Woohoo!
My X10 arrived today! New camera equipment is always fun; it's amazing how quickly you go back to just snapping pictures of anything and everything.
There was a post toward the bottom of the last page (50 ppp, yeah, I know) that was curious about going with the X10 or RX100. Let me start by saying I think the Sony P&S looks absolutely phenomenal. It's getting rave reviews just about everywhere, takes incredible pictures, and is one of those products that proves Sony still has it in them when they try. And with all that said, it really is exactly what others might think I was looking for - an extremely portable camera with professional-grade build and specs for quality photography. But the thing is, it just wasn't what the gadget-guy in me wanted. It's too simple. Too plain. Too "gift for grandma" for me. Should one be concerned with what a camera looks like? Probably not. But I kinda like something with a little more "serious" look to it. And the X10 has just that. Furthermore, I imagine it fits much better in my large hands than the RX100 would have.
Anyhoo... first impressions on my new toy: Build quality is absolutely fantastic. Like... really, really nice. It has a lot of heft, and is sturdy from top-to-bottom and side-to-side. The barrel turns smoothly and accurately. The screen is nice and clear. The buttons click with a definite and assuring tactile feedback. Everything just feels high-dollar. And while yeah, it's an expensive P&S, I wouldn't have been surprised by more plastic. So the magnesium-throughout build is very welcome and extremely nice.
Manual controls seem through; but to be honest, I'm still struggling quite a bit wrapping my brain around everything. Granted, I've only messed with it for about two hours, if that. Tomorrow I'll be on a plane for a few hours, and so I plan to read the manual (gasp). That said, there are lots of buttons, wheels, and clicky doo-dads; which makes me confident I'll be able to get everything to my liking, and settings ready for quick change.
AF seems solid; but I haven't had any moving targets in my home, so I can't speak too much on that.
I've always found myself very susceptible to noticing noise with even mildly high ISOs. For the praise this gets about ISO performance, I once again find myself a bit disappointed. I don't see myself ever going above 800. And I'd prefer to have all my shots at 200; but that's not realistic. Guess I'll have to deal with it.
Colors really are swell. Lots of pop. There's a strange softness to some pics, though, compared to the hard, rigid sharpness to others. Can't quite put my finger on it; but I can't help but think that's just a setting I've got messed up, or an error on my end. In any case, photographs look spectacular.
Burst fire is surprisingly solid and quick with my 95/mbps Sandisk Card.
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Anyhoo, can't wait to shoot with it over the next week or so. I think this will be a perfect compliment to a full-sized DSLR kit (rather than a substitution like I was thinking with the OM-D). We'll see how I feel in a week, though. Things can quickly change.
Here are just a few VERY quick pictures from the night in my house. Nothing that I spent more than a few seconds on just goofing around. And just a quick run through cheapo-Picasa before uploading.
(Macro mode. The AF is a bit finicky; but the results are pretty impressive considering the type of camera. Focus point is on the square button in this pic.)