Tuesday 28 April 2015

Fujifilm X30

Fujifilm X30

Its predecessors were top of the class in high-end fixed-lens compacts, but there's a bit more competition around now, so how does the X30 stack up?

While interchangeable-lens compacts - such as Panasonic's GM5, for example - have undoubted attractions, there's still something very appealing about the fixed-lens option. Perhaps it's because you don't have to make any choices about lenses. Perhaps it's because it eliminates any problems with dust on the sensor. Perhaps it's simply because it's actually quite fun to try and make one lens work for everything... and you'd be surprised how inventive you can get here.


Whatever, the high-end fixed-lens compact is more popular than ever, the market fuelled by excellent designs such as Panasonic's LX100, Nikon's P7800 and Sony's Cyber-shot RX100 Series. These cameras may be small, but they're hugely capable and they perform extremely well. Fujifilm has also greatly helped the cause with its brilliant X10 and X20 models, but the third-gen X30 is facing a bit of competition from the aforementioned so it's going to have to work a bit harder than its predecessors. But based on how Fujifilm has pushed all its X Series cameras along over the last few years, including the original X100, this shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

For starters, the X30 looks just as good as before with its distinctly RF-like styling and the retention of milled dials for setting the shooting modes and exposure compensation. There's also a hotshoe and. sticking with tradition, the chromed shutter release button has a cable-release socket. There's a small increase in both the size and weight, but in return for this you get a larger, tilt-adjustable monitor screen and a fully electronic viewfinder - both, of course, very much 21st century features. Both previous models had optical viewfinders and the X20's added an electronic overlay, but this didn't really work quite as well as the bigger and better hybrid finders in the X100 cameras, so Fujifilm has wisely decided to go all the way with the X30's EVF. And it's a good one too, being an OLED-type display with a resolution of 2.36 million dots. The display time lag is quoted at just 0.005 seconds. Coverage is now 100 percent (versus 85 percent with the X20's optical finder) and, of course, the EVF replicates all the LCD monitor's displays so it can be used for previewing capture settings such as the white balance or the 'Film Simulation' picture presets. However, the EVF's info displays automatically re-orientate when the camera is held vertically. Proximity sensors are built into the eyepiece, enabling automatic switching between the monitor screen and the EVF when the camera is held up to your eye. Alternatively, there's a button for manual switching.

MORE CONTROL


The monitor screen is a 7.2 cm LCD panel with a resolution of 921,600 pixels - both specs are improvements over the X20 - and it can be tilted up by a little over 90 degrees and down by 45 degrees. As with all the X Series cameras, it can be used to display the 'Quick Menu' control screen which provides direct access to a wide selection of capture-related functions.

Fujifilm hasn't gone as far as touch controls, but the 'Q.Menu' is still easily navigated via a four-way keypad and the main input wheel... a.k.a. the 'Command Dial'. As on the X100T, the 'Q.Menu' can be customised with the option of creating a total of eight banks of function tiles ('BASE' plus C1 to C7) with these banks created from a long list of capture-related settings and then also arranged in any desired order. As we noted with the X100T, the choice here is bewildering and it's unlikely you'll go beyond some minor modifications to suit personal preferences.

Like the previous two models, the X30 is switched on via the zooming collar on the lens, but it has an additional control ring which performs a variety of duties depending on the shooting mode or it can be set to a custom function. Essentially this is a front input wheel, but in a more user-friendly form. In the shutter-priority auto mode, for example, it adjusts the shutter speeds or, in the aperture-priority mode, the apertures (and both in the manual mode, switched by a nearby button). If manual focusing control is selected, it switches to focus adjustment (with the rear 'Command Dial' taking over the other setting duties) which is a very big improvement over how this was performed previously... especially as there are both a magnified image and focus peaking to assist you. Alternatively, this control ring can be set to adjust the ISO, white balance, the 'Film Simulation' presets or the drive mode. You can also vary its direction of rotation.

All these new features make a big difference to how the X30 operates compared to its predecessors, particularly in terms of making manual adjustments to exposure or focusing. Here Fujifilm has tried to make the X30 feel more 'classical' even though it doesn't have the shutter speed dial or aperture control ring of the X100 Series models. It works pretty well in practice and, of course, rotating a ring on the lens feels much more intuitive when it comes to manual focusing. Incidentally, another six controls are customisable, again selecting from a big selection of functions, so you'd have to be particularly hard to please if you can't find a set-up that doesn't work for you.

Fujifilm X30 black

LENS AND LIGHT


While Fujifilm has revised the X30's recipe, the key ingredients from the X20 are unchanged, including the 28-112mm equivalent zoom and the 'X-Trans CMOS IT sensor. The actual focal range is 7.1-28.4 mm with a maximum aperture range of f2.0-2.8. The minimum aperture is f 11 when the fastest shutter speed is 1/4000 second, but at the larger aperture, the maximum is 1/1000 second which means overexposure could potentially be a problem in very bright conditions. Unlike on the X100T, there isn't a built-in ND filter and you'll need to invest in the accessory hood and filter holder set in order to fit optical ones. Incidentally, there is a screwthread fitting on the lens and, after trying a couple of different sizes - too big for 39 mm, just fractionally too small for 40.5 mm - we worked out that it's 40 mm in diameter... so a small selection of third-party filters are available for direct fitting (alternatively, you could use a step-up ring to make it a more readily available fitting).

The lens incorporates an optical image stabiliser and is linked to the same 49-point hybrid contrast/phase-detection AF system as before. A small selector on the camera's front panel switches single-shot and continuous AF operation (as well as manual focusing) with the options of automatic or manual focus point selection. The former can be combined with auto tracking while, with the latter, there's a choice of five zone sizes to vary selectivity. The minimum focusing distance is 50 cm, reduced to ten centimetres in the macro mode and down to just one centimetre in the 'Super Macro' mode.

The exposure control capabilities are also largely the same as those on the X20, except that the compensation range is increased to +/-3.0 EV. There's the choice of multi-zone, centre-weighted average and spot metering modes and the standard set of 'PASM' control modes is supplemented by a selection of 14 subject/scene modes. These are accessed via the 'SP1' and 'SP2' positions on the main mode dial which you can leave 'parked' on your most frequently-used modes. Alternatively, automatic scene mode selection is performed when the mode dial is set to Advanced SR Auto' position. As on the X20, there's also an 'Advanced Auto' which still provides fully automatic control, but with more specialised applications, namely a multiple exposure facility and two settings called 'Pro Focus' and 'Pro Low Light'. These are also multi-frame capture modes; the first progressively softens the background over a sequence of three frames while the second captures four shots in rapid succession which are then merged to brighten the image without increasing noise. In each of these cases, there's a provision for saving the original, unprocessed image files. In a change from the X20, the special effects and panorama stitching functions now have their own positions on the main mode dial (rather than being in the Advanced Auto menu). The 13 Advanced Filter' effects include all the likely suspects such as Toy Camera, Miniature, Pop Colour, Soft Focus and a choice of Partial Colour settings. However, these are 'standalone' modes so everything is determined automatically by the camera and the only control you have is exposure compensation.

The built-in flash is neatly concealed in the camera's top panel until needed and, when popped up, provides TTL auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in and slow sync modes either separately or in various combinations. It also has a basic 'commander' mode for remotely triggering off-camera flash units provided they have a built-in photocell, but it doesn't actually provide wireless TTL exposure control.

As noted earlier, a hotshoe allows for more powerful flashes to be used on-camera and, if they're dedicated units, with TTL flash control.

WORKING THE PIXELS


As before, the 'X-Trans II' CMOS sensor has a sensitivity range equivalent to ISO 100 to 12,800 and the total pixel count is 12.3 million. In case you're unfamiliar with Fujifilm's sensor design, the 'X-Trans' devices employ a 6x6 colour filter array rather than the conventional 2x2 of the Bayer-type pattern, the idea being that this arrangement eliminates the need for an optical low-pass filter.

Of course, with an imaging area of 6.6x8.8 mm, this is a much smaller sensor than the 'APS-C' devices used in the other X Series cameras, but the filter design has the same benefits, including optimising the available resolution and enhancing colour reproduction.

The X30 has both JPEG and RAW capture, but the latter has some restrictions, namely a maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 3200 and the unavailability of both the special effects and the panorama mode. JPEGs can be captured in any one of four aspect ratios - 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 or 1:1 - with three image size settings in each and two compression levels (Fine and Normal). There's a single memory card slot for the SD format with support for UHS-I speed SDHC and SDXC types. There's a small built-in memory which is really only big enough for emergencies.

Like the X100T, the X30 has a new 'Film Simulation' preset called Classic Chrome which is designed to replicate the particular colour palette of the legendary Kodachrome, but obviously Fujifilm can't use this name. With Classic Chrome, the colours are still quite highly saturated, but are little more subtle and softer compared to those created by the Vivid/Velvia preset. The other 'Film Simulation' presets are called Standard/Provia, Soft/Astia, Pro Neg Standard, Pro Neg High, Monochrome, Sepia, Monochrome+Yellow, Monochrome+Red and Monochrome+Green. 'Film Simulation' bracketing allows for three images to be captured simultaneously in any choice of three different renditions which is particularly handy if you want both colour and B&W versions of a picture. Unlike many picture style presets, the 'Film Simulation' modes don't have individually adjustable parameters, and instead there are 'global' adjustments for varying the colour saturation, sharpness, highlight tone, shadow tone and the noise reduction processing level. Auto bracketing is also available for the exposure, sensitivity, white balance (new to the X30), and the dynamic range expansion settings. Each is performed over a sequence of three frames.

There still isn't a multi-shot HDR capture function, but dynamic range expansion processing can be set to automatic or one of three manual settings which -using Fujifilm's long-established terminology - are labelled 100%, 200% and 400%. These progressively counter excessive contrast by reducing the exposure to preserve the highlights, and tweaking the tone curve to brighten the shadows.

Continuous shooting is possible at up to an impressive 12 fps -albeit with the AF and AE locked to the first frame - and the maximum burst length has been extended to 18 frames which makes this speed a bit more useful than before. There's the choice of 9.0, 6.0 and 3.0 fps shooting speeds which also have increased burst lengths of 23, 46 and 100 frames respectively. There's also a 'Best Frame' continuous shooting mode which commences capture when the shutter button is depressed to the half-way position. The maximum number of shots in the sequence is eight, but you can specify the distribution of 'before' and 'after' frames. With RAW capture the fastest shooting speed is 9.0 fps.

In addition to whito balance bracketing, the other control options for colour balance are auto correction, a selection of seven presets, the provision for making one custom measurement, fine-tuning and manual colour temperature setting over a range of 2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin.

New to the feature set are an intervalometer for shooting time-lapse sequences of up to 999 frames, WiFi connectivity which allows for both wireless file transfer and remote camera control (via the Fujifilm Camera Remote app), direct printing to an Instax instant print device, and a stereo audio input (see the Making Movies panel for the rest of the X30's video capabilities).

Fujifilm X30 lcd

VIEWING PLEASURE


The live view display - as shown in both the monitor screen and the EVF - can be configured with a guide grid (either 3x3 or 4x6), a real-time histogram and a singleaxis level indicator. Additionally, a total of 13 status indicators and displays can be checked (or unchecked) in the 'Display Custom Settings' menu. There's also the option of an 'Info Display' which switches off the live view feed to the monitor screen and shows only status indicators, including a grid of focus points and a real-time histogram. This is handy if you're primarily using the viewfinder.

The menu design is the same as that employed across the X Series cameras so it comprises three sections for Shooting, Set Up and Playback (although the latter are only displayed when the camera is actually in playback mode). Each section is divided into pages which can be directly accessed by selecting a tab or by simply scrolling through them. Progressive right clicks access the sub-menus and settings while the 'OK' button in the centre of the four-way keypad serves as the 'enter' key.

The playback screens include a thumbnail with a brightness histogram and a focus point indication plus a new arrangement of the key capture settings which essentially replicates the 'Q.Menu' layout. The playback modes include zooming or thumbnail pages of either nine or 100 images, and a slide show with a fader effect. Both these functions are now performed via the new control collar on the lens so you can seamlessly move from the maximum magnification through to the 100-shot thumbnail page.

There's a basic set of image editing functions (namely, crop, resize, rotate and red-eye removal), but there are provisions for searching via a number of criteria and in-camera RAW-to-JPEG conversion with a choice of 12 processing parameters, including dynamic range, 'Film Simulation' mode, white balance, white balance shift, sharpness, noise reduction, highlight/shadow tone adjustment, colour space and colour saturation.

SPEED AND PERFORMANCE


Loaded with our reference memory card - Lexar's Professional 600x 64GB SDXC UHS-I speed device - the X30 captured a burst of 18 JPEG/ large/fine frames in 1.470 seconds which represents an impressive continuous shooting speed of 12.24 fps. Of course, it is all over in the blink of an eye, but impressive nonetheless. For the record, the test file sizes were around 6.6 MB on average.

The hybrid AF system is very fast and accurate, but should you opt to focus manually the new control ring makes a huge difference to just how quickly you can work. Although it's a fly-by-wire control, it's speed-sensitive, so you can rapidly transition from coarse adjustments to fine-tuning. The focus peaking display is also very helpful here and you can choose from white, red or blue highlighting at either high or low intensity. Both the multi-zone metering and the white balance are also very reliable.

Like its predecessor, the X30 punches above its weight in terms of its sensor size, again assisted by the performance enhancements delivered by the 'X-Trans 1Г filter array. The best-quality JPEGs look more like the product of a Four Thirds or 'APS-C' sensor in terms of the crisply-defined detailing, excellent colour fidelity across the spectrum and the smoothness of the tonal gradations. Noise levels are negligible up to ISO 800 and still acceptably low at ISO 1600 and even at 3200, although detailing is starting to become blurred. The dynamic range is pretty good straight out of the camera, but can be improved - particularly in terms of the brighter highlights - by applying some expansion processing.

As always, Fujifilm's 'Film Simulation' presets - which are very carefully tuned to balance real colour and 'imagined' colour -deliver very different-looking results, just as the classic Fujichromes did. While the new Classic Chrome preset is interesting (have a look at our comparison shots), theVelvia/ Vivid is hard to beat for sheer visual impact... especially if you were once a fan of the original ISO 50 speed transparency film.

Fujifilm X30 upside

MAKING MOVIES


While Panasonic has done a lot to make the Lumix LX100 very appealing as a video camera -including giving it a 4K capability - it's still debatable whether a fixed-lens compact would be purchased specifically for this application, except perhaps for shooting in extreme situations. Fujifilm seems to think the same way so while the X30 has increased video functionality compared to the X20, you still get the impression that this is primarily a camera for still photography.

Essentially, the updates are the same as those now available on the X100T so, at the Full HD, the PAL standard frame rates of 50 and 25 fps are now available with progressive scan, along with the 'cinematic' speed of 24 fps. As before, you can still record at the NTSC speeds of 60 or 30 fps. Clips are recorded in the MOV format using MPEG 4 AVC/H .264 compression.

Apertures, shutter speeds and exposure compensation can be adjusted during recording, and many of processing functions available for still images can also be used when shooting video - such as the 'Film Simulation' picture presets, including the new Classic Chrome which means you can re-create the look of the Kodachrome cinematic stock. Continuous autofocusing is available while manual focusing is again made much easier thanks to the focus-peaking display. The ISO range for video shooting is ISO 100 to 1600, and Auto ISO control is available.

The built-in microphones are stereo, but there's now a stereo audio input for connecting an external pick-up (albeit a nonstandard 2.5 mm connector) and the recording levels can be manually adjusted.

In total, this is actually a pretty good range of capabilities - better, in fact, than some CSCs or D-SLRs - so if you do want to shoot video with your X30, it's more than up to the job.

THE VERDICT


Fujifilm really has got all its X Series camera formulas just right at the moment - most notably the X-T1, X-E2 and X100T - and this continues with the X30. Similarly to Panasonic's LX100, there's an interchangeable lens alternative in the shape of the X-A1 (although this camera lacks an EVF which is problematic), but the X30's 'complete package' design makes it the more attractive proposition, especially for street photography or for travelling. The clean, retro-look styling is hard to resist and at around 400 grams with an all-metal bodyshell, it feels like a real camera too. The new control ring makes a huge difference to the way the X30 works compared to its predecessors, promoting much greater efficiencies and a more comfortable transition if you're using this camera when it's easier to leave the D-SLR kit at home. The switch to a full EVF is a welcome too, especially one as good as the X30's OLED display... the 100 percent coverage, full previewing and absence of lag more than compensating for the loss of an optical finder.

Fujifilm also throws affordability into the mix as the X30 is cheaper than any of its main rivals which is important if you're buying this camera - as is most likely - to supplement your existing gear. However, as before, the overall attraction of the X30 is that it's just so enjoyable to use and, despite the small sensor, that it's capable of delivering truly superb results.

Spend a bit more to all get the lovely leather carry-case that's available as an accessory and you'll never leave home without your X30.

VITAL STATISTIC


Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera.

Lens: Super EBC Fujinon 7.1-28.4mm f2.0-2.8 (equivalent to 28-112mm) with optical image stabiliser, 2.0x digital zoom. All glass optical construction; 11 elements in nine groups with optical image stabilisation.

Focusing Type & Range: Hybrid phase/con-trast-detection measurement with 49 focusing points. 50 cm to infinity; macro focusing down to 10.0 cm. super macro focusing down to 1.0 cm. Auto tracking and face detection/ recognition modes. Single-shot and continuous operation plus manual override. Low light/ contrast assistance via built-in illuminator. Manual focus assist via magnified image and focus peaking display (white, red or blue; low or high intensity).

Shutter Type & Speeds: Electronically-controlled leaf combined with sensor-based exposure start. 30-1/4000 second (differs according to exposure mode).

Metering: Multi-zone (256 segments), averaging and spot.

Exposure Control: Program (with shift), aperture-priority auto, shutter-priority auto and manual plus 14 scene/subject modes. Auto scene mode selection in 'Advanced SR Auto' mode. Up to +/-3.0 EV compensation and AE lock.

Sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and 12,800.

Sensor: 11 mm Fujifilm 'X-Trans CMOS II' with a 6.6x8.8 mm imaging area, 12.3 million pixels (12.0 MP effective).

Image Size: 4:3 aspect ratio = 4000x3000, 2816x2112 and 2048x1536 pixels. 3:2-4000x2664, 2816x1864 and 2048x1360 pixels. 16:9 aspect ratio = 4000x2248. 2816x1584 and 1920x1080 pixels. 1:1 aspect ratio = 2992x2992, 2112x2112 and 1536x1536 pixels. RAW files captured at 4000x3000 pixels.

Video Recording: Full HD at 1920x1080 pixels at 60 fps, 50 fps. 30 fps, 25 fps or 24 fps and 16:9 aspect ratio, MOV format with MPEG-4/H.264 AVC compression HD at 1280x720 pixels at 60 fps, 50 fps, 30 fps, 25 fps or 24 fps and 16:9 aspect ratio, MOV format with MPEG-4/H.264 AVC compression. Stereo microphones built-in and 2.5 mm stereo audio input. Auto/manual sound level adjustment.

Continuous Shooting: Up to 12.0 fps for a burst of up to 18 JPEG/large frames or eight RAW files. Slow speed modes at 3.0, 6.0 or 9.0 fps. 'Best Frame Capture' function available.

Formats: JPEG, RAF, MOV. PictBridge and DPOF compatible.

Flash: Built-in with auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in and slow sync modes (plus various combinations of these modes). Flash range = 30 cm to 7.0 metres (at ISO 800). Up to +/-2/3 EV compensation. External flash units sync via a hotshoe.

White Balance: TTL measurement via image sensor. Auto, seven presets, one custom measurement, manual colour temperature setting (2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin) and auto bracketing. Fine-tuning over the red-to-cyan and blue-to-yellow colour ranges).

Viewfinder: OLED-type EVF with 2.36 megadots resolution, 100 percent scene coverage and 0.65x magnification (at 50mm). 7.2 cm LCD monitor screen with 921,600 dots resolution and adjustable for tilt. Auto/manual switching between EVF and external monitor.

Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards (with UHS-I and Eye-Fi support) plus 55 MB of internal memory.

Interface: USB 2.0, Micro HDMI (Type D), 2.5 mm stereo audio input.

Main Features: Magnesium alloy bodyshell, multi-function/customisable control ring on lens barrel, single-axis electronic level display, real-time histogram, guide grids (3x3,6x4 or HD video), 'Advanced Shooting' modes (Pro Focus, Pro Low Light, Multiple Exposure), 13 'Advanced Filter' effects (Toy Camera, Miniature, Pop Colour, High-Key, Low-Key, Dynamic Tone, Soft Focus, Partial Colour red/orange/yellow/green/blue/ purple), 11 'Film Simulation' modes (Provia/ Standard, Velvia/Vivid, Astia/Soft, Classic Chrome, Pro Neg High, Pro Neg Standard, B&W, B&W+Yellow, B&W+Red, B&W+Green. Sepia), picture parameter adjustments (Colour, Sharpness, Highlight Tone, Shadow Tone, Noise Reduction), noise reduction processing (Low, Medium Low, Standard. Medium High, High), dynamic range expansion processing (Auto, 100%, 200%, 400%), sRGB and Adobe RGB colourspace settings, multiple exposure mode, intervalometer (up to 999 frames), 'Lens Modulation Optimiser’ (LMO) processing in-camera panorama mode (120, 180 or 360 degrees sweep; left/right/up/ down direction), 'Intelligent Face Detection' and 'Red Eye Removal', dual-delay self-timer (two or ten seconds), auto bracketing modes (AE, ISO, Film Simulation, Dynamic Range), six customisable function buttons, 'Q Menu' control screen, in-camera RAW file conversion. 'Guidance' displays, playback zoom, nine or 100 thumbnail displays, image search modes (Date, Face, Favourites. Scene, Type of Data, Upload Mark), slide show (with fade-in/out), 'Photobook Assist' function, Instax direct printing, PictBridge and DPOF compliant, built-in WiFi module for remote camera control and wireless file transmission.

Power: Rechargeable 1700 mAh/3.6 volts lithium-ion battery pack (NP-95 type). Battery can be recharged in-camera via USB connection.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 118.7x71.6x60.3 mm.

Weight: 383 grams (without battery or memory card).