CNET reviews Fujifilm’s new FinePix F30 that has been out since last month.
The good: Produces usable shots, without digital noise, even at high ISO 1,600 and ISO 3,200 sensitivity levels; aperture- and shutter-priority modes; versatile 2.5-inch LCD.
The bad: Noticeable fringing in photos; lens could be wider.
The bottom line: Low-light shooters will love that the Fujifilm FinePix F30’s screen actually lets you see through the darkness and that its high ISOs produce usable photos with acceptable levels of noise.
Fujifilm is targeting the F30 at people who shoots frequently under low-lighting conditions. In other words, young people with exciting night lives! Unfortunately, the camera does not feature image stabilization technology that has been becoming the norm.
Is the lack of image stabilization the deal-breaker?
Not at all. From the looks of the sample images here, the F30 is capable of suppressing the noise quite well at ISO 1,600 and 3,200. Truly a feat for a point-and-shoot compact camera.
High ISO settings should never be compared side-by-side to the image stabilization found in other cameras; they are simply different beasts. A high ISO setting allows you to select a higher shutter speed in low-lighting conditions, allowing you to “freeze” actions although it introduces noise to the image. Whereas image stabilization allows you to shoot at low shutter speeds in low light without creating blur caused by hand-shakes. Because of the low shutter speed, you won’t be able to freeze fast actions. But its advantage is that it does not introduce noise.
To have both technologies would be the best of both worlds, which is currently only possible with SLR/DSLR cameras.
Overall, the FinePix F30 is a great camera to own with its reasonable $400 price tag.
Some other features:
- 6-megapixels
- 36-108mm (35mm equiv, 3x zoom)
- Aperture: F2.8-5.0
- Movie recording at 640×480 30fps
- Utilizes xD memory cards
- 92.7 x 56.7 x 27.8mm (3.6 x 2.2 x 1.1-inch)
- 155g
Fujifilm Official Press Release
After almost a decade of obsession with pixel counts, Fujifilm is proud to announce the launch of the FinePix F30 Zoom, a camera which confirms a new stage in the evolution of digital camera technology. Breaking away from the tired and irrelevant practice of pixel counting, the FinePix F30 Zoom is the world’s first digital compact camera to deliver ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution. Fujifilm has identified sensitivity as one of the major photographic benchmarks for the digital age, and this camera makes it possible to capture images of unrivalled quality, even in very dark conditions.
Building on the success of the award-winning FinePix F10 Zoom, the FinePix F30 Zoom pulls away from the pack with a sensitivity setting that is eight times as effective in low light as a conventional compact with ISO 400. The product of many years of accumulated expertise in sensor technology, this is the closest that any digital compact camera has come to approximating the remarkable sensitivity of the human eye. In practical terms, it is a breakthrough in delivering crisp images, even at night-time, or with fast-moving subjects.
Beneath its sleek exterior, the FinePix F30 Zoom boasts powerful technology that puts simple ‘style’ compacts to shame, with newly developed sixth generation Super CCD and Fujifilm’s groundbreaking Real Photo Processor II. Users are able to produce sharp images with minimal noise, no subject blurring and atmospheric lighting in dark conditions. While traditional film is no longer top of the agenda for some photographers, it is good to see that Fujifilm is maintaining the same forward-thinking attitude to its digital photographic quality.
The FinePix F30 Zoom showcases a new ‘intelligent flash’ system which uses the camera’s exceptional sensitivity to combine natural foreground illumination with balanced exposure in the background. Avoiding both the messy background blur of ‘slow-sync’ flash, and the stark contrast of conventional flash, this will bring your after-hours photography to life.
Thanks to its 500-shot battery life, the FinePix F30 is an indispensable compact for when photographers are out and about, with enough power to make sure you never miss out on capturing the action. The camera also uses xD-Picture Cards â„¢ which provide large storage capacity, fast write speeds and lower power consumption, further enhancing speed and efficiency for users.
The camera’s 2.5-inch LCD screen is coated with Fujifilm’s proprietary CV film, minimizing glare and reflections for enhanced ease of viewing. In addition, the FinePix F30 Zoom has 15 new scene positions from underwater, beach and snow, to sunset, party and fireworks. These make it easier than ever for users to experiment with photography in a range of lighting conditions.
FinePix F30 Zoom features at a glance
* 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 500 shots)
* VGA movie capture of 30 frames per second with sound
* PictBridge â„¢ compatible for direct printing without a PC
* Quick response times (0.01 second shutter lag and 1.4 second start-up)Adrian Clarke, Fujifilm’s Director of Photo Products, said, “The FinePix F30 Zoom is quite simply a landmark digital camera. In the past, compacts could only really achieve good image quality in ideal light conditions – however the F30 Zoom is in its element in all light conditions. On top of that, our Real Photo Technology gives the camera the image quality that people associate with Fujifilm, as well as brisk performance, all wrapped in a design that is possibly our best yet.â€
Availability & pricing
The FinePix F30 Zoom will be available from UK retailers in May 2006. Pricing and stockists will be announced nearer to the date of retail launch.
Leave a Reply