Fuji Fuji ORB announcement next week...

Ray Sachs

Legend
Location
Not too far from Philly
Name
you should be able to figure it out...
I don't know if they're going to announce a recall or an offer to buy-back from those dis-satisfied or a repair with a sensor replacement or what. But they've put out a firmware update that didn't solve the problem and they seem to be acknowledging that this is a very real issue.

Fujifilm promises 'definitive solution' to X10 white orb problem: Digital Photography Review

It will be great if they can actually solve it while maintaining the camera's best properties, but if they can't, a recall or refund offer would be a very good step. Must be a real downer for them to have to deal with this just as they'd rather be celebrating the X-Pro launch. I personally went from being someone who didn't think it was much of a problem to thinking it was more of a problem than I thought (particularly for night shots) to someone who thought it was enough of a problem that the camera couldn't serve its intended purpose in my bag. Or more specifically, its intended purpose for when there was NO bag... Good that Fuji appears to be taking it seriously. There are a lot of folks over on DPR who've lost all perspective about this. And I guess I can understand their frustration - for some types of shooting its a total deal-breaker - but not their near total insanity.

-Ray
 
It's not much of a problem for me. I have taken those long exposure night shots (which I've posted), but it doesn't affect my normal usage most of the time. I don't like the way Fuji handled the issue though. Instead of tackling it head-on, they first took the "there's nothing wrong with it" approach.
 
Pretty much a non-issue for me in daytime shooting - just one or two really bad orb shots. But a real issue in urban low light shooting, even normal exposure times. More than I initially realized. Lots of orbs in headlights and street lights and such. Which means I'd rarely trust it as an only camera for a short trip.

In terms of Fuji's response, hopefully they'll get it right this time. Who knows, maybe they really thought they WOULD be able to deal with it in firmware???

-Ray
 
There are a lot of folks over on DPR who've lost all perspective about this. And I guess I can understand their frustration - for some types of shooting its a total deal-breaker - but not their near total insanity.

It really has gone completely over to the lunatics over there on this issue. Anyone who is of the opinion that it isn't a big deal is branded as a Fuji shill and attacked repeatedly.
 
It really has gone completely over to the lunatics over there on this issue. Anyone who is of the opinion that it isn't a big deal is branded as a Fuji shill and attacked repeatedly.

From what I heard several weeks ago, a possible hardware fix may cost around 100 EUR per camera and doesn't involve replacing the entire sensor. It will be interesting to see whether Fuji is going to charge this (or a similar) amount to their customers (I think that's what Tokyo initially had in mind) or if they offer the fix free of charge – or something in between, like making customers pay but handing them a 100 EUR coupon for future Fuji purchases. Honestly, this WDS thing affects me so little personally that I'm too lazy to press my sources about what's happening. I'll just wait and see.
 
It really has gone completely over to the lunatics over there on this issue. Anyone who is of the opinion that it isn't a big deal is branded as a Fuji shill and attacked repeatedly.

Fuji forum at that site is one of the most contentious places I have ever visited, every new camera that comes ends up deified then crucified....
 
After shooting a lot of photos on a recent vacation with the X10 I must say that the "orb thing" wasn't a huge issue but it certainly showed up occasionally. I greatly appreciate the posting of this thread and most certainly will keep an eye out for Fuji's release.
. . . David
 
It really has gone completely over to the lunatics over there on this issue. Anyone who is of the opinion that it isn't a big deal is branded as a Fuji shill and attacked repeatedly.

The people who work at DPReview do a fine job and many look to them as more-or-less the final word in technical analysis of a given camera. But they really need to begin moderating their forums... or shut them down. I'll read the reviews over there but I won't even bother reading their forums any more - much less actually post of them. Thank God for great forums like this one.
 
It really has gone completely over to the lunatics over there on this issue. Anyone who is of the opinion that it isn't a big deal is branded as a Fuji shill and attacked repeatedly.

Its not just Fuji. I think some of the people are self-styled "experts". I don't even belong to the forum at all, reading there has been enough to put me off, permanently. I read the front page and reviews etc at DPR and completely ignore the forums.
 
There are enough smart people on various DPR forums that make it worth it to me to stay involved over there, despite the poor signal to noise ratio. Each of the forums I've been on has had its share of shouters, but plenty of good folks too. But ever since a few orb-ists started in on the Fujitalk Forum, its been absolutely impossible to get a word in edgewise about anything else. I bailed out of there a while ago, went back briefly a few weeks ago to say "hey, here's what we know and here's what we don't know - can't we agree on the facts, agree to let everyone determine for themselves how much of a problem it is for THEM, call a truce, and move on"? And, of course, that thread descended into just another flame fest with the handful of orbists (and I'd say there are really only about 6-8 of them that just won't let it go - one or two of whom really know their stuff) who feel it is their solemn duty to warn EVERYONE who might possibly look at the forum in advance of buying an X10 about the evils of the orbs. I can't go there and waste my time on that - I find it miles beyond obnoxious... And yet, those shouters possibly deserve a small share of credit for forcing DPR's tech folks to really take a serious look at the issue and I suspect its DPR's technical conclusions that may have gotten Fuji to decide to finally address the issue seriously, assuming they do.

DPR never published a review of the X10 and I believe they indicated they had identified the problem with the orbs and were giving Fuji a chance to address it before they finalize their review of the camera. They did a pretty immediate comparison of the old and new firmware and concluded very publicly that the new firmware did essentially nothing about the orbs and Fuji's recent announcement (of an announcement) followed quickly on the heels of that. So, maybe all of the insanity served some small part of a purpose. But it also obscured a lot of useful discussion that never got any oxygen on that forum.

-Ray
 
"...let everyone determine for themselves how much of a problem it is for THEM, call a truce, and move on"?

It is impossible to express something like that or an individual impression the "it isn't a big deal to me" without getting outright attacked over there. What a Fuji shill. The camera is defective, period. Obviously you work for Fuji...

Some of the worst behavior that I have seen in nearly 10 years of participation in those forums.
 
Back
Top