web analytics

Camera Obscura

Aaaaaaargh!!

After what feels like literally days surfing the InterWebNet researching cameras in an attempt to meet my somewhat arcane requirements (see here if you would like to know the background to this particular quest) I thought I had finally found one that came close to what I wanted. The Fujifilm X10 is a retro styled advanced compact with just the sort of features I was looking for.  Almost panting with excitement – my hand twitching over my credit card like a gunfighter itching to draw – I read on…

Then, to my horror, I started to unearth stories of an apparently fatal design flaw that causes the camera to perform poorly in certain low light conditions, unable to deal in a satisfactory manner with specular highlights. As this was the only camera that remotely met my criteria (assuming that I can’t afford a Leica – which I can’t) I was aghast!

Further reading simply confused the issue. Some reviewers were appalled that a £400 camera could exhibit such flaws – others didn’t mention the problems at all. The posters on some of the more excitable photographic blogs were sufficiently apoplectic that they almost seemed to want to storm Fuji HQ, burn it to the ground and to stone the executives. Others either hadn’t suffered from the defect at all, or if they had did not think it sufficient reason to return the cameras and demand their money back.

It is a very pretty little camera – and I have seen online many excellent examples of images captured by it. Should I just ignore the issues and buy the X10 anyway?

What to do? What to do?…..

I saw my brother last night (Kickass Canada Girl was handing over the sexy Civic to youngest son) but he claimed pressure of work as an excuse for not having yet come up with definitive photographic advice. He had also forgotten to bring the M9 with him which he had intended to show me – though that was probably a good thing!

He has, however, promised to look into it. Watch this space…

Tags: ,