DPReview: X-T1 - Loose rubber and bowed door cover

DPReview forum member, sinistral, owns an early Fujifilm X-T1, that like mine, and the cameras of many other early adopters, suffers a bowed interface door. Fujifilm charged sinistral 120$ USD plus parts and shipping, to fix it. 

“I wrote to Fuji about my issue and they suggested sending in the camera, which I did. Spoke with them yesterday and they have concluded that the camera “may have been subjected to high temperatures”, which is the reason for the peeling rubber. And so, it is not covered under warranty.

I voiced my disappointment and said that since being in my possession (purchased new in March) it has not been subject to temperatures beyond walking around on a summer day taking photos (in eastern Canada, by the way, which is not exactly sweltering). The lady politely said that this was the technician’s conclusion and was taken up the chain and that’s their decision. No room for negotiation, take it or leave it.

They sent me the repair estimate ($120 base fee for all X-series camera service, $15-20 in materials, plus tax and shipping). I complained further in my email response to the estimate and they have since reduced the cost by 15%, which is a nice, but small, consideration.

I’m going ahead with the repair, as I need the camera back very soon, but am pretty miffed. I’ve been racking my brain to see if maybe I had left it in the car for a day during the summer or something, but I’m not coming up with anything where it would’ve been in there very long apart from longer drives where some kind of cooling would have been on.

I’m going to be extra mindful in the future and just hope that it doesn’t return. Their work is warrantied for a year, but we’ll see what that means, if anything, if the same thing comes back.”

The deformed interface door isn't a user-instigated default. It is a manufacturing/repair defect, and either appears a few months after use, or after official maintenance. It renders the camera bare to the elements, and to dust and other debris. Worse, it is of a part not worth 120$ plus shipping and parts. 

This is further evidence that mirrorless camera makers still misunderstand the needs of their customers. It is evidence that their cameras are made to lower quality spec. The flange around the interface door isn't even 2mm deep, and the door itself fits over, not into, a small crevice. It is a poor design that should never have made it to production.

The entire thread can be read here.

DPReview: Can't sell my X-E2- am I missing something?

DPReview forum reader, mp2011, is trying, and failing, to sell his X-E2. He purchased it for 1299$ USD in April of this year. He has been offered 350$ and 650$ by two different high-volume buy-your-gear places, and unable to attract interest at DPReview's used market.

The problem isn't that his eBay or Amazon, or DPReview records are bad. The problem isn't that the camera itself is bad. The problem is this:

1. Fujifilm's constant sales and rebates devalue their brand and products.
2. Non-luxury market mirrorless cameras and lenses cost too much.

The first is the most egregious. Fujifilm's grubbing for customers is a shyster tactic in an enthusiast market. Rebates and sales attract deal seekers, not faithful, long-term customers. People expect rebates, expect their products to lose value at a rapid pace.

Traditionally, cameras have held value well. My D200 sold a few months ago for 250$. It was nearly 8 years old and terribly abused. It was purchased by a buy-your-gear place, so I assume they felt they could squeeze a bit of profit out of it down the line. My D800, an older camera than the X-E2, sold for 90% of the price I purchased it for.

Not that it is a perfect camera, or that Nikon are a better company. But as a brand, their key products (of which the D800 is as much key to Nikon as the X-E2 is to Fujifilm) still hold value. Users such as mp2011 finding that their half-year old camera is worth half of what they paid is a problem that Fujifilm must address. 

Fujifilm X-T1p rumours false

Assuming this, too, isn't incorrect, Betteridge's law remains intact. Thank god, a p version of the X-T1, released to address issues/update months-old hardware, was an awful idea, even in rumour pulp. 

b-boy footage care of Sony A7s

Excellent b-boy footage taken with a pre-production Sony A7s. 

Via Sony Alpha Rumors

This is so unlike Leica

Perhaps Leica's American office is run to different standards.

“There’s a hole in the bottom of our camera! That’s OK though, it’s meant to be there. The bottom edge of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery serves as the compartment cover. Or at least it would, if we had one.

Sadly, while Leica’s PR representatives sent us the camera, two lenses, a mount adapter, EVF, several satin pouches and a battery charger, they forgot to include a battery in the box.

There’s simply nothing for it - tune in later for a Leica T reboxing, as soon as we’ve found the pouch that had the USB cable in it...*”

Full Leica T unboxing at DPReview

FujiRumors: X-T1 with hardware upgrade coming soon?

The original FujiRumors article references two trusted sources, a sign that, in abject defiance of Betteridge's Law, X-T1b may be real. A smart, customer-oriented, brand-conscious company would establish hard release schedules, keep to them, and defy rumours. It would look to the future and build perfection. It wouldn't rely on prototypical designs that mould paying customers into beta testers.

But let's face it, Fujifilm is a Japanese camera manufacturer in a rudderless Japanese camera market. If true, this could be the first concrete example of Fujifilm pulling an Astell & Kern-esque market ejaculation.

DPReview: Custom made thumbrest for X-E1

DPReview reader, ChevChelios, took it upon himself to design and tool a clever thumbrest for his Fujifilm X-E1. 

“Modelled from wax directly on the camera surface.

Casted in CoCroMo (Prosthetics-steel) and finally Glasspearl-blasted.

Glued some “leather” from an old Minolta X-300 on it and mounted it via 2-comoponent glue to the Fuji.”

DPReview: Custom made thumbrest for X-E1