Fujifilm Unveils Classically Designed, Speedy Premium X30 Compact Fixed-Lens Camera

Fujifilm Unveils Classically Designed, Speedy Premium X30 Compact Fixed-Lens Camera

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Valhalla, NY—Fujifilm North America Corporation unveiled the Fujifilm X30, a premium compact, fixed-lens camera aimed at enthusiast and professional photographers. The X30 employs an all-new real-time viewfinder and dual manual control rings for composing and taking pictures.

In addition, the X30 features a large, 12 megapixel, 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS II sensor, an EXR processor II, the new “classic chrome” film simulation mode said to deliver muted tones and deep color reproduction, a tilting 3.0-inch, 920K-dot LCD monitor, increased battery performance and a lightweight, die-cast magnesium alloy body.

The camera’s real-time viewfinder provides a magnification of 0.65x and a display lag time of 0.005 second, and Fujifilm claims it “is the largest and fastest viewfinder in its class.” It offers high-definition live view with a 2.36M-dot organic EL viewfinder and a dedicated lens added to improve visibility by automatically controlling the viewfinder’s brightness according to the ambient light levels. The live view display can also be set to reflect shooting conditions, or offer a natural view close to what is seen with the naked eye, while the viewfinder’s eye sensor automatically switches the visible information when the camera is positioned vertically or horizontally.

The X30’s X-Trans CMOS II sensor with phase-detection autofocus and EXR processor II are engineered to give photographers high-speed performance, high resolution and low noise. Specs state the phase-detection AF system focuses in 0.06 second, has a start-up time of 0.5 second, a shutter time lag of 0.015 second and a shooting interval of 0.5 second.

Also featured is an f/2.0–2.8, 4x optical manual barrel zoom lens that’s made up of 11 glass elements in nine groups, including three aspherical lens elements and two ED lens elements. The bright lens provides a wide-angle maximum aperture of f/2.0 and a telephoto maximum aperture of f/2.8. Additionally, the lens incorporates seven diaphragm blades for soft bokeh that makes the subject stand out from the background. Add to that an image stabilization mechanism that shifts five lens elements to compensate for camera shake by up to four stops and prevents motion blur while stopping vignetting and loss of image resolution.

For ease of operation, the X30 includes two rings on the lens: a manual zoom ring and control ring. The control ring is behind the manual zoom control and allows the immediate change of aperture and shutter speed settings, while fine-tuning image composition. Functions such as ISO sensitivity, film simulation, white balance and continuous shooting can be assigned by pushing the control ring setting button at the front. Two top-plate dials and six function buttons positioned on the back of the body also offer faster access to regularly used features.

To add more creativity to the photographer’s toolbox, in addition to the new classic chrome film simulation mode, the X30 has eleven different modes that simulate the effects of traditional Fujifilm films. These include color reversal film effects (Velvia/Provia /Astia/Classic Chrome), professional color negative film (Pro Neg.Std/Pro Neg.Hi), monochrome filters (monochrome, Ye filter, R filter and G filter) and sepia.

The X30 also records Full HD 1080p video at 60fps, with a bit rate of 36Mbps for clear capture of delicate movements. Plus, manual focus is available during video recording. Additional features include: high-speed continuous shooting of 12 frames per sec (11 frames continuously in JPEG at full resolution); a pop-up intelligent flash; .039-inch super macro mode; a focus-peaking function; motion panorama 360 mode; a “Q” button for frequently used menu items; multiple exposure mode; output for a stereo microphone; an electronic level; and a live histogram.

To transfer images to smartphones and tablets, or shoot the X30 remotely from a smart device, the free Fujifilm Camera Remote application and wireless communication function are available.

Fujifilm will offer several accessories for the X30: the genuine leather case LC-X30; a lens hood and protector filter LHF-X30 with Super EBC multilayer coating technology; three shoe mount external flash units for TTL auto flash control (the EF-20 and EF-X30 with the guide number 20, and EF-42 with the guide number 42); and the external stereo microphone MIC-ST1.

The Fujifilm X30 will be available in late September for $599.95. fujifilmusa.com

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