FUJIFILM FinePix F30 Digital Camera

I'm not going to go on and on about what's good or bad about this camera. There are too many good points to list... So here's my list of the MOST IMPORTANT good points and the ones I perceive as being bad points...plain and simple.

Good points:
1. High sensitivity in low light conditions - you see a lot more of the picture taken in bad light
2. Battery life - absolutely fantastic!!

3.+ There are loads of other good points about this camera, but I've come to expect them of any Fuji camera, so I'm not going to list them all here.

Bad points:
1. Flimsy/fiddly USB port cover
2. AUTO mode tends to 'up' the sensitivity too much at times (resulting in a grainy picture when it is blown-up).

Solution:
I've owned the Fuji cameras F401, F410, F601, and F610 in the past and know what to expect of Fujis, including razor-sharp quality, so when this camera started generating pictures that were a bit 'grainy' I started to wonder what was going on... Basically, when taking pictures in AUTO mode the camera tends to 'up' the sensitivity 'a little too much'. It is for good reason, but does affect the quality if/when you blow-up the picture to over 200% - it comes out a little 'grainy'. This ONLY happens when taking pictures in, what is by photography standards, bad light. Take an 'outside' shot and the picture comes out perfect. So what should you do to eliminate this? Easy, use Manual mode and choose no more than ISO400 (I suggest start at ISO100/200 and see how the picture comes out, and then up the ISO if it's too dark). This WILL make the picture slightly darker (which is the whole reason for having high sensitivity), but will also eliminate the 'graininess' if/when you blow-up the picture.

Some people have been quick to criticise this camera for the 'graininess' I've mentioned above, (some have even complained about the camera not having features they knew it didn't have BEFORE they bought it!), but here's a challenge...take 2 pictures of a 'dark' scene with the F30 and any other leading brand camera, both in AUTO mode, and then take 2 pictures of the same scene with the other camera in AUTO mode and the F30 in ISO100/200, and then judge for yourself...the benefits should be self-evident! And lastly, if you buy a camera without certain features (e.g. a viewfinder), don't complain that the camera doesn't have one...it's not the camera's fault that you're human! :-)

As already mentioned in another review, when this camera is set to auto the picture does come out grainy, which in turn leads to bad reviews. I use this camera all the time and I have it on manual set at 400 ISO and I get amazing photos every time.

Easy to use - picked up the menus and buttons very quickly. Liked the features, specially aperture/shutter priority. Very small shutter lag for action shots. Good battery life. Quick start up. Love it!

I had already bought a Finepix F31FD as a basic pocket point-and-shoot camera for my wife and kids to use as they were finding the S5500 too complex to set up for reliably consistent shake-free shots.

But because that picture quality was pretty well equal, it was less bulky to carry and you did not have to lug around extra batteries, it had ended up living in my work bag.

Bowing to complaints, I set out to buy another, but was suprised to find them much harder to find. I did a bit of research and discovered: a) The F30 is exactly the same specification as the F31FD, but with the lack of the Face Detection system, and b), because of the astounding low light ability of these models, they have become much sought-after. Fuji superceeded them fairly quickly and subsequent models have never been anywhere near as good in either low-light ability or battery life.

After a bit of a wait I managed to get a used bargain from eBay and the two cameras are now idistinguishable in terms of their picture production.

They are so easy to use....hardly ever a duff shot, whether picked up by novices or experts. Leave it on auto and its virtually infallible. For better use I tend to set it to 200ASA, turn of the flash and leave it at that. These two camera have an astonishing ability to take excellent quality pictures in all conditions straight out of the pocket.

Allied to a huge battery that hardly ever seems to need recharging and a very good macro/zoom lense for such a lowly camera you can see why they are so popular.

There are plenty of reviews out there questioning why on earth Fuji seemed to dip back into the sensless megapixel-race for subsequent models and forgot about day-to-day usability. More modern versions of the F range seem much better on paper and are indeed cheaper. But don't be fooled... most serious reviewers out there still look upon the F30/F31FD as much better cameras all round, hence their scarcity.

I shall be hanging on to my pair for a while now, as they do everything I need of a camera well, including being cheap (if you are lucky!)

This is a perfect camera, its low light capabilities will stun you. The menu structure is intuitive, works very quick and convenient. Shutter lag is near nil. A tiny serious camera for fun and everyday use. Even for professional photographers! I had several DSLRs and currently use a Sony R1, but F30 is absolutely fantastic for outing, dinners, and daily events.

PROs:
- Perfect low light capabilities and flash
- Very user friendly and intuitive menu
- Large LCD and icons/fonts great for elder
- Great image quality, perfect colors
- Unbelievable battery life - over 500 shots

CONs:
- Lens could be better, some blue/purple fringing
- xD card is not cheap and not reliable according to some people

If its price scares you (it appreciated in the last 2 years), get yourself a Fuji F20, nearly the same thing (sans manual controls and face recognition).

When I first got the camera, I thought back to the 60's movies with their spy cameras... LOL. Think of the opening scene of Doppelganger - Journey to the other side of the Sun, where the imposter's false eye conceals a high resolution camera.

So I mounted the Fuji F30 on a mini-tripod and switched off the flash. I placed a book in front of it and focussed on it in macro mode. Having set the auto-focus correctly on the middle of a page, I took a photo stored at maximum image size. I then progressively dimmed the lights taking further photos all with the same focus setting. I was impressed that the style of the font of the letters on the page of the book was still discernable even down to low light levels!

Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan eat your hearts out.

This is hi-tech enough for Daniel Craig's James Bond on a shadowy surveillance mission.

I eventually bought one because of the much hyped specifications and it's low-light capabilities to cart around as a second camera. Despite its much higher price on the High street it is quite hard to find so I hadn't seen one.As soon as I received it I had doubts about its build-quality. I bought my wife a lower spec and simpler Olympus at 2/3 of the price and frankly it not only does just as well (save in very low light perhaps) but looks far better built. I know she'll be able to just carry it around anywhere in its case and it will stand up to it.
The F30 looks disappointingly plasticky and I soon missed not having a viewfinder when it came to bright sunlight. My first digital camera was a Fuji and both that was and my sons' models (both 2-3 years old) are much more solidly made and have stood up to pre-teen and teen use.
The other disadvantage is having to take the camera out of use to re-charge it unless you by an optional extra charger and extra battery.
The other digitals we have either use AA's or Li-Ion batteries.
The F30 now has a new home

with its underwater setting it produced great underwater photgraphs worth every penny.just buy without regret fantastic value.

This camera and it's later cousin the F31D produce simply extraordinary pictures in low light conditions.

They are very much sought after; rare to find one new and they have held their value extremely well second-hand.

In many cases these camera cost more now than they did when they were launched and with good reason - they outperform all modern digital compact cameras in low light, mainly due to their oversized sensor.

While many modern cameras focus on ever increasing numbers of megapixels, they rarely upgrade the sensor which leads to grainy images at low light. It's no coincidence that many professional photographers carry an F30 or F31 as a personal 'point and shoot' camera.

Read the reviews, and then go out and bid on one yourself ( if you can find one ).

Likes;
- Excellent image quality, best in its class for sharpness, low noise and exceptional low light shooting (ISO 800 and 1600 are better than other cameras at ISO 400). images at ISO 100-400 are almost noise free.
- Very fast operation; focussing, zooming, shutter lag, image review/browsing
- Class leading battery power, up to 580 shots.
- Easy user interface, better than average manual control (Shutter, aperture control, EV compensation, ISO selection, white balance)
- Very good build, mostly metal casing, solid + compact.
- Makes an excellent compliment to a digital SLR backup.

Dislikes:
- Purple fringing is present and can be a problem if you hate that type of thing. this can be fixed using post processing software.
- Plastic tripod mount is not in the centre of the camera or in the centre of the lens
- Plastic battery/xD compartment door is a little flimsy, but works.

My friend had this camera and when we went on holiday together, we compared shots of the same scenery + people ... this camera of hers was EXCELLENT ... sharp pictures, automatic focussing, point and shoot, compared to the one I had (which was even more expensive and takes underwater shots) - mine was not a patch on this Fuli FinePix F30.... so I ordered it from Ebay ... WONDERFUL CAMERA and probably the very best on the market today ... would highly recommend to anybody - especially those who are not into buying separate lenses and fiddling about - just point at the bird before it flies away! and click - the camera does it all for you automatically and in a mini-second too - superb sharp pix every time!

Great camera exactly what i needed to replace lost one. however now the new one has been found and the one i received from you has not been removed from the box would you consider a refund? regards josh