Thanks, Steve, very helpful. I've always been intrigued by this version and the X100. I need to check it out at a camera store. I shall put that on the TO DO list. Good to know about the optical VF and the lens quality on the X10. If I were to invest in a *serious compact, * I'd want an excellent optical viewfinder because I'm steadier and more comfortable when the camera is left-of-nose rather than center-of-nose--when doing surface photography that is; when I'm splashing around in water with the Optio WG II, center-of-nose is just fine :-).
Big thanks, Steve. Cheers, Christine On Oct 14, 2012, at 7:38 AM, Steven Desjardins <drd1...@gmail.com> wrote: > Since Christine asked, here are a few words about the X10. Nicely > built with a decent control layout. I would have put some things in > different places, but it's easy to get used to it. It's more > naturally used as an LCD-VF camera. The optical VF is not great and > only gives about 80% coverage, but it's a godsend in the bright > daylight conditions when the LCD is hard to use. No information in > the OVF; it's a simple (zooming) sighting tool although you can pick > up the AF confirm beep easily enough. The lens is beautiful piece of > optics: 28-112, f2-2.8 sharp and well designed for a digital sensor. > Of course, the smaller 2/3 sensor makes the compact size of such a > lens possible. AF is OK but this is not a football camera. The new > "orb-free" sensor is very, very nice, although in all ways inferior to > having a top end end APS-C sensor like the K5. This is not a > criticism, just some perspective since so many folks on the PDML will > have a K5 IQ as a standard. It gives nice detail at 12 MP and can > switch to a 6 MP mode that will oversample the pixels to compensate > for low light and DR issues. > > A real question is size. It's small and nice in the hand but at best > coat-pockeatble. In that sense, it gets real competition from mu43 > cameras like the Olympus E-PM1/2 with a sensor twice as large. (I > have an E-PM1 I picked up for $180; I love refurbished stuff.) The > newer 16 mp mu43 sensors in the E-PM2 seriously competes with the > entry level APS-C DSLRs in terms of IQ. An equivalent zoom would be > huge on the Oly, but with the smaller primes it's the same size as the > x-10. Of course, there are lots of compacts out there if you want a > snap shooter (XZ-1, LX-7) and the RX100 gives great IQ albeit with > reportedly stone-age handling. Of course, the Q is out there really > cheap right now with that tiny body and sensor. Nice in decent light. > > On Sun, Oct 14, 2012 at 7:46 AM, Derby Chang <der...@iinet.net.au> wrote: >> >> Hi Doug, >> >> Everything Bob says about the X100, I'd confirm. It certainly is a quirky >> machine. I'd also add, if you were buying second hand, make sure it is one >> of the later versions (serial number starting with "2"). >> >> I bought one of the early ones. Fine for a few months, then I got the >> dreaded sticky aperture problem (the leaf shutter not stopping down when >> shooting lower that full open). Luckily I had my fellow ebayer's purchase >> receipt, so in it went to Fuji Australia >> >> It came back with the lens assembly replaced, but the sensor had gone wonky >> - every shot had a magenta cast. The RAW files are such that it could be >> corrected in LR, but life's too short. So back for a second time. >> >> It came back with the sensor adjusted, but then the OVF was completely >> psycho - looked like a Peter Fonda movie. After some calls, they took it >> back again, and I got a brand new, in the box, unit in return. Been happy >> ever since. >> >> Why perservere? The sensor and lens combination are amazing. So much dynamic >> range and beautiful high ISO. One of the nice features is the auto-DR. In >> bright light, it will select a high ISO and deliberately underexpose to keep >> the highlights. The high ISO brings up the shadows, and to no real detriment >> to noise. Freaked me out the first time I used it, but the results speak for >> themselves. >> >> Other things I love about it... >> >> * Silent >> * Live histogram, even with the optical viewfinder >> * Aperture, shutter speed and exposure comp right where they should be. But >> Bob is right, the dials, especially the exposure comp are a bit easy to >> nudge accidentally. I have to say, the new X100 has the dial a little >> tighter. I still check it once in a while. >> * Fantastic with the wide-angle converter (making it an equivalent 28mm >> fov). >> >> If I had to grab one camera if someone gave me 5 min to pack for a world >> trip, that's the one I'd take. >> >> >>> I'm still intrigued by this camera, because to my eye, it fits well with >>> much of what I do and would make a good walking around camera. >>> >>> Bob W? Cotty? Anyone else? I've read that it's frustrating. Is it more >>> trouble than its worth? >>> >>> Thanks. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> der...@iinet.net.au >> http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > > -- > Steve Desjardins > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
