-
"Best compact camera in the World at this point in time..." on by benjikan
Pros: Small, Well Designed, High ISO 3200 capable, Fast Autofocus and Start Up Time.
Cons: No RAW and or Synchro function.
Summary: As a pro Fashion/Advertising and Beauty photographer for over twenty years, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most advanced photographic materials available. I wanted a small camera that I could carry in my pocket that could be used whenever I would take walks in Paris or perhaps for vacations. I use Canon products professionally and was sponsored by Canon France last year. I purchased the new Casio FZ600 after playing with it at the store. It was so compact and visually pleasing. Unfortunately after using it for one day, I returned it. The noise levels were just to high compared to what I was accustomed to using Canons Digital SLR's. I decided to purchase the Fuji Finepix F30. Although not nearly as good as digital large sensor camera's, the Fuji F30 is the first compact digital camera I have ever used with acceptable noise levels at 800 ISO. There are artefacts but nothing compared to other compacts competing in this very crowded field. Shooting at 100 ISO is incredible with only very slight noise showing if applying unsharpen mask in PS. You have to be very discerning in this area as sharpening has already been applied and you must use sparingly. I find that 0.3 to 0.4 pixels at around 100 percent is as strong as one can go. The auto focus is very fast compared to many compacts I have tried and especially appreciate the continuous focus mode. The screen is very bright and clear and can be boosted with just one press of a button. I also appreciate the fact that there is an aperture and shutter priority option. I tend to stay in that mode at all times. I would only wish that they provided a synchro flash input on the camera as well as the possibility of recording images in RAW. If that were the case I might be inclined to give the F30 a perfect score. One more point. The macro mode is marvellous. I was amazed at the quality and resolution that came off of this fine little camera.
-
"A Pro Shot in a Little Camera, must have for all" on by rsvirani
Pros: Extremely high ISO, Awesome CCD Sensor, Great Colors and overall exposure, best night time shots out of all non-pro cameras
Cons: No viewfinder, if you care
Summary: This camera is right for everyone. I take professional photographs with an SLR and this camera does the best job imitating those shots over any point & shoot I have ever used. A first time owner or a pro would own this.
-
"Excellent performing, well thought out little camera" on by Michael Leventhal
Pros: Excellent photos, even in dim light
Cons: Like all small cameras, uncomfortable for someone with large hands
Summary: Sorry CNet, but I don't see any meaningful purple fringing. With that said, let me begin.
I'm an SLR guy going back to the Nikons that are gathering dust in my closet. Over the last year or so, I switched to digital and currently use a Finepix S9000. If you don't drop the apeture below 5.6 and do some lab work, it does a very nice job. It doesn't risk getting dust on the sensor and takes beautiful movies to boot.
Concerning the F30, I was really reluctant to use one of these little cameras. I'm 6'2" with large hands and couldn't wrap my mind around using something so small as an "always take along" contraption.
Happily, I was wrong. Manual control over apeture and shutter speed works well, although I'm finding that the "action" and other settings usually preclude the need.
The large and very clear screen (set to a 60 per second refresh rate) is excellent. You can view your subject in almost total darkness.
Auto Focus is excellent and color rendition is impressive. When set to "fine" mode, the photos are razor sharp. As with any camera, there is noticable softening with the apeture wide open. That's why you'll love the high ISO capabilities.
You can do some very nice work right through ISO 1600. You can use the ISO 3200 mode, but for blow-ups, you should be prepared for creative lab work.
This is a very superior and responsive piece of technology. Fuji even gives you a decently thought out menuing system which from my observation, is a first for them.
My rating is a spectacular for this kind of camera. -
"Great camera, nice pictures, a few quirks but I can live with them. Can you?" on by kryth
Pros: Great picture quality, wow on battery life, superb low light performance, handy double shot (flash/noflash)
Cons: Auto modes select too high an ISO IMO, flimsy USB/power door
Summary: I've had a Canon A70 for a few years now and felt it was time to upgrade. I loved the colors on my A70, and even though it was 3.2 megapixels pictures printed nicely.
My choices were either a Canon SD600, SD630 or the Fuji F30. This was a hard choice. I opted for the Fuji because of all the reviews of low light performace. A good portion of the pictures I take are in dim light IE: restaurants, dinner parties, wedding receptions.
After reading and looking at samples, I found the Canons had slightly nicer colors, but that's a question of opinion and the Fuji had MUCH better pictures in low light. So I choose the Fuji F30.
Now that I have it, here's what I've found.
Yes hands down, the Fuji F30 performs wonders in low light (ie: dim restaurant). In extreme low light and no flash), well don't expect miracles it's not infrared after all. Although it may be unfair to compare to my A70, looking at the two just for ISO performance, I did notice a huge difference. Using the sample comparison of the Canon SD700IS samples vs the Fuji samples at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf30/page11.asp (since I don't have a SD700 IS) in ISO 80 and ISO 800, it's hard to beat the F30's low light performance.
The colors on the F30 are pretty good. In day light shots, I'd have to say there are some marginal differences between my old A70 Canon, the samples of a Canon SD630 and the F30, and mostly a question of preference. However unless you are really good at discerning color subtilities or have 2 pictures side by side, I doubt you could tell.
The Natural & Flash shooting mode on the Fuji is pretty nice. It shoots 2 pictures in a row, with out flash then with flash. This means you don't have to tell people to hold their smile while you turn off the flash for a 2nd shot.
The things I don't like:
The USB / power door & hinge feels fragile. You open the door by pulling it out and bending the rubber hinge to get to the ports. Honestly this could have been better, but I get the feeling it's like this to reduce the camera's size. It's a minor thing, so I can live with it.
The other thing I don't like so much is that the automatic point and shoot modes tend to bring up the ISO up in low light conditions. While this is not a bad idea to use higher ISO and less flash, in my opinion, I think it tends to select too high and ISO. For example I took an outdoor picture in an overcast sky, and it autoselected ISO 800. No reason to use 800, it would have been perfectly fine at 200 or even 400. This can be overcome using Manual mode which isn't really manual, but a mode that lets you change more settings (or leave them automatic/default). You can't manually focus for example. ISO settings can only be changed in Manual mode.
The LCD display is really nice. As per the spec, its higher resolution than the Canon SD630 and the Canon SD700, although the SD630 is 3".
I wish Fuji would use SD cards, they are less expensive and more universal, but alas the cost difference of 1 xD card won't break the bank.
Other than the small quirks, I think this was a great purchase and would highly recommend it for the quality features and picures that you will get.Updated
So you ask yourself Type H or Type M, will it make a difference in the Fuji F30.
I got a 1 GB type M xD from Sandisk (Fujifilm branded) and a 1 GB type H from Olympus.
My little non-professional speed test:
Copy of files from the camera via usb ant timed with a stop watch.
I get aproximately these values:
Type M: 1.76 megabytes per sec
Type H: 2.45 megabytes per sec
So the Type H is roughly 40% faster here.
Testing on the camera in continuous mode (Long periode) + high speed shooting, over 10 seconds with no flash:
Type M: 5 pictures
Type H: 6 pictures
Marginal difference but still, Type H is about 20% faster here.
So if you need to shoot lots of pics fast, I guess you can go with type H. Otherwise, for general use, I'd say there is no real difference, so buy which ever is cheapest. -
"Outstanding Camera!" on by ED68
Pros: The "Apple Computer" of cameras!
Cons: None so far
Summary: This camera has it all! It takes superb pictures for a camera this size! Rivals or nearly rivals my Canon 10D SLR for picture quality and is definitely less bulky to carry around. The battery life is superb since it is coupled with the new XD storage card technology. This camera is very smart, will adjust ISO settings to bring you the most natural looking pictures even with the flash activated. I thought I would never use automatic mode, coming from a SLR and photography background, but the auto mode is superb for general picture taking. Fits easily into a pocket and the video mode is outstanding as well! This is by far the best camera I have ever owned and I recommend it to anyone who wants to "break out of the mold" of the giants of Nikon and Canon. The operating system is intuitive and reminds me of an Apple Computer with its simplicity and superbly palatable user interface. Control of both shutter and aperture are a plus, as well as the low to no noise at higher ISO settings. Camera is also super fast in every respect; from turn on to picture to picture, this camera really screams! I moved from a Canon S400 to this and it is truly a leap ahead in technology. Look no further!
Sincerely,
Ed.
P.S. I do not work for FujiFilm but maybe I will buy some stock in it after buying this camera!
Write a Review
Compare to other s
Compare Selected
