Fujifilm Finepix F30 Review, July 2006
Simon Joinson

The F10 was one of those rare cameras that set new standards; in this case for high sensitivity performance in a small sensor compact, thanks to its unique Super CCD sensor and processor. Nearly 18 months after its launch the F10 (and the slightly updated F11) still sets the standard, despite the majority of Fuji's big name competitors finally waking up to the fact that people actually use pocket cameras in low light as much as - if not more than - at any other time. The F10's replacement, the F30, ups the ante even further, offering an unprecedented ISO 3200 at full resolution, and answers some (though not all as we'll find later) of the concerns about the original model. Let's find out if the F30 is a worthy successor to the F10, and if Fuji can still claim to be the king of low light photography. We'll start as usual with the headline features;

• Real Photo Processor and new Super CCD HR VI
• ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution
• 6.3 million pixels
• 3.0x optical zoom
• Long-life battery (up to 580 shots)
• VGA movie capture of 30 frames per second with sound
• Quick response times
• Aperture & Shutter priority plus 15 new scene modes

Major changes / improvements over F10 / F11

Aside from a redesigned body the F30 adds several key enhancements first seen on the F11 (chiefly aperture and shutter priority modes), plus a few of its own. Of most interest are the new ISO 3200 top sensitivity, higher resolution screen and better battery life.

• Maximum ISO 3200 (was 1600)
• Higher resolution screen with newly developed anti-glare coating
• New battery and increased battery life
• On camera AV and DC-IN ports (no more terminal adaptor)
• Refined menu system
• Additional scene modes including Natural Light & Flash mode
• New intelligent flash system
• 10MB internal memory but no card supplied in box
• Aperture & Shutter Priority modes and better macro mode (all seen first on F11)

Fujifilm Finepix F30 vs F10 (feature & specification differences)

	Fuji F30	Fuji F10 / F11
Sensitivity	• Auto • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 • ISO 3200	• Auto • ISO 80 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600
Macro focus	5 cm	• F10: 7.5 cm • F11: 5 cm
Shutter speed	• 3 - 1/2000 sec • 3 - 15 sec avail in night mode	• 3 - 1/2000 sec • 3 - 15 sec avail in night mode
LCD monitor	• 2.5" TFT • 230,000 pixels • Anti glare / low reflection CV coating	• F10: 2.5" TFT, 115,000 pixels • F11: 2.5" TFT, 153,000 pixels
Shooting modes	• Auto • Program AE • Aperture Priority • Shutter Priority • Natural light • Natural light with flash • Portrait • Landscape • Sport • Night • Fireworks • Sunset • Snow • Beach • Underwater • Museum • Party • Flower close-up • Text	• Auto • Program AE • Aperture Priority * • Shutter Priority * • Natural light • Portrait • Landscape • Sports • Night Scene * F11 only
Continuous (burst) shooting	• 2.2 fps up to 3 frames (top 3 or final 3) • 0.6 fps limited only by card size (6MP N)	• 2.2 fps up to 3 frames (top 3 or final 3) • 0.9 fps up to 40 frames (6MP N)
Flash modes	Auto, Intelligent flash mode, Red-eye reduction, Forced flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow synchro, Red-eye reduction + Slow synchro	Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro., Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro
Battery	• Li-ion Battery Pack NP-95 • 1800mAh • AC adapter	• Li-ion Battery Pack NP-120 • 1950mAh • AC adapter
Battery life	580 shots (CIPA standard)	500 shots (CIPA standard)
Weight (inc batt)	195 g (6.9 oz)	200 g (7.1 oz)
Dimensions	92.7 x 56.7 x 27.8 mm (3.6 x 2.2 x 1.1 in)	92 x 58 x 27 mm (3.6 x 2.3 x 1.1 in)

Fuji FinePix F30 specifications

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

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