Fujifilm X10: A Personal Experience (Part I)

This is an amazing camera with a world of possibilities. Some of us (who bothered) have already seen the amazing capabilities of this simple digital rangefinder camera, most notably in Lindsay Dobson's website. Lindsay is a professional photographer who despite utilizing some amazing equipment in her work, rates the X10 highly. Check out her website at:

http://lindsaydobsonphotography.com/blog/locations-portraits-fuji-x10-and-5d-mkiii-lifestyle-portrait-photographer-hampshire/

While in no way I can pass off to be as talented as Lindsay, I share her optimism with regards to this amazing little gem of a camera. Follow me while I continue to explore what this baby can do, with special focus on being able to use the X10 as a genuine, viable (albeit limited) back-up camera body for professional gigs.

The Contents:

This X10 comes with the standard CD's and warranties, a lens cap, a USB cable, one battery and a compact charger. If you don't know what a USB cable is, digital photography may not be for you. In addition to this, local retailers are bundling the X10 with a mid-range Class 4, 8G SD memory card as well as Fuji's luxury leather case. On-line pictures indicate a black leather case for the X10, but I've got a brown one. The old-skool black body fits snugly in my hands and coupled with the traditional-looking brown rangefinder leather case, this baby attracts more looks than my sexy self.

Oh, and there's also a lens hood included. This handsome metal hood is purchased separately mind you, and it is necessary if you decide you want to fit in ND filters to the X10.

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. Its taken from the Fujifilm website. This is what is included in the box.

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. Its taken from the Fujifilm website. This is the handsome metal lens hood, which is sold separately by the way.

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. Its taken from the Fujifilm website. The cameras sold locally are mostly bundled with a Class 4 SD card and this lovely Fujifilm luxury leather case. Amazing vintage rangefinder look. I love this.

I won't go into the specifications of this camera like many reviews. I believe if you are able to visit my site, you can take the trouble to visit Fuji's website for the details if you wish. More importantly, you need to be aware that the sensor in the X10 is significantly larger than those in regular point and shoot cameras, but it in no way can compare with the monster sensors in it's APS-C older brother, the X100 or even Canon's G1X. But as a wise photographer once said, "If I wanted amazing resolution, IQ and quality of shot, I would have just stuck with my full-frame DSLR". The point is, while this is a lovely camera, nevertheless it is very limited and the trick to it is to be able to work your way around the limitations. Capish?

First test:

My early test was in my office building at about 7:30pm. the entire ground floor is shown in low-light with some highlight coming from the corridor lighting. The X10 has several Modes you can set it to (in the  main dial above). One of these is the Adv Mode (which I take to mean 'Advance'). In this Mode you have 3 cool options: 1) 360 degrees Panorama shot; 2) Pro Focus; and 3) Pro Low-Light.

I tried shooting it in Manual, but the noise was horrendous. Clearly this does not operate as easily as my trusty 5D. This will take some getting used to. Perhaps there is some way to curb this, but I have yet to reach that milestone. So I dialled in the EXR Pro Low-Light Mode and went to town with it.

EXR Pro-Focus Mode: This was a test shot to try out the focusing of the X10. More on this unique Mode later. Inside my cubicle there is plenty of even lighting overhead. The sharpness of the mug is evidence of the X10's fast and accurate focusing capabilities.

EXR Pro-Lowlight Mode. Very effective for night photography. It hasn't been tested to the fullest yet but the results are encouraging. The editing here is imperfect as I have yet to fully grasp the editing process required of the X10. Notice the lack of detail on the leaves in the far end of the shot. Nevertheless, the pebbles on the ground has retained some detail. This shot has been further post-edited by me.

EXR Pro-Lowlight Mode: Taken outside my house. I tried shooting in M again but the noise was unbearable. This Mode captures 4 frames instantaneously and stitches them together to produce a picture with high Dynamic Range and low noise. Incredible. Notice that the highlights are rather harsh. This will return to haunt me unless I find a way to sort this out. This shot has been further post-edited by me. Another interesting point, I have yet to see the 'white orb' problem plaguing earlier models of the X10.

EXR Pro-Lowlight Mode: Similar to the above shot. This shot has been further post-edited by me.

What the EXR Pro-Lowlight Mode does is it instantaneously shoots up to 4 frames and stitches it together to improve the overall dynamic range, while keeping noise low. I must say that this works brilliantly. In the above picture, you can see that the pebbles at the bottom of the shot maintain some clarity, but the tree in the back of the shot is blurred out. This amateur shot could well be because I'm still new to this baby. Time will tell if the shots get better, but for now, it looking promising! I later found out that my editing process would have to change with this camera. More of that later, just bear in mind the editing process is currently in its infancy.

So what do you think?

Next Up: Indoor shots - Daytime and Nighttime!

For those of you who like statistics:

Vital Stats for October: 4 posts 131 pics

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