I don't need a very high iso with Fuji X10. I do not shoot action very often.

In some sense, Fujifilm X10 is a unique camera. It is very appealing to some people. It is not just about the image quality. It is very pleasant camera to use. You see the camera, and you want to take it in your hands and go shooting. It small enough to be with you in most situations. It seems that I got hooked on Fujifilm cameras after the X10 :)

Swamp lily, from Amaryllidaceae family | Fuji X10

My contribution to the pixel peeping community

It turned out that I have two similar photos of the same plant, Swamp lily, taken with two different cameras, Olympus E-30 and Fuji X10. The pictures were taken for the identification of the plant,  so both are my "real world samples". It is not even meant to be a comparative shooting. Photos were taken on different days, at slightly different light (and it is evening light, the trickiest condition for most digital cameras), the images were cropped in GIMP and the levels were changed to add contrast. The focal length is quite different. On top of it, I suspect that my Olympus E-30 is faulty because of excessive amount of noise in black areas.  This explains why I am still very suspicious towards 12MP sensor used in m4/3 camera (yes, it is irrational, I know).

Anyway, both photos are available at the original resolution on flickr and can be viewed at 100%.

Frankly, I do not see much difference between these cameras for my practical use. The other factors are more important for me.

10,000 frames with Fuji X10, and counting

Jacarandas in bloom at the UQ lake | Fuji X10, Panorama mode, GIMP: levels

One year with Fuji X10. More than 10,000 frames. It turned out to be an amazing camera, with manual zoom, excellent handling, famous Fuji colors, low noise. 

I discovered that it is possible to take pictures without looking through the viewfinder. Moreover, it turned out that I can get sharp pictures with Fuji X10 at very low shutter speed, much lower than on my DSLR camera with sensor-based image stabilization. Lack of mirror (slap), good in-lens image stabilization, short focal length, neck strap used to stabilize the camera - probably all these factors contribute to sharp images. Next came in-camera panorama mode. I have not used compact cameras for years before acquisition of the Fujifilm X10. This is a big leap forward from old days. Sometimes the image stitching creates artifacts but it is still very impressive for panoramas taken with hand-held camera. The autofocus assist lamp works amazingly good and camera can focus in complete darkness.On-board flash works very well. I got used to Supermacro mode at 28mm (eqv) and the big depth of field very handy for macro shooters. Surprisingly, some presets, such as Sunset mode, are turned out to be very useful. I also returned to JPEG shooting. The image quality is very good in JPEGs, and I don't have time for RAW processing. 

My favorite settings: low noise reduction, Aperture priority mode, Auto white balance, Provia, iso 100 or 200, 200% dynamic range for iso 200. Except for the Supermacro mode, I try to keep the aperture open.

Things that I do not like in Fuji X10:
Viewfinder. It is ironic because the presence of a viewfinder in a camera was considered as nearly compulsory requirement for me. Why I don't like the viewfinder on Fuji X10? It is small, even for person used to 4/3 DSLRs. There is no information whatsoever, none. It is useless for polarizing filter or at close distance. Even in bright sun I generally use the monitor.  

The proprietary things: filter thread and the camera cable. I've bought a step-up ring and now can use standard filters. The cable is as precious as a lifeline. For some reasons the SD card used in Fuji X10 does not communicate with our computer through a card reader, and the images from the camera can be transferred only through the proprietary USB cable (proprietary universal serial bus cable - isn't it ironic?). On top of it, the camera cannot be powered through the USB cable and requires battery for image transfer.

Menu. Q button in firmware 2.0 helps to some extend but it is still hard to access some options such as image stabilization. I wish it would be possible to customize options in the Q menu. Erase or Format options are also buried deep in the menu but can be accessed relatively fast through the preview: when camera switched off, pressing green preview button will activate the preview mode, and pressing OK will give an option to delete all files.

Shutter speed at open aperture is limited to 1/1000 sec. Build-in neutral density filter can solve the problem. I don't know at what aperture the diffraction will kick in.

The battery. I got one spare battery but it is not enough for long trips.

None of these "don't like" this are serious. The viewfinder is useless, there are ways around the proprietary things, and the menu is compensated by really good user interface. 

Fountain | Fuji X10, OOC JPEG

Infrared with Fuji X10

Fuji X10, Hoya R72, Auto WB, GIMP

Brisbane finally got some clouds, and I took some infrared pictures with Fuji X10 using Hoya R72 filter and small Manfrotto digital tripod . It was windy, so the foliage is blurry. More pictures were posted on my flickr account.

I still cannot figure out how to use Fuji X10 for infrared. Maybe I should do more post-processing in GIMP, not just level adjustment.

For infrared shooting I generally use Black and White R mode on Fuji X10 at base iso. The photo above was taken with Auto white balance, but use of a custom WB with a low value on Kelvin scale (2500K) gives better structure / resolution for clouds on sunny day.

Fuji X10, Hoya R72, Custom WB, GIMP

Fuji X10 in cloudy weather

Cloudy day in Brisbane | Fuji X10

Brisbane had very little rains in last few months, so clouds in the sky are very welcome. This day we actually got some rain.
The picture was taken with Auto white balance, at iso 200, dynamic range 200%. It seems that I need to dial exposure compensation to -0.3 or even lower to avoid the highlights clipping. Manual white balance (cloudy) results in strong green cast on similar scene.