I have used the
Fuji FinePix F10 a year ago and liked it. Now, I decided to try its replacement: the Fuji FinePix F30. Well, the F30 is not only a replacement, it also adds manual control (including aperture and priority modes). In this sense, the F30 is a replacement for the F11, which was an even more expensive camera than the F10. I bought the F30 for $265.
The F10 got the EISA 2005-2006 Award "Best European Pocket Camera"; is the F30 a good improvement?
What Is Fuji FinePix F30? The Fuji FinePix F30 is a 6.3-Megapixel 1/1.7-inch 6th Generation SuperCCD compact stylish digital camera with a 3x optical zoom (36-108 mm equivalent f/2.8-f/8.0 at wide angle, f/5.0-f/8.0 at telephoto in 1/3EV increments), a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, powered by a compact rechargeable Li-Ion battery that lasts, according to Fuji, for 580 shots.
The camera features ISO range of ISO 100-3200, 4-1/2,000 sec shutter speed. The camera stores pictures on xD-Picture memory cards and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers. It includes manual controls, including Shutter and Aperture Priority modes.
Select Specifications - 6.3-Megapixel 6th generation Super CCD-HR sensor
- Real Photo Technology with new RP Processor II
- Sensitivity (ISO): Auto and manual 100-3200
- 3x optical zoom (36-108 mm equivalent) plus 6.2x digital zoom. Combined 18.6x zoom
- Maximum Aperture: F/2.8 (wide) - f/5.0 (telephoto)
- Extra large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels, low-light gain-up, 100% coverage
- Focusing: center point AF, multi-point AF, continuous AF
- Light Metering: 256-zone TTL, Multi, Average, Spot
- Color Modes: Standard, Chrome (vivid), B&W
- Shutter Speed: 4-1/2,000 sec
- Movie mode:640x480 at 30 fps or 320x240 at 30 fps
- Continuous Shooting Frame Rate: 2.2 frames per second up to 3 frames
- Dimensions: 3.6 (W) x 2.2 (H) x 1.1 (D) in.
Getting Started The camera comes with a compact proprietary rechargeable Li-Ion battery. After I charged it, I was ready to see how the F30 improved upon the F10/F11. The camera uses a higher-capacity battery comparing to its cheaper sibling, the F20, which has no manual controls and shorter battery life.
The F30 is made from plastic and metal and looks stylish. It has a lens that is flush with the camera body when retracted and the metal lens lid (two halves) covers it. There is a rather large focus assist light on the front panel as well as the small flash window. The top deck has a power on/off button, a mode switch and a shutter release button.
The bottom of the F30 has a tripod mount and the battery/memory card compartment lid. The rear houses a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, zoom control, a metal disc for menu control and other functions with a
MENU/OK button in the middle as well as four other buttons: antishake button,
playback/review,
F and
DISP/BACK.
Connectivity The camera features A/V connectivity (PAL/NTSC) as well as USB 2.0 High Speed. The camera uses xD-picture memory card and has 10 MB of built-in memory, which only fits 3 6.3MP Fine pictures or 7 6.3MP Normal pictures or 3:2 pictures. Plan on getting an xD card (fortunately they are no longer as expensive as they used to be). At least you can use the camera s built-in memory to see if the camera works and how well it does.
Usage The camera has a retractable lens that extends and has a lens cover that opens when the camera is powered on. When the camera is powered off, the lens retracts and the lens cover closes. Both happen in under 2 seconds.
The F30 is sturdy and features good build quality. The controls are within easy reach. The menu system is not very simple to use, but it has descriptions for the icons and I could use the camera and all of its features without reading the manual.
Although it shows you descriptions of the currently selected icon, it still takes a while to get used to some icons. It also takes some time to get to the item you need. Also, the camera seems to be designed to suit two groups of users: novices and advanced (aperture and shutter priority). The menus for both groups could be better integrated together (Fuji could have looked at Canon or Panasonic menus as a good example).
The camera is impressive in its low light capabilities, to eplotre which you will want to adjust the ISO. There is no dedicated ISO button, but the camera has the
F button on the back camera panel. This button is used to adjust ISO (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200), resolution (6M - 640x480) and color modes (Standard, Chrome (higher contrast and saturation) and B&W). A dedicated ISO button would be more useful.
The F30 is unique (in its size class) in a couple of areas. Firs of all, it lets you use sensitivity settings up to ISO 3200 and produces printable photos doing so with noise at ISO 800 lower than the noise other compact cameras produce at ISO 400. And, unlike many compact cameras that use a two-step aperture control (Canon SD600, and SD700 IS come to mind), the F30 uses a real adjustable aperture that goes down to f/8.0. Combined with shutter speed of 4-1/2,000 sec, the wide aperture and ISO range provides a very wide range of usable exposures. In a non-geek speak, the camera will let you take sharp photos in low light with no flash.
The camera can be used in full auto mode, scene modes or manual modes, including Aperture and Shutter Priority. In auto mode, the camera can be used by anyone who can point and shoot. The preprogrammed scene modes and the A/S modes give you more control.
The camera comes pre-set to Auto mode. You do not have to do anything other than
point and shoot - the camera takes care of the rest. You press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus and the camera shows you (on the LCD screen) where it focused by displaying green square brackets. Then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.
The camera has no dedicated review mode on the mode selector, but you activate it using a button on the back of the camera. I like this idea. The camera switches from shooting to review and back very fast.
You can also select Macro mode at a push of a button. You can also quickly change the flash mode, LCD brightness or engage timer at a push of a button as well (they are all clearly marked).
LCD and Viewfinder The camera has no viewfinder, but it has a large 2.5-inch LCD monitor that "gains-up" in the darker environments and has adjustable brightness with one-push brightness increase when needed. It works well overall, even in darkness, but could have higher resolution. The coverage is about 100%. The resolution at 230,000 pixels is rather high (the previous model had much lower LCD resolution).
Performance The camera is very fast in operation. Startup or shutdown take less than 2 seconds each. Focusing takes much less than a second in bright light and still under a second in dim light (with or without focus assist light engaged).
The shutter lag, when pre-focused, is non-existent. The camera can take pictures at intervals of about 1.5 seconds until the memory card is full in single-frame mode. It can take 3 photos at 2.2-2.4 frames per second in continuous mode.
The flash recycle time is about 6-7 seconds. The zooming is rather fast too. You can fully zoom in or out in about 2 seconds. Overall, the camera is very fast, especially at startup, focusing and shutter lag. And the battery lasts long too.
Battery The camera is rated at being able to deliver 580 shots on one battery charge. I have taken about 220 photos and the battery is still going strong. I definitely expect to be able to get more than 500 shots per charge.
Computer Connectivity The camera uses USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the xD memory card and use a memory card reader (if you have one). The file transfer using the camera USB port is very fast at about 4,500 KB/s. I do not use the software that was provided with the camera since I have Adobe Photoshop CS2.
Flash The camera unfortunately slightly underexposes pictures at medium to long ranges taken with flash and the exposure compensation does not help much. This is similar to the previous model. No big deal though, with the ISO range it provides you can take photos with no flash easily.
Image Quality The camera produces well-exposed, sharp, contrasty photos. The standard mode features true-to-life colors, whereas the Chrome mode produces more saturation and contrast (e.g. for landscape pictures).
The camera produces good shadow detail and has a good dynamic range. The white balance is generally on the warm side. The skin colors are slightly warm, but pleasing. The automatic white balance makes the incandescent lighting too warm (select incandescent white balance to make it cooler).
The photos taken with the F30 are sharp from corner to corner with only the very edges of the frame being slightly softer than the center. There is some chromatic aberration (purple fringing) visible, but it is not bothersome.
The image noise is virtually absent at ISO 100-200. It appears (slightly) at the ISO 400 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 800 and gets worse thereafter. The camera has ISO 100-200 that can be used at prints up to 13x19 and ISO 1600-3200 prints will be OK at 5x7 or 6x4. This is amazing, considering that most compact digital cameras produce so much noise at ISO 400, you can only print 5x7 at best. And some cameras do not even allow you to select ISO higher than 400.
The ISO 800 of the F30 is better than most other advanced compact cameras at ISO 400. The ISO 800 is easily usable at 8x10 print size.
If you are printing 6x4 pictures, the noise should not be visible at all, even at ISO 3200 and will only be slightly visible at ISO 800 with larger prints. Even wall-mountable 13x19-inch prints (or sharp 10x8) are feasible at ISO 400. Amazing!
What it means for an average user? Sharp photos in low light with no flash, sharper photos while shooting moving objects and lack of noise in large prints. I wish I have taken this camera on a recent trip to LA zoo instead of my image-stabilized Panasonic. Image stabilization helps with hand shake in low light or at telephoto, but does not help with rapidly moving animals (e.g. silly-looking Coati). This Fuji would definitely do the trick.
Pros Low price per ISO, blazing fast operation, large LCD, very low noise, usable ISO 400-3200, very long-lasting battery, real aperture, sharp optics.
Cons Multiple cables, slight flash underexposure, semi-expensive proprietary xD cards, no superwide angle.
Bottom Line I highly recommend Fuji FinePix F30 if you want a compact, cool yet capable camera with 6.3-megapixel resolution, large 2.5 LCD screen, very fast operation and high sensitivity with low noise.
It can produce excellent photos with print sizes of up 13x19 inches and has usable ISO 400-3200 range. It is extremely fast, capable and its battery lasts for over 500 photos. If it had superwide angle optics and more polished menu system, it would have been pretty much perfect! 
