Fuji X20 Flaws

[Vali]

I bought a Fuji X20 a few days ago and did a couple of hundreds photos but found some of them with some flaws.

In the first one you can see some kind of halo or ghosting around the petals

It only happened in this one so it doesn't bother me much.

The big problem are vignetting and soft (blurred) corners. I added some examples in a flicker album

X20 flaws - a set on Flickr

Not all photos have them. According to Exif info soft corners happen wide open (7.1mm) and vignetting happens around 12-14 mm

Does someone experienced something like that? Did I got a faulty unit? Am I that bad taking pics?

 

[Streetshooter]

First off, there's nothing wrong with your camera or the way you use it. I checked your stuff on my 30" monitor and everything seems ok. As far as that halo glow on the first image....that's normal for the reflectance of light and to be honest, I just love it...
Use the camera some more and just enjoy the experience of making photos.....
don

 

[flysurfer]

I find this look of out-of-focus areas actually quite normal for these kind of settings. Personally, I even like it.

 

[Armanius]

The flower photo looks pretty cool! That being said, how close were you to the flower? And where was the focus point at?

As for soft corners, the X20 is a point and shoot. So I wouldn't expect miracles of lens perfection.

 

[Vali]

I like the flower pic too. I was very near, maybe 4 or 5 cm only. That one doesn't worry me much. The vignetting i not a worry either. I just need to calibrate the lens in the programs I will use to correct it (and lens distortions from RAW).

My main gripe are these:

DSCF0103 por Valije, en Flickr

Mill por Valije, en Flickr

The upper left corner is too blurry. Yes, it is a P&S, but is not a cheap one. That's why I am asking here if it happens in more cameras than mine.
I will take more photos trying to reproduce it and then will know how to avoid it. If my unit is defective (I am the only on affected) I will try to speak with the shop.

One of the possible causes is I push the zoom ring too hard, pass the wide open position and start to engage the mechanism that switches off the camera, wich will move the lens slighty out of focus. As I said before, I need to do more tests.

 

[flysurfer]

Looks like a decentered lens to me. I'd have that fixed.

 

[rbelyell]

i have found the x20 very disappointing in the IQ department. up close resolution is excellent. as the subject recedes, IQ diminishes, and does so to the point where traditional landscapes are reduced to mush. dp review kind of corroborated this in their review saying in part that the x20 cannot resolve green--a tradditional landscape backscape. compared to the x10 i also find the overall look lacks 'pop' and seems to lack microcontrast.

 

[pniev]

Out of curiosity: Do you work with jpeg or raw?

i have found the x20 very disappointing in the IQ department. up close resolution is excellent. as the subject recedes, IQ diminishes, and does so to the point where traditional landscapes are reduced to mush. dp review kind of corroborated this in their review saying in part that the x20 cannot resolve green--a tradditional landscape backscape. compared to the x10 i also find the overall look lacks 'pop' and seems to lack microcontrast.

 

[Lightmancer]

While you are having the decentreing sorted I would get them to fumigate it - you appear to have a bug on your sensor...

 

[Amin]

Yes, it is a P&S, but is not a cheap one. That's why I am asking here if it happens in more cameras than mine.

Absolutely it does and not just Fujis. The majority of cameras have mild decentering, and that's especially true for expensive cameras with fast, complex lens designs. I've noticed it on my Canon Powershot G, Panasonic LX, Leica D-LUX, Ricoh GX, etc etc. If it bothers you, I would exchange it if possible or have it fixed.

 

[rbelyell]

Out of curiosity: Do you work with jpeg or raw?

as fuji is both reputed, and markets itself, as having the best jpeg engine around, i shoot mostly joegs. however, having read so much about the vast IQ improvement you gain by shooting RAWwith the x20, i shot several days in RAW+jpeg. i noticed no difference, and in fact found 'noise' much more annoying in the RAW versions.

philosophically, at this chronological point on the technology continuum, i have a problem being told i must shoot a small sensored 'p&s' in RAW anyway. but because i really love the x20 operationally, i wouldve conceded that issue had there been a positive difference.

btw, my other settings: iso100 whenever possible, dr 100%, sharpness +2, noise reduction -2.