The Fujifilm had released a firmware update 1.03 for Fuji X10 camera. The company statement says "Blooming (White disk) phenomena, which can be observed in EXR AUTO mode, is reduced." I have an impression that in the EXR AUTO mode the blooming (orbs, white disks) was quite well controlled with previous version of firmware compared to standard 12 megapixel mode at iso 100, at least in images taken at night. Anyway, I updated the firmware (my Fuji X10 came with version 1.02) and did a quick test at iso 100, 12 megapixel, Aperture priority mode. The light was harsh. I am talking about sunny Australia here. It was hard to look at cars even through sunglasses. Top picture has a couple very nasty orbs, and none were visible on another image at the bottom of this post. I have not tested EXR mode, it might be better. Make your own conclusion.
I probably should voice my opinion on the orbs issue. These are test pictures. Generally I do not take pictures of cars in bright sun. I am posting/doing this test because of traffic on this blog: post on orbs got the highest number of visitors. The orbs are irrelevant for my photography which is nature-oriented. I took some pictures of Brisbane at night, to see the orbs "first hand". Indeed, the white disks were appeared in some photos, but the images were acceptable for my taste. In these night images the white disks were quite small, and switching to EXR mode helped to some extend, too.
I understand that people have different standards, and for some the orbs are totally unacceptable. If you in this category be aware that the firmware 1.03 did not fix the orbs issue for 12 megapixel mode. To balance this statement I would like to remind that the X10 is not prone to blooming/white disks on natural objects such as glossy leaves in bight sun. IMHO, the orbs issue is grossly exaggerated (unless someone insists on taking pictures of cars in direct sunlight). I took over 3000 pictures with the X10, and the orbs issue is probably the last in my list of complains about this camera. I don't know how big is this issue for street photographers.
The firmware adds several other useful things including customization of RAW button (~ten option to chose from). Kudos to Fuji. Unfortunately it is impossible to set it for the control of image stabilization but there are other useful options.
