Fujifilm FinePix F30

Viewfinder
There is no optical viewfinder on the compact Fujifilm F30. Instead, there is a large 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels of resolution. The large size and great resolution make for a great view, so users won’t miss the optical finder. The screen has an accurate 100 percent view of the field, so what’s on the LCD screen will be in the print – nothing more, nothing less. The refresh rate of the LCD screen can be set to 30 fps or 60 fps. After viewing the 60 fps mode, the 30 fps option looks choppy. The viewfinder has all the necessary information, menus and view needed to snap shots.

LCD Screen
The Fujifilm FinePix F30 has a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels. This is much improved over the F10, which had the same size screen but half the resolution. The screen is coated in Fujifilm’s Clear View Film, which results in low reflection and little glare. This makes it much easier to view on sunny days.

Another feature for a sunny day is the brightness adjustment found in the setup menu. Found near the top of the extensive menu, the LCD brightness can be adjusted +/- 5 steps. If users need a brighter LCD fast, the top of the multi-selector brightens the background with one touch. Overall, the screen has a great view and works well in many kinds and levels of lighting.

Flash
The Fujifilm FinePix F30 improved its built-in flash from its predecessor by including new "Intelligent Flash" technology. This i-Flash system measures the distance of a subject as well as the background light, then adjusts its output so it doesn’t wash out subjects. This results in less blown-out foreheads and more natural-looking photographs. The only problem with this system is that the flash is placed in the top right corner of the front, the same territory that the left fingers hang out in. This could cause traffic issues and dark spots in photos when the fingers wander too far south.

Pushing the right side of the multi-selector cycles through the flash options: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, On, Off, Slow Synchro and Red-Eye Reduction + Slow Synchro. The red-eye reduction modes send out about four flashes before the actual picture; eyes will be blinded by the time the picture is taken. The F30’s i-Flash can reach from 2-21.3 ft in wide and 2-11.5 ft in telephoto. It also works in the macro mode, where it illuminates from 1-2.6 ft.

In the Fujifilm FinePix F30’s scene mode selection, there is a Natural Light & With Flash mode that takes two pictures consecutively – one with the flash and one without. When it takes the second shot, it uses a high ISO and fast shutter speed to keep subjects from blurring. The camera shows both images side by side and then saves them to the memory, where users can choose between the two if they wish. This mode lets users take quick shots without having to readjust the dial to get multiple shots to ensure the best exposure. Overall, the flash worked quite well and didn’t blow out subjects.

Zoom Lens
The Fujifilm FinePix F30 has a Fujinon 3x zoom lens like the F10. It has just about the same specs as well. Its focal length is 8-24 mm, which is a 36-108mm lens in 35mm format. The F10’s lens had some motor noise and its auto focus system had even more. Most of this is fixed in the F30; there is a tiny bit of focusing noise, but not much else. The zoom toggle is very responsive, and there are about 6 stops in the zoom range. When the camera starts up, it takes about 1.4 seconds for the two segments of the lens to extend from the barrel and snap the first shot. This is better than most compact models, although the competition is catching up.