Fujifilm X30 boasts Real Time Viewfinder, Film Simulation modes

Fujifilm has just announced the X30, its latest premium digital compact camera that is sure to give photography buffs something to talk or drool about. As the third generation of its kind, the Fujifilm X30 naturally builds on its predecessors success but also throws in a load of new features that will make it a compelling option for professional digital photographers.

The X30 is fast and powerful. It is endowed with a 2/3-inch X-TransTM CMOS II sensor, with an effective 12 megapixels, that sheds off optical low-pass filters so that light passes directly to the sensor. The lens is made up of 11 glass elements and has a maximum wide-angle aperture of f/2.0 and telephoto aperture of up to f/2.8. The X30 also has an optical 4x manual zoom and a Super Macro mode that lets you get as close as 1 cm from your subject for a super detailed close-up. Fujifilm boasts of the camera's fast 0.06-second Auto Focus, claiming it to be the world's fastest. And with a startup time of 0.5 seconds and shutter lag of only 0.01 seconds, you're almost guaranteed to never miss a beat.

One of the new things that Fujifilm is debuting in the X30 is a brand new Real Time ViewFinder, a 2.36M-dot organic EL viewfinder that the company says is the largest and fastest of its kind. The Live View display's "Preview Picture Effect" function lets users immediately see what the image will look like in certain conditions or as natural as it would be when seen with the naked eye. The display also automatically rearranges the information on the viewfinder when the camera is set to portrait orientation. Compared to the previous X20, the Fujifilm X30 adds a second control ring just right behind the manual zoom control for quick setting of things like ISO, film simulation, and continuous shooting. The two top-plate dials and six rear function buttons round up the camera's controls. A tilting 3.0-inch 920K-dot LCD monitor makes it possible to take photos in any angle, though probably not enough for the quintessential selfie.

The Fujifilm X30 is, of course, not just about serious specs. There is also a bit of creativity to be had in this camera via Fujifilm's Film Simlulations modes. Building up on the company's photographic film expertise, these modes, as the name suggests, simulate different effects that are usually found only in traditional films. Classic Chrome, for example, applies muted tones. Toy Camera shades borders to make it look like the photo was taken with, well, a toy camera while Miniature blurs the top and bottom edges to simulate a diorama effect. Dynamic Tone uses dynamically modulated tonal reproduction to give off a fantasy feel to the photo and Partial Color retains either red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple colors in the photo and switches everything else to black and white.

Like its predecessors, the X30 has a premium build to it, employing magnesium alloy to give the top and bottom parts some toughness while a three-dimensional rubber grip keeps the camera from slipping from your hand. The Fujifilm X30 will be available starting next month for a price of around $600 and will come in black and silver color options.

SOURCE: Fujifilm