Fuji Inconsistent Aperture

Fuji is well aware of the problem. I'm sure service will not be an issue as long as the camera is registered. After warranty, that remains to be seen.
I'll bet most users with this problem are unaware of it. It's easy to shrug it off as a bad exposure reading.
 
However, has Fuji determined the root of the problem and isolated it to batches or addressed the design fault with the reissued lenses? I just fear Fuji installing new units that simply give the X100 another few months/1000 shutters and then we're back in the shop again. Hmmm....

I'm willing to give them the benefit of doubt and assume they have tracked down the problem and are not simply setting up users with likely to fail replacement parts.

That said, there are reports - still a relative handful but slowly growing in numbers - of cameras failing twice (and in one instance, thrice!) with the same problem. Unless we see the numbers climb dramatically like the sticky aperture blade issue round one, I'm going to further extend Fujifilm the benefit of doubt and guess that some bad parts were out there in the service chain. Hopefully they've got control over parts inventory by now.

It seems clear that user-discovery of the issue is no where near 100%. Infrequent or inexperienced camera users may have the problem for some time before they finally clue in. I've seen so many examples of this on various forums that the effect of inexperience is probably magnified in the wild rather than over-reported on forums. But there is no way of proving this.

While their silence on the issue is not surprising, I'm still ticked off that they choose to downplay the issue whenever someone connected with the problem speaks to it. I'm aware of two Fujifilm centers that when contacted will claim "you are the first" when ample evidence of prior failed cameras going to that center can be found with just a minute or two searching on line.

The most troubling thing about this failure is the impact on second hand cameras. The X100 is a camera that will fit some people very well and others not at all, yet folks will try it. Given this widespread-enough rate of failure, Fujifilm's official policy to deny warranty repair on resold cameras is a problem for those who do not hang on to every camera they've ever bought, forever.

The bill for "fixing" a second hand X100 that has this manufacturing or design defect is 750 - 850 dollars CAD/US based on a number of reports. That's a bitter pill to swallow for a second hand camera buyer of a camera that likely hasn't been used very much. As more failures in second hand cameras happen, are discovered, and are found to be so costly to their buyers, word will spread through the used market that the X100 shouldn't be trusted, at least not if it hasn't already had a lens assembly replacement. Prices will be under pressure... it is only logical.

I'd rather Fujifilm swallowed the bitter pill and established a formal policy on warranty repairs for this specific issue and ensured that it wasn't limited to original camera owners only.

Quick replacement for the original buyer is fine and dandy but that alone isn't enough, not when the issue affects seemingly so many cameras and is likely to be a widespread production or design defect.

Personally I am reluctant to buy a new Fujifilm product based on the handling of this issue so far. If they make sure owners are covered for this defect, that'd make me do a complete 180 and sing their praises without reservation once again.

That's my two cents.
 
Nicely said Adanac. I agree with you 100% but am a little troubled by:
The most troubling thing about this failure is the impact on second hand cameras. The X100 is a camera that will fit some people very well and others not at all, yet folks will try it. Given this widespread-enough rate of failure, Fujifilm's official policy to deny warranty repair on resold cameras is a problem for those who do not hang on to every camera they've ever bought, forever.

When I contacted Fujifilm here in Australia, after buying my X100 used and queried my registration and warranty. They asked whether I had the original purchase receipt. Check! Is it from a genuine Australian retailer (i.e., not a grey importer)? Check! Have you registered online? Check! So will I have any troubles claiming any warranty repairs? No as long as you retain the receipt sir.

But now I'm troubled. Very troubled. I have a valid Aussie receipt in some other guy's name. If you are right, then I might part with the X100 while prices are OK and it's still in great nick. It might never develop the issue, but let's be honest the odds aren't good, but I'm not forking out to have it repaired in it's first few years. I might speak to Fuji again to be sure, but this is a giant onion on the ointment.

Where do you get this info mate?
 
Sigh. After spending several days too excited to be suspicious of anything, I checked mine and I think mine is plagued as well. Tested multiple shots at f16 and they show visibly different exposures. Wrote to Fuji UK.
 
This is a very common issue. My concerns would be after warranty.
I would strongly suggest everyone with the X100 test every once in a while.
My friend has returned 2 for repair. 1 for the blades and one for lockup.
Fuji has been good on service but has not announced an issue.
A recall would be devastating.
 
Mark, it's always wise to go straight to the source - Fuji - which you have. Call them again and get the person's name.

If Fuji did need to do a recall, which they did do with some of their initially released cameras back in the beginning - they'd fix the cameras or replace them. It happens to car manufacturers and crib manufacturers...unfortunately things like this can happen, but it's not the norm.
 
Where do you get this info mate?

You should check the documentation that came with the camera; certainly in my locale but probably world wide, Fujifilm states their warranty covers only the *original* owner.

That's par for the course for many electronic products and companies.

Unfortunately there have been cases - check x100forum.com and other places where X100 folks congregate in numbers - where a buyer of a second hand camera has been denied warranty service by Fujifilm for the legitimate aperture blade issue.

Anticipating this issue I have a commitment to the buyer of my X100 that I would, forever, act as their proxy if they ever have a warranty claim. The buyer is local and has all my contact details. Probably I won't be the only one feeling it important to offer such assurances given how widespread this failure seems to be.

Recently I read of a case where the current owner worked with the original owner to have him return the camera to Fujfilm on his behalf, *after* having been denied by Fujifilm warranty coverage for the sticky aperture blade issue.

While individuals can work around this, at least until Fujifilm starts catching on and presumably becomes even more draconian about their policy, its not an optimum solution for what clearly is a fault in the product.

I hope pressure put on Fujifilm causes them to alter course so I/we can sing their praises without reservation once more.
 
Now that is a very interesting scenario.
The camera and Fuji are at fault. Why should any buyer be accountable? I would offer the same service to the buyer of my camera.
This just doesn't seem like a good fair business practice.

I think 3rd party warranty companies would cover this.
It will be interesting to see how Fuji addresses all the issues around this.
It could have an impact on the new X10 sales....
Hmmmmm
 
Wow, this is an enlightening thread. I just bought an iPad 2 for my bride at Best Buy. I decided to pay for Best Buy's warranty vice Apple's Apple Care for approximately the incidents listed in this thread.

I feel for the Fuji X100 owners.
 
Let's not get too carried away here - all the X100s are not falling prey to problems.

Remember, this is the way all Internet forums tend to go - the problems are voiced and become magnified usually way beyond reality.
 
Thanks for the voice of reason BB! :hail: Without your intervention this thread might turn the way of the x100 poll on the sticky aperture blades issue.

Now back to the shooting!
 
Great news Don. That being the case, hey Fuji guys, a little bit more shuffle on the X-1 (aka X-ILC) release c'est vu plais. And maybe leak, exclusively to us folks here, the mount you'll be using so we can get a jump on legacy glass a few weeks before our competition. Otherwise if you're engineering your own proprietary mount then can I suggest for starters a clean 24mm across the frame, and fast (sub f2) 35mm and even quicker (sub f1.4) 50mm equivalents...and I suppose you best through in a sub 1.4 85mm for good measure for the the portrait shooters on here. Great work chaps :2thumbs:
 
Fret not thyself, Mark. I promise you that the workings of the camera are mechanical and not based upon black cats crossing your path.:tongue:

As with anything there is always the chance that something could go wrong with any camera...so keep an eye open and, as Don says, make pictures!:friends:
 
As the person who started the poll on X100forum.com, and as a frequent contributor over there, I'm not at all dismayed about how things have turned out.

Fujifilm being aware of the user community reaction to this problem can only be a positive. If X100 owners were to back off from discussing the failure, from helping inexperienced users diagnose the problem and seek repairs, from voicing their concerns over failure re-occurrence, from expressing their displeasure that there isn't some sort of warranty statement made globally that would reassure long term owners as well as second hand buyers -- well if the community were to take a step back from that Fujifilm, like most any vendor on the planet, is apt to get lazy.

A grown up vendor realizes how valuable even negative feedback can be to their long term plans and survival. A grown up vendor continually refines and improves but can't unless feedback is given.

It certainly is disappointing to me and to many X100 users that we even have to consider this issue at all. Discussing photography, not the nuts and bolts of the tool, is much more interesting to most of us.

As critical as I am of the problem and some aspects of how Fujifilm is handling it, I am also positive about the virtues of the camera and encourage people to use their tool and enjoy it rather than fear it. Unfortunately due to the steady pace of failures there are many more who need reassurance and encouragement. I can't wait until failure reports start to decline in frequency but we don't seem to be there just yet.
 
Well said, and many thanks for sharing your information and feedback here, adanac. Please keep us up-to-date with anything you hear.

P.S. adanac, please don't hesitate to link to anything you feel appropriate over at X100forum.com - we're all in this together.:th_salute:
 
Adanac, you reinforce my issues with out of warranty cameras. The repair Fuji does under warranty is taken for granted. What happens to the second hand market next year when there are many not covered.

I have many M bodies. Years ago Leica had Signature service for $169.00.
I would get a camera and send it in regardless of issues or condition. Pay the Signature fees and get back a warrantied camera covered for a year.

I thought Fuji would do something similar.
We'll see in due time.
You are right again about the threads being kept active not just for Fuji but for people that are new to photography and have the X100.
It as always is the responsibility of the ones with knowledge to share with those without.
 
Don,

Thanks and your comment on Leica's signature service is the sort of thinking that I'm hopeful Fujifilm will look at and adopt. Given the "SAB" problem, I would think that a great many X100 users would be willing to pony up $150 a year or so when their two-year warranty expires. I certainly would buy into such a program, at least for a few years.

Such a program could become a decent revenue stream for Fujifilm, and it would solve the second hand warranty dilemma (maybe it would fly to have second hand buyers pay up to inherit the balance of the standard two year warranty - thus covering the cost of updating registration documents as well). To my mind, this sort of approach would deflate many of the concerns and worries people have, and it would make the bean counters at Fujifilm corporate a little more happy too.

Mike
 
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