The FinePix F30 is yet
another elegant camera from Fujifilm. Very compact and entirely
metal-clad, while small the F30 has a solid feel and a noticeable
weight that immediately speaks of quality construction.
With a 6.3 megapixel resolution
and a 3X optical zoom, the FinePix F30 stands out from other
recent Fujifilm cameras by its large 230,000 pixels, 2.5-inch
LCD monitor which completely replaces an optical viewfinder
and provides 100% coverage of what is being photographed.
Starting on the right, the top
of the F30 supports 3 controls:
The 2-stageShutter Release, which provides focus and auto exposure
lock when pressed and held at the halfway point;
The Mode Dial, which has six positions (see
below);
The Power Switch which is recessed into the surface
so as to prevent the camera from being accidentally activated.
The Mode Dial's six positions are all accesses to shooting modes:
Auto is the point and
shoot mode of the F30, allowing the camera to make all
photographic decisions, with the exception of the image
quality and colour mode.
The Manual mode of
the F30 is what is usually called a Program mode. The
camera sets the aperture and shutter speed, however a
number of other settings — sensitivity, metering
pattern, white balance, auto focus mode, continuous mode,
and exposure compensation — can be manually set.
Serves to use either the
Aperture Priority mode or the Shutter Priority
mode, as selected in the menu.
The Aperture Priority makes it possible to
select specific apertures, and in turn control the depth
of field visible in the image. The mode provides apertures
in 1/3 EV increments, starting at f2.8 through f8 when
the zoom is at the wide angle end, and f5 through f8
at the telephoto end.
The Shutter Priority mode offers control over
the shutter speed, which makes it possible to freeze
movement or give an impression of movement by allowing
some blurring to occur. A range of 3 seconds to 1/1000
second is available to the user while the camera tries
to match the selection to an aperture.
Indicates the access to
the Natural Light mode, and 15 Scene Programs,
the selection being made in the Menu:
Natural Light
allows capturing images without flash, even when
the ambient light is low. The camera uses its
AF assistance light to focus, and the camera's
sensitivity can increase up to 3200 ISO if necessary.
Natural Light
with Flash captures two photos consecutively,
the first using the Natural Light mode, without
the flash, and the second with the flash.
Portrait softens
sharpness, and optimizes skin tones.
Landscape
increases sharpness, and turns off the flash.
Sport prioritizes
a high shutter speed so as to freeze action. Flash
and sensitivity are automatically adjusted.
Night allows
the camera to capture exposures up to 3 seconds
long. The flash remains useable (Slow Synch with
Red-eye Reduction) making it possible to photograph
someone standing in front of night scenery.
Long Exposure
mode is an extension of the Night mode,
and offers an extension of the exposure time to
15 seconds, once enabled in the menu.
Fireworks has
a shutter speed range, automatically set by the
camera, of 1/2 second to 4 seconds. A tripod must
be used to avoid camera shake.
Sunset makes
the sunset colours more vivid by warming colours.
Snow takes into
account the effect of white and reflective snow
on the metering by applying exposure compensation
automatically so that snow is captured as white
and not grey.
Beach uses the
same principle as Snow, applying exposure compensation
automatically to take into account the reflective
nature of water, and its effect on the metering.
Underwater is
designed to compensate for the colour shift caused
by the use of a waterproof case.
Museum is for
use in places where the flash cannot be used, and
where the camera should be silent. The flash and
sounds are both forced off, and sensitivity is controlled
by the camera.
Party is for
shooting indoors, with the flash set to red-eye
reduction and a relatively low shutter speed to
capture the rest of the scene. Sensitivity is automatically
increased.
Flower is
to capture close-ups with the flash forced off.
In this mode the camera has a focus range of 5cm
to 2m (2 inches to 6.6 ft) when the zoom lens
is at the widest angle, and 30cm to 2m (1 to 6.6
ft) at the telephoto end.
Text is to capture,
in black and white, of printed or handwritten text.
Anti-Blur is a mode
that automatically increases ISO sensitivity, up to 3200
ISO, to prevent camera shake. The flash remains useable.
Movie serves to
capture video clips with sound at either 640 x 480
or 320 x 240 pixels and at 30 frames per second,
and limited only by the capacity of the memory card
in use. The zoom position is set and locked at the first
frame, but the exposure and white balance are adjusted
continuously as the recording progresses.
The FinePix F30's zoom is controlled
by a rocker switch located at the top of the camera's back,
on the right side. Moreover, it also serves to zoom in and
out of images in playback, allowing a magnification of up
4.5X (4.7X with 3:2 format images).
A small LED, embedded near the raised edge of the monitor
glows orange when the flash is charging and solid green when
the F30 has auto focused, blinking green as the image is saved.
Two buttons are next, positioned
side by side, directly below the thumb rest made of two rows
of grey plastic beads:
The button on the left starts
the Playback mode. The same button can be used,
when pressed for more than 1 second, to starts the FinePix
F30 directly in the Playback mode, avoiding having the
lens deploy.
The
button calls up one menu when the camera is set to a
shooting mode, and another when the F30 is set to the
playback mode.
Set to a capture mode the button displays the
Photo Mode menu, which contains options to set
the image size and quality, the CCD sensitivity, and
set the image colour. While when the Movie mode
is in use, the button only serves to adjust frame size.
(See the Characteristics section of the review
for more information on the Photo mode menu).
With the F30 set to the playback mode, the button
displays a two-line menu that offers options to start
a slide show, or select images for printing (DPOF).
The slide show function displays the images in memory,
and offers a choice on-screen time or a fade effect
between images, or even the possibility of displaying
more than one image at a time on the screen. DPOF offers
a choice of whether or not the date should be superimposed
on images to be printed, and the number of prints to
make of each image. The F30 is compatible with PictBridge
as well, and when connected directly to a similarly
compatible printer, images can be printed directly.
The 4-direction control that serves to navigate menus and
review images is next. At its centre is a small round button,
MENU/OK, that brings the menu to the screen and which
also serves to confirm settings (see the characteristics
section of the review for details about the F30's menus).
Each of the four directions of the 4-direction control also
support a function while the camera is in the capture modes,
while the up direction also offers a function when
the F30 is set to the Playback mode:
With the F30 in a capture
mode, the up direction allows changing the brightness
of the monitor momentarily when the ambient light is
so bright that it becomes difficult to see. The monitor
returns to its normal brightness after the shot is captured.
In Playback, the
button can be used to delete images.
The left direction
selects the Macro Mode which allows the camera
to focus on a subject that is between 5 and 80 cm (2 inches
to 2.6 feet) from the front element of the lens at the
wide angle position, and from 30 to 80 cm (1 to 2.6 ft.)
at the full telephoto setting.
The down direction
controls the Self-timer which has 2 possible delays:
10 seconds when pressed once, and 2 seconds when pressed
twice. When the Self-timer is active, a red LED located
below the flash blinks while the camera counts down the
delay.
The right direction
serves to select the Flash Modes: Auto, Auto with
Red-eye Reduction, Forced On (fill-in), Suppressed Flash,
Slow Synchro and Slow Synchro with Red-eye Reduction.
Two more buttons complete the
external controls of the FinePix F30. The first on the right
is for:
Exposure Compensation
in increments of 1/3 EV over a range of ±2 EV.
In addition the button serves to select changing the
aperture or shutter speed when the F30 is set to Aperture
Priority or Shutter Priority, the actual setting being
done using the right and left directions of the 4-direction
control.
The button on the left,
serves to Back out of a menu screen without making
changes, and to control the presentation of information
on the monitor, DISP, cycling through 4 modes
when the camera is in capture mode and in all cases
the aperture and shutter speed are indicated continuously:
A mode that shows camera settings superimposed
on the periphery of the monitor's image: shooting
mode, flash mode, metering mode, image quality setting,
the number of shots remaining, ISO setting, battery
state, and the AF brackets are superimposed at the
centre of the frame.
A mode that displays no information but retains
the AF brackets.
A mode that displays all the basic camera settings,
and which adds a composition grid to the display.
A mode called "Post Shot Assist Window"
which presents the live view of the screen in a window
on the right, including the AF brackets, and the last
3 shots captured, shown as thumbnails, stacked on
the left.
Similarly, when the camera
is set to the Playback mode, 4 display modes
are available:
A mode that shows the file name, the battery state,
the image size/quality, the ISO setting, the exposure
compensation setting if any, the white balance setting
and the time and date, superimposed on the image.
A mode that removes all superimposed information
from the image.
A mode that shows 9 thumbnails per screen, with
the currently selected image appearing slightly enlarged.
A mode that displays 12 thumbnails per screen, again
with the current shot slightly enlarged, while the
capture dates are displayed on the left side of the
monitor.
Unlike other compact cameras
that have only an LCD monitor and no optical viewfinder, the
Fujifilm FinePix F30 has the advantage of having an effective
system to increase the brightness of the monitor at the push
of a button, making it useable even when the outdoor light
is strong. In addition, the monitor is sharp, and sufficiently
large that it can show a reasonable level of detail.
Ergonomics
button calls up one menu when the camera is set to a
shooting mode, and another when the F30 is set to the
playback mode. 
