Fujifilm Finepix HS30 review

[ed9119]

I picked up this camera last week and used it for a few days before handing it off to renowned wedding photographer Ron Lee (aka SniperD http://eye-deas.com/ ). The camera is with Ron now in wintery Japan where he will be shooting in Osaka, Tokyo, Kobe and Kyoto over 10 days

Hopefully I'll get images from him to upload these couple of days

In the meantime, I'll start off with listing the HS30's specs and my own feelings about it

The H30 now sports a lithium battery vs AA batteries in its predecessors. Fuji says that a full charge will give 400+ to about 600 shots

The camera is relatively bulky and almost DSLR sized (if you put it side by side an entry level DSLR from C or N)

The handgrip is deep giving a firm hold and the rear LCD flips up and down

Sensor Size 1/2" or 6.4x4.8mm
Sensor Resolutions
4608 x 3456, 4608 x 3072, 4608 x 2592, 3264 x 2448, 3264 x 1840, 2304 x 1728, 2304 x 1536, 1920 x 1080
Image Ratios: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels 16.0 megapixels
Sensor type EXRCMOS
ISO range : Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (6400 and 12800 with boost)
6 types of White Balance presets
Custom white balance available
Image stabilization Sensor-shift
JPEG quality levels Fine, Normal
Lens Focal length (equiv.) 24 – 720 mm f2.8 to 5.6
Optical zoom 30×
Autofocus
•Contrast Detection
•Multi-area
•Center
•Tracking
•Single
•Continuous
•Face Detection

Digital zoom Yes (2x)
Manual focus Yes (Still and Movies)
Normal focus range 45 cm (17.72")
Macro focus range 1 cm (.39")

Screen / viewfinder
Articulated LCD Tilting
Screen size 3"
Screen dots 460,000
Touch screen No
Live view Yes
Viewfinder type Electronic
Viewfinder coverage 97 %

Minimum shutter speed 30 sec
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 sec
Exposure modes : Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual

Pop-up Built-in flash
Flash range 7.1 m (Wide: 30cm - 7.1m / Tele: 2.0m - 3.8m )
External flash Yes (via Hot-shoe EF-42/EF-20 )
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync

Continuous drive 11fps
Self-timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Auto release, Auto shutter)
Metering modes
•Multi
•Average
•Spot

Exposure compensation ±2 EV (at 1/3 EV steps)
AE Bracketing (at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps)
WB Bracketing No


Videography features
Format •MPEG-4 or •H.264

Microphone Stereo
Speaker Stereo
Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)

Storage
Storage types SD/SDHC/SDXC
Built-in Storage 20 MB

Connectivity
USB USB 2.0 (480Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes (mini)
Remote control Yes (Optional RR-80)

Battery description Li-ion NP-W126 battery and charger
Weight (inc. batteries) 687 g (1.51 lb / 24.23 oz)
Dimensions 131 x 97 x 126 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 4.96")

Other features
Orientation sensor Yes

 

[gundamseed84]

Didn't expect Fuji to launch HS30 so fast after they introduce XS-1 since they serve very similar purposes. I guess this is the cheaper little brother version of XS-1 for those who cannot afford XS-1.

 

[ed9119]

We were advised that this is aimed as a 'bridge' camera for those who feel they have outgrown a PnS and want more control before plunging into a full system

Must say I quite fancy the 24mm short end ..... 4mm shorter than the regular 28mm but a lot different perspective

There are a few color styles like Provia, Velvia, B&W etc but no suite of other wacky effects

Instead of a small dial , Fuji installed an entire adjustment knob

Also has a set of buttons left of the LCD screen for dedicated key functions

I have shot a little with this cam but in B&W before I passed the camera to Ron ... Will try to post some sample images tomorrow night after work

 

[morganoh]

I'm about the buy a X-S1,

but can advice the diff betweent he HS30 and X-S1?
especially photo sharpest and Low Light photo taking?

Pls Advice

thanks

 

[ed9119]

the differences are there in the specs but apart from sensor size differences they are close

best wishes bro'

 

[morganoh]

I just bought the X-S1

its great , can replace my DLSR and all the Heavy Lens.

Thanks

 

[ed9119]

ok sharing a few images shot a week back straight out of camera before Ron returns the camera later this weekend to me for further testing

this is shot at long end of the zoom range

 

[ed9119]

this one too was shot from about 30-40m away at long end of the zoom range with stabilizer turned on

 

[ed9119]

shot at higher ISO .... a little grainy but still usable

 

[ed9119]

spot metered the stack of cardboard boxes

 

[ed9119]

rear of camera .... got to like the dedicated function buttons AND that flip up lcd screen

if you like a DSLR sized camera that does not require you to change or swap lenses.... this will do very nicely

 

[SniperD]

Thank you very much to mod Eddie for the great opportunity to review the new Fujifilm Finepix HS30 camera as well for the compliment on who I am in my profession even though I'm far from being renowned.

If you guys are expecting some Japan-based photos from the HS30, I'm afraid that I would have to disappoint you as I didn't have the fortune to carry this along with me on my recent trip as I was already ladened with a Fujifilm X10, an InstaxWide, a Yashica 35GSN and an iPhone (plus the gazillion peripherals like film, chargers, batteries and wires that I had to carry around) so I had to give up bringing the nifty HS30 along which, on hindsight, may be a regrettable decision on my end.

Small, silent and looking rather benign, the HS30 packs a long punch with its incredible optical zoom lens, image stabilizer and of coz, the famed Fuji color profiles that I have come to love after playing with the X100 and the X10. The 24mm wide end has enough frontage for landscapes as well as for wide angle streetshooting while the optical zoom length, up to 30x, coupled with the image stabilizer makes the HS30 a very power tool for a photographer who wants to travel light AND yet, have the versatility and options to tackle different shooting scenarios.

So instead of Japan, I took the camera out for a spin at Singapore's Chinatown on a rather dull looking afternoon and boy, was I impressed with it!

Firstly, the battery life is pretty decent (I have shot about 250 frames for about 3 hours) and the battery indicator only went down 1 bar. Much better than the battery life of the X10.][]

Secondly, the flip-up LCD screen allowed me to do a lot of hip or chest level shooting and it's extremely helpful in the long zoom usage on finding focus of the subject.

Thirdly, it's almost a 1 handed-operation as I tackled the crowd in the Chinatown with 1 camera in 1 hand/ shoulder and some shopping in the other (hey, I'm in Chinatown and it's the Lunar New Year. Of coz I have to grab some CNY goodies on sale!) and

Fourth, the AF on this camera is rather responsive (once again, I had to compare it to the X10's AF which was rather shoddy) and it locked on quickly to whatever I was pointing at although there were some instances it took some time to hunt and refocus at long distance zooming.

I left the camera settings pretty much on Aperture mode, toggling between iso 400-800, depending on the locations, Auto WB and shooting on the Velvia simulation film setting (Color = Mid, Tone = Hard). Unfortunately, the B&W simulation has only the plain Black & White and Sepia modes (the absence of the B&W+Ye or +R or +G options make shooting monotones a little flat but that depends on the lighting conditions).

Okie, 'nuff said already. The following pics were resized with a little USM applied and no other edits done.

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[SniperD]

 

[ed9119]

Thanks Ron I know it was cloudy with rain yesterday ... Appreciate your thoughts and your images !

U like to shoot with small unobtrusive cameras ... Were the dedicated function buttons helpful ? And we're u noticed by subjects ?

Must say the colors looked rich given the weather