Product Reviews

From the moment you take it out of the box, the Fuji Finepix F30 looks and feels like a quality camera. With an unfussy, stylish design and champagne finish, it's a more refined, softer-edged version of its predecessor, the F11.

Despite being a better-looking camera than the F11, the F30 has similar functionality. It has the same 6.3-megapixel resolution and the same emphasis on natural and low-light photography, but there are improvements, too. The F30 advances digital low-light photography one step further with a maximum ISO of 3200. Traditionally, this kind of specification would be only found in expensive single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.

In the shadows

Shots taken with the F30 at ISO400 and even ISO800 show very little loss in image quality. Many lesser cameras, if they even have such high sensitivity settings, are dogged by noise. With the F30, this marker is pushed way back to ISOs of 1600 and 3200. That said, photos snapped at ISO 3200 do exhibit heavy noise reduction and somewhat smudgy details, but the results are acceptable when faced with shooting in really poor light conditions.

The F30 may be pretty much the best low-light compact around, but it doesn't make any compromises when it comes to general and daytime use, either. There's virtually no shutter lag and it's satisfyingly quick between shots, even at the top resolution. The camera is easy to operate, too. A dial on the top scrolls through main modes and the F-mode button gives quick access to the ISO and quality settings, which tend to be the

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ones changed most often.

The Fuji F30 also has a good set of photographic controls, including aperture priority and a manual mode for full control over exposure. However, the camera's automatic mode doesn't perform as well as some of its rivals, so it may not be the best choice for the complete novice. It's not that operation is difficult, but in our tests automatic shots would sometimes over-expose in certain outdoor scenes. This is in part due to high default contrast, which cannot be altered and leaves scenes with moderate contrast lacking detail in highlights and shadows.

Camera shake is rare thanks to the fast shutter speeds, but again the automatic mode caused a few niggles. We found that it too readily selected high ISOs when ideally it should have selected a less-sensitive setting. This isn't so bad, given the camera's great high-sensitivity performance, but it may sway you to shoot in manual mode. If you have a little photographic knowledge, the F30 will reward you handsomely with superb photographs.

When reviewing the photos, we were impressed by the increased screen resolution and also by the one-touch, return-to-shoot mode. Half depress the shutter button and you're immediately switched from playback to shoot, which adds to the feeling of speedy and frustration-free operation.

Battery life

Recharging the battery is an improvement on the previous model too, as Fuji has done away with the little dongle that was far too easy to lose. Instead, just plug the charger directly into the camera - Fuji claims that you'll be able to take 580 shots. We didn't manage that out in the field, but we did take more photos on one charge than with most other compacts we've tested - well over 200. Moreover, we spent plenty of time reviewing snaps on the camera's display. In short, the F30's battery has impressive stamina.

The F30 is the best low-light compact camera we've seen. Of course, it's not the perfect compact camera - in particular, the unreliable exposure choices in automatic mode count against it. But learn how to use the camera properly in manual mode and it's an absolute bargain.