New Gear: Fujfilm X30 Advanced Compact Camera

Photokina 2014 is going to be an interesting year for compact cameras. The show is typically a big coming out party for new models, but with the smartphone onslaught growing ever-stronger, I’m expecting to see a smaller pool of more powerful little cameras trying to make a stand. Fujifilm’s new X30 advanced compact camera suggests that might be the case.

The X30 uses a 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS sensor, which is bigger than you’ll find in many other compacts, but still considerably smaller than the APS-C chip you’ll find in its big sibling, the X100s. The lens also remains mostly unchanged, keeping its 4x zoom range, but adding a new control ring to handle common functions like changing aperture or ISO.

One of the biggest upgrades is the new viewfinder. The optical viewfinder on the X20 was nice, but it’s ultimate utility was somewhat questionable. Now, however, Fujifilm is leveraging its excellent EVF technology, giving the X30 a 2.36-million dot OLED viewfinder. That’s a considerable upgrade if you’re a fan of eye-level shooting. If you prefer your camera at arm’s length, they have made some upgrades there as well. The LCD now tilts up and down so you can use it at waist level (something street shooters will surely appreciate) and has considerably more resolution at 920k.

Overall, the X30 isn’t a revolutionary change from the X20, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The changes that have been made are ones that fans of the line have likely been asking them for. And Fujifilm has done a pretty excellent job listening to their users when it comes to developing their cameras.

The camera will be available at the end of September for a familiar price of $599. That keeps the price of the line fairly steady, while adding a lot of new technology in the viewfinder.

We should get a chance to check out the new camera at Photokina 2014 in a few weeks, or possibly even sooner, so keep an eye out for impressions. Full press release is below:

_FUJIFILM North America Corporation today announced the new FUJIFILM X30, a premium compact, fixed lens camera aimed at enthusiast and professional photographers. The FUJIFILM X30 has an all new Real Time Viewfinder and innovative dual manual control rings for composing and taking pictures quickly and easily.

The FUJIFILM X30 gives enthusiast and professional photographers a vast array of new features, and delivers the same award-winning image quality and design that the FUJIFILM X Series is known for around the world. The new X30 features a Real Time Viewfinder – which is the largest, brightest, fastest and highest resolving viewfinder in its class*1

X-Trans CMOS II sensor, EXR Processor II and a new ‘Classic Chrome’ film simulation mode that delivers muted tones and deep color reproduction for beautifully dramatic images.

The X30 also includes a large tilting 3.0” 920K-dot premium clear LCD monitor, increased battery performance, and a strong, yet lightweight, die-cast magnesium alloy body that is superbly designed to add a real sense of style and elegance to the camera.

The new FUJIFILM X30 uses an innovative Real Time Viewfinder with a large magnification of and a display lag time of just 0.005*3 its class. It offers a clear, high-definition Live View with a new 2.36M-dot organic EL viewfinder and dedicated lens that improves visibility by automatically controlling the viewfinder’s brightness according to the ambient light levels. The Live View display can also be set to reflect shooting conditions, or offer a natural view close to what is seen with the naked eye, while the viewfinder’s eye sensor automatically switches the visible information when the camera is positioned vertically or horizontally.

The FUJIFILM X30 uses the award-winning X-Trans CMOS II sensor with phase-detection AF and the EXR Processor II to give photographers high-speed performance, amazing resolution and low noise for extraordinary images. The X30’s phase-detection system focuses in just 0.06*4 seconds, has a startup time of 0.5 seconds*5

High precision F2.0-2.8 4x manual barrel zoom lens The FUJIFILM X30’s lens is made up of 11 glass elements in nine groups, including three aspherical lens elements and two ED lens elements. The result is an ultra-bright lens with a wide-angle maximum aperture of f/2.0 and telephoto maximum aperture of f/2.8 for beautiful, high resolution images. Additionally, the X30’s lens incorporates seven diaphragm blades for stunningly soft ‘bokeh’ to make your subject stand out from the background.

The X30 has an optical 4x manual zoom lens that allows quick and precise control over composition. The X30 also has a unique image stabilization mechanism that shifts five lens elements to compensate for camera shake by up to four stops*6 stabilization system also effectively prevents motion blur while stopping vignetting and loss of image resolution that usually results from shake compensation.

The new FUJIFILM X30 now includes two rings on the lens: a manual zoom ring and control ring. The control ring is positioned behind the manual zoom control and allows the immediate change of aperture and shutter speed settings while fine-tuning image composition. Functions
such as ISO sensitivity, film simulation, white balance and continuous shooting can be assigned by pushing the control ring setting button at the front. Two top-plate dials and six function buttons positioned on the back of the body also offer faster access to regularly-used features for

New “Classic Chrome” film simulation

Fujifilm’s unprecedented image quality has been cultivated through the development of photographic films over the past 80 years and helps to reproduce warm skin tones, bright blue skies and rich green trees, just as photographers remember the scene. The X30 features the new ‘Classic Chrome’ film simulation mode, which delivers muted tones and deep color reproduction. Users can also choose from eleven different modes that simulate the effects of traditional Fujifilm films. These include color reversal film effects (Velvia / PROVIA /ASTIA/CLASSIC CHROME), professional color negative film (PRO Neg.Std / PRO Neg.Hi), monochrome filters (MONOCHROME, Ye filter, R filter and G filter) and SEPIA.

• 12MP 2/3” X-Trans CMOS II sensor

• NEW Real Time Viewfinder with 0.005 second lag time, 0.65 magnification and 2.36M

• Intelligent Hybrid AF in 0.06 seconds

• Fast start-up time of 0.5 seconds

• Shutter time lag of 0.01 seconds

• High speed continuous shooting of 12fps (11 frames continuously in JPEG at full

• FUJINON F2.0-2.8 lens 4x manual zoom lens with HT-EBC coating

• NEW Tilting 3.0” Premium Clear LCD (920k dots)

• NEW ‘Classic Chrome’ and other film simulation modes

• NEW Long lasting battery with approximately 470 photos per charge. Charges using

supplied micro USB cable

• Pop-up Super Intelligent Flash

• Super Macro mode to .039”

• “Q” button for frequently used menu items

• Full HD video 1080p at 60fps; bit rate of 36Mbps for clear capture of delicate

• Manual focus available during video recording*7

• Free FUJIFILM Camera Remote application and Wireless Communication function allows users to remotely shoot images from smartphones and tablets

• Output for Stereo Microphone

• Interval timer shooting (1 second to 24 hours up to 999 frames)

• Leather case LC-X30 – made of premium genuine leather.

• Lens Hood and Protector Filter LHF-X30 – protective filter with Super EBC multi-layer coating technology. Available in black or silver. The dedicated lens hood features slits to ensure a full angle of view for the viewfinder.

• Shoe Mount Flash – three types of FUJIFILM external flash, capable of high-precision TTL auto flash control: EF-20 and EF-X30 with the guide number 20, and EF-42 with the

• External stereo microphone MIC-ST1 – for recording real sound with impact to go with premium-quality images and Full HD movie.

The FUJIFILM X30 will be available in late September 2014 for $599.95.

*1: Fujifilm research as of August 2014. Compared with other compact zoom digital cameras,

*2: Market leading viewfinder magnification ratio. Approx. 0.65x magnification 50mm (35mm

format equivalent) at infinity and diopter set to -1.0 m-1.

*3: Fujifilm research as of August 2014.

*4: Fujifilm research as of August 2014. Compared with other digital cameras equipped with 2/3”

sensor or larger, based on CIPA standards, and conducted in High Performance mode.

*5: Quick Start and High Performance mode.

*7: Aperture and shutter speed can be changed during shooting. Only shutter speeds faster

than the set frame rate can be set._