Posted by MarkB_MI on December 22, 2012 at 06:41:19 from (75.241.79.236):
Earlier this year I was looking for a digital camera that met my requirements: compact with a viewfinder. Such cameras have become quite scarce as manufacturers have been eliminating viewfinders, apparently in order to have bigger displays. I need a viewfinder for photographing fast-moving planes at Oshkosh. I've given up on SLRs, because they're a pain to drag around so you seldom have one when you need it. Also, I've been very disappointed in the quality of digital cameras; drop one, or let it get dirty, and they're pretty much junk. After some research, I found a camera that seemed to meet my needs, the Fujifilm X10. I've had mine now for about 11 months now, and have been real happy with it. I thought I'd post a recommendation for anyone looking for a similar camera.
The X10 is quite a bit different from the typical compact camera. As soon as you pick it up, you can tell it's well-made. Very little plastic is visible; it's machined from a block of magnesium and is made in Japan rather than China. It closely resembles an Leica film camera. The most obvious things are the absence of either an on/off switch or zoom buttons. Instead, there's a mechanical zoom ring on the lens that also serves as an on/off switch. Pick up the camera, give the zoom a twist and it's ready to go. No waiting around for the camera to start up and no fiddling with zoom buttons.
The camera has a bewildering array of modes and options, including aperture priority, shutter priority and manual metering modes. I usually leave it on the Programmed mode setting, which works well most of the time. There are a bunch of other advanced modes I haven't had much chance to experiment with, although they seem quite useful. Although the lens zoom range is only 4X, the camera has a digital zoom that doubles that to 8X with essentially no loss of quality. I programmed the custom function button to toggle the digital zoom, making it very easy to use.
My biggest complaint about the camera is the limited functionality of the viewfinder. It is a simple optical viewfinder with no other information. Some of the more expensive cameras in Fuji's X series have electronic viewfinders, but they're more expensive than the X10 and lack its compactness. I also understand there's a known bug with early versions of the camera which causes bright points of light to be rendered as "orbs". I haven't seen this problem myself, but I intend to send mine in to get the sensor upgraded, which fixes the problem.
Internet price for the X10 is around 500 bucks delivered.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Oil Bath Air Filters - by Chris Pratt. Some of us grew up thinking that an air filter was a paper thing that allowed air to pass while trapping dirt particles of a particles of a certain size. What a surprise to open up your first old tractor's air filter case and find a can that appears to be filled with the scrap metal swept from around a machine shop metal lathe. To top that off, you have a cup with oil in it ("why would you want to lubricate your carburetor?"). On closer examination (and some reading in a AC D-14 service manual), I found out that this is a pretty ingenious method of cleaning the air in the tractor's intake tract.
... [Read Article]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
