Computer Active -October 2006
"This new point-and-shoot makes light work of the dark. Achieves low-light photography in areas where rivals would struggle."
The Independent - December 2006
"This Fujifilm camera has a number of tricks up its sleeve that are ideal for indoor use. First, it has that high ISO rating - 3200, which is very good - so low light isn't an issue. Second, it has a very handy dual shot function so that in Natural + Flash mode it takes two pictures in quick succession so you can decide which one you prefer... The F30 also has a high stamina battery that goes on and on, 3x optical zoom and six megapixels which is also good."
T3 - February 2007
Night watch: Fujifilm FinePix F30 vs Sony DCR-HC96
"The FinePix F30's maximum ISO of 3200 sensitivity allows us to shoot in almost total darkness without using the flash - just what's needed for a fireworks display on the beach. It effortlessly captures explosions, mortars and annoying kids waving sparklers in our faces, without blinding the audience or compromising on colour or sharpness. The high sensitivity levels of FinePix F30 make this one of the best low-light cameras around."
Digital Camera Buyer - October 2006
"This is one of the most impressive digital cameras we've seen so far this year. You'll be hard pushed to find a model which is capable of achieving the same quality shots."
Excellence Award: Editor's Choice
What Camera? - December 2006
What Camera? Editor's Choice
5 Stars
"This camera is so good it actually won an award from a couple of UK magazines before it had even been launched in the UK. This six megapixel model has been worth the wait. It uses a slightly larger sensor to extract the most light from each pixel site, and for anti-shake purposes tweaks the image processing and sensitivity to deliver shots that balance the needs of sharpness and noise very well. It is speedy too."
T3 - February 2007
5/5 Stars
"The high sensitivity levels of the Fujifilm F30 make this one of the best low-light cameras around."
PC Pro - October 2006
The superb range of manual modes makes this a good choice for enthusiasts. The F30 is a trouble-free camera and is perfect for those looking to experiment with manual photography without making the leap to a more complex and expensive DSLR.
Woman's Weekly - December 2006
Best all-rounder in a round-up of compact digital cameras
"This camera has a superior low-light setting, making it ideal to use at parties and in restaurants where normally you would need to use flash. With a resolution of 6MP and 3x optical zoom, it's a great point-and-shoot, delivering good-quality pictures."
Yachting Monthly - February 2007
Best Buy
"The Fuji was the best overall package - good quality and value with a separate waterproof housing with intuitive controls."
Sunday Times - October 2006
"Clever compact ideal for late night socialites. Low-light settings, such as a candle-lit meal, are seldom recorded accurately with conventional flash photography, as faces tend to glow like pumpkin masks. However, the F30's super-high ISO settings (up to 3200) can capture even the murkiest scenes using only ambient lighting. Class-leading battery life is also a boon... While many compacts claim low-light features, the Fuji outperforms them all due to its innovative 6.3Mp sensor. If the night time is the right time, the F30 is the ideal partner."
Award: 'The Sunday Times Best Buy In Gear'.
Photography Monthly - August 2006
Most digital cameras extend to an ISO 400 sensitivity, a few go further to ISO 800, but the FinePix F30 is the first to offer a full resolution ISO 3200 setting for available light shooting in the grimmest conditions. This is thanks to Fujifilm's Real Photo Technology and its Super CCD HR imaging sensor.
High ISO settings go hand in hand with excessive noise, so you would expect shots at ISO 3200 to be horrendously noisy. Indeed, the shots are noisy, but for such a high sensitivity, they are remarkably good.
Go down the ISO range to ISO 100 and 200 and the pictures are as clean and crisp as any compact I've tried. Colours are rich without being too saturated and flesh tones look natural.
FHM - March 2007
"Good photo opportunities emerge at night: so thank God for the new FinePix F30. Fujifilm claim it's eight times more efficient than its rivals in lowlight conditions. Our office sex pest is ecstatic."
The Independent - October 2006
The 6Mp F30 is terrific for low-light shots or moving subjects. The dual shot feature takes two snaps, with and without flash. Great Battery life.
Award: Best Buy
Practical Photography - August 2006
Even in the darkest environments you could possibly shoot in, the F30's screen nicely brightens the scene for you. What about the results though? The quality is great, with punchy colours and sharp results. We are starting to see some great advances in ISO settings in digital cameras and the F30 is no exception - in fact it is excellent and will produce acceptable low light results.
So how good is the high ISO setting? Simple answer - excellent. Not only does the F30 have a higher ISO setting, it produces results at ISO 3200 with less noise than many DSLRs can manage at ISO 1600.
Which Digital Camera?- March 2007
93%
"The menus are excellent and so easy to navigate with a mini joystick control that sits in the middle... The FinePix F30 uses a unique Fujifilm sensor and processor which delivers lower noise levels and clarity in low light... Colour and contrast are excellent, ensuring punchy images. Focusing is very accurate, giving crisp detail in any lighting."
Camera Labs - November 2006
"The lowlight capabilities are what the F30's all about and its options certainly let you shoot under conditions which are normally out of the reach of most compacts... Decent high sensitivity performance allows you to consider shooting indoors without a flash which in turn can deliver natural-looking results, or allows you to photograph with greater discretion, such as in a church or museum."
Which Digital Camera - August 2006
The F30 offers 6.3-megapixel resolution, and Fujifilm is quick to point out that it is developed around versatility rather than pixel count. This is actually a far more important development for digital photography, as pixel count has reached such a level that a 6.3-megapixel chip is more than sufficient.
The impressive 2.5in screen delivers superb detail from its 230,000 pixels. When you zoom in on screen, the level of detail displayed is like none other we have seen to date.
Performance is quite remarkable for a six-megapixel camera; images show wonderful levels of detail. It is easy to see why TIPA was so impressed by this camera as the images are very well exposed, with vibrant colour and excellent balanced tones. There are no obvious signs of pixel fringing and noise levels are very acceptable, even at the top end of the sensitivity scale.
Digital Focus
"The FinePix F30 received an Innovation Award as one of the best products shown at Digital Focus PMA 2006."
Computer Buyer - November 2006
Computer Buyer Recommended
4 Stars
"The best low-light compact camera we've seen to date... there's virtually no shutter lag and it's satisfyingly quick between shots even at the top resolution. Superb low-light performance and great battery life make Fujifilm's F30 a fantastic choice."
The Independant -September 2006
"All in all, a fantastic and versatile compact"
Dima
For its unique use of technology for user benefit, the FinePix F30 received an Innovative Digital Product Award from the Digital Imaging Marketing Association at the PMA 2006 Annual Convention and Trade Show.
Digital Living - November 2006
"This stylish compact has an impressively high ISO range, which means you can get sharp, bright results even in dim and dodgy light. It's perfect for concerts and parties when the intelligent flash system combines flash and non-flash shots to get the best of both worlds."
What Digital Camera Choice - September 2006
"The F30's appeal is as a pocket snapshooter for keen photographers - people who appreciate the value of good high ISO performance."
Ephotozine
The image produced by the Fuji is clear and sharp with plenty of detail recorded. For a compact digital camera the low level of noise at all sensitivities is stunning, rivalling many SLR cameras. Noise levels are very low up to ISO400. At ISO800 a little more luminance noise shows, but it's still very acceptable. By ISO1600 the noise levels have increased to noticeable levels, but still very low by comparison. The 'landmark' sensitivity of ISO3200 produces acceptable quality with very little chroma noise. I did notice that the colour tends to shift slightly at the maximum sensitivity, but not enough to cause any major problems and the noise that is present is fine, randomly arranged and not brightly coloured, giving a wonderful film-like appearance.
MacUser- November 2006
4/5 Rating
"No other camera comes close to the Fujifilm FinePix F30 in terms of aperture. The F30's F2.8-8 is truly impressive, when added to a shutter range of 15-1/2000 second and its ISO running from 100-3200, it even beats the specs of some low-end pro kit. The build quality is excellent.... the menus are clear and easily navigated."
Macworld - January 2007
5/5 Stars
"The high sensitivity levels of the Fujifilm F30 make this one of the best low-light cameras around."
Fujifilm
The FinePix F30 has Fujifilm's Real Photo Technology, which minimizes image "noise" before it can affect digital picture quality.
Pocket-lint - November 2006
Best Compact Digital Camera
The Fujifilm FinePix F30 was awarded the 'Best Compact Digital camera 2006' at the Pocket-lint Technology Awards 2006, beating competition from the Kodak V61, the Samsung NV3, the Canon Digital IXUS 60, the Casio EX 5770 and Fujifilm's very own FinePix V10.
The award was voted for by an expert panel of nine judges from The Times, The Evening Standard, The Sun, The Independent, ITN News, T3, The Metro and Pocket-lint.co.uk.
"With such a high level of expertise in the judging, it's clear, that the winners are the créme de la créme of the gadget world. Now consumers can make sure they don't end up with a gadget turkey they'll be selling as soon as Christmas is over."
PC Plus- January 2007
PC Plus Editor's choice award and Hot list award
"Fujifilm's F30 successfully combines ease of use with some innovative technology, in this case the ability to ramp up the ISO to 3200. This simply means that you can take low-light shots without having to use flash, which comes in handy in historic buildings or concerts where flash use may be frowned upon. Higher ISOs facilitate high shutter speeds too, which reduces the risk of camera shake affecting your shots... The other great thing about this camera is its extended battery life. You can easily get over 500 shots from this camera, which means it's a great compact to take on holiday."
Digital Photographer - Issue 46
While most camera manufacturers still seem to be warring over megapixel counts, the Fujifilm team has seen the light and focused its attentions on something different. The new F30 model boasts the highest sensitivity range seen in any compact to date, meaning its ISO 3200 setting will make this digicam stand out from the competition.
It may have taken an while to catch on in the mass consumer market, but higher-sensitivity settings are equally as important as megapixel counts when it comes to achieving the best possible image quality. Considering that most people purchase compact digital cameras to capture the memories of a great night out (just incase you can't quite remember the morning after), an ISO of 3200 is a very welcome addition).
T3 - November 2006
"Tough new compact is one of the best night-time cameras around, capturing goings-on no matter how dim the conditions. Pics are sharp, bright and colourful."
Sport Diver - January 2007
Fujifilm FinePix F30 and WPFX-F30 Underwater Housing review
"The Fujifilm FinePix F30 has justifiably been acclaimed for its excellence on the surface - it's just as good in the water."
Technical Image Press Association
"Best Compact Digital Camera: The World's First Digital Compact Camera to deliver ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution. This means that it can give sharp images, even at night-time, or with fast-moving subjects."
.Net - December 2006
"The F30's big selling point is its high sensitivity. The range of ISO goes up to 3200 which is unique for a compact digital camera... Picture quality at high levels and low light conditions is surprisingly good, and noise is kept under control."
Digital Photographer - February 2007
Steve Brickles, photographer profile
"I've found that Fujifilm produces cleaner images with lower noise compared to anyone else... I'm not usually a fan of compacts, but the FinePix F30 takes great clean images and its high ISO range makes it ideal for parties. I have it for location scouting and just for when I'm out and about around New York where it's ideal for quick point-and-shoot photography."
Mac World - December 2006
"The FinePix F30 enables flash-free photography in low-light situations where most if its rivals would struggle to get a picture."
Photography Monthly - February 2007
"The F30 is largely regarded as one of the best compacts on the market at the moment, with its combination of ease of use, image quality, particularly in low-light conditions, selection of manual overrides for the more advanced user and compact size, it made the perfect tool for the job. Fuji even sells it in an underwater kit with a clear housing rated for a depth of 40m, way beyond what a recreational diver would need. Digital's ability for instant review and feedback, while at depth, made the whole experience totally addictive. I'm hooked and it's not expensive either. The Fuji kit we were using costs just £350 and the results; I have to say, were impressive."
