My favourite Fujifilm X30 feature: Film Simulations

It should be clear by now that I am a huge fan of the FujiFilm X30 advanced compact camera. In my mind it may be the perfect "street" camera. Unfortunately the X100T (and now the X100F) and the X70 got the majority of the Fuji "press" when it comes to their advanced compact category of cameras. Which in my opinion is a real shame because the X30 is an amazing camera. There are many things I love about the X30 and Fuji cameras in general. I plan on doing a series of posts to discuss the various options and features that the X30 has that make it such a great camera. The first such post will be on FujiFilm's film simulations!

                                                      Film Simulations

One of the things I love about the X30, and something it shares with most Fuji cameras is the film simulation settings. The film simulations that Fuji puts into their cameras are simply amazing. Each has its benefits and uses. On the X30 I changed the video button (customization of the controls is another great thing about the X30) to be the control for the film simulations. That way I can just push a button and have access to the simulations. 

There are film simulations that will fit anyone's choice or preference. Regardless of how you want to shoot, or how you want your photos to look. My personal favourite settings are Vivid (which gives you amazing colours, especially greens and reds), Classic Chrome (which gives your pictures a, well classic look to them) and Monochrome with red filter. In fact, these three are the ones I use in the camera's "Film Bracketing" mode. The film bracketing mode allows you to set three different film simulations and then each time you take a shot it gives you three copies, one in each of the three simulations you set. 

                                                                            Vivid

                                                                   Classic Chrome

 Monochrome with red filter

There are other simulations to choose from including Monochrome without filters and with various other filters. sepia and more. The three above are my favourite ones to use. Of course all of these film simulations can only be used with the JPEG's and don't affect RAW images. That being said the FujiFilm JPEG's are so amazing I have never been tempted to shoot in RAW. The Fuji film simulations is something that I recommend that everyone look into if they are looking for a new camera, the newer Fuji cameras have even more simulation options such as Acros Monochrome and more. The film simulations are a feature that sets the FujiFilm cameras apart from most of the competition.

MORE ON THE X30...AN AMAZING TRAVEL AND STREET PHOTOGRAPHY CAMERA!

I got to use the Fujifilm X30 extensively on our recent trip to Saint John, New Brunswick. Saint John is Canada's oldest city. I used the X30 for everything from Street Photography, to Macro Photography and just basic photography. I was impressed with the camera before our trip, I came back in love with the little camera.

When I was shopping for a small I wanted a camera that was compact that I could take every and any where. I have been a Fuji fan for years and wanted to stick with their cameras. I had looked at the X100T, which is by all accounts a fantastic camera, but the price tag was too much. I "settled" for the X30, with it's smaller sensor.

However after using it for the last few months I can definately say I didn't "settle" for anything. The X30 might have a smaller sensor but it is still a great and versatile compact camera. I enjoy having the freedom that the manual zoom lens offers. I am not sure if I could have gotten some of the shots that I got with the X100T's fixed 35mm equivalent lens (on a full frame 35mm camera). The 28-112mm equivalent lens on the X30 offeres a little freedom when it came to setting up my shots. I could go very wide at the 28mm end or get a little closer at the 112mm end.

For Street Photography the compact camera is great. It might not be as compact as the X110T, but it is still small enough to be discrete and not draw attention as you try and get candid shots, such as this picture I took of an angry looking woman standing infront of the Fireman Museum on Canada Day. She must have assumed that I was taking a picture of the museum, which is exactlty what I wanted her to think. 

I also used the X30 around our campsite. The compactness of the camera made it perfect for basic photography, such as this photo of a cute little visitor we had at our site.

I doubt I would have gotten this shot with a bigger camera, it was close enough that I probably could have reached out and petted it. I think a bigger camera (DSLR) might have scared it away. The small X30 was perfect for this shot. 

I also tried the X30 for some "macro" photography and it worked perfectly in that task as well. The shorter lens and smaller body allowed me to get super close with out interferring with insects and such. 

I even managed to use it for some wildlife photography, such as this photo of this cormorant sunning itself on a rock in the middle of lake. I would have preferred to had a longer zoom, but by using the 2X digital assist with the zoom I still managed to get what I feel is "useable" shot. 

I really enjoy using the X30! I remember watching an episode of "All About the Gear" on This Week in Photography's YouTube page where they were reviewing the X30 and one of the reviewers kept referring to camera as a "Fun" camera to use. It very much a fun camera to use, but it is much more than that. It is a very versatile camera and what it lacks in sensor size it makes up for with it's ease of use and all the features the camera has. There so many extra settings that the camera has that I haven't tried to use yet, primarily shoot in aperature priority, but I will eventually try them all. 

I have only shot in JPEG so far, I haven't used Raw before. But the quality of the JPEG's are amazing. All the photos included in this post are unedited (with the exception of adding my watermark on them) and as they came out of the camera. The colors in my opinion are amazing.

If anyone asked me about what "advanced" compact camera they should buy, I would of course tell them it is personal preferrance, but I would recommend that they try out the Fujifilm X30. It is my mind a great little but advanced camera. It easy enough to use but at the same time offers a lot of special features and modes. The picture quality is amazing, especially the JPEG's and I am sure anyone would be more than happy with the quality they get from the X30. 

A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR VACATION AND THE FUJIFILM X30!!!

Just a quick update, we just returned from over a week plus vacation in New Brunswick, Canada. We were based in Saint John but we also did a lot of travelling within the province. The weather was typical Maritime weather, some sunny days but also a lot of overcast/rainy days. While on this trip I really put the Fujifilm X30 through it's paces (as well as using my Fujifilm HS25EXR). I committed myself to a photo project while there (inspired by a local photographer selling some prints in the amazing City Market(more on that later) in Saint John) of shooting the colorful doors that are famous in the city. I will be posting more blogs about Saint John and New Brunswick with pictures once I get the shots edited.

But all in all the X30 behaved beyond my expectations. For Street Photography it is an amazing camera. It is small and compact, easy to carry and easy to conceal (in those "sketchy" neighbourhoods that all cities have). The pictures I got with the camera were amazing!

I used the camera not only for Street Photography but also for general travel photography and was never let down. I will be posting follow up blog entries on our trip and the different type of photos I took with both the X30 and HS25EXR. It was a great trip!

Fujifilm X30 Review Continues!

A quick update on the Fujifilm X30 compact camera.......

I have to say that the X30 has exceeded my expectations so far. I am loving this awesome little camera!

I haven't had much opportunity to get out do any more Street Photography with it, which was the intended reason why I bought it. I have however been able to use it to photograph my Step-Son's "Competitive Dodgeball Team" (yes there is such a thing as competitive dodgeball) with the camera. I have to say that using the camera, and cheating a little by using the sports scene mode, I didn't have any problem focusing or catching the action with only a little motion blur.

The lens is extremely sharp and clear. The manual zoom, while less than I am used to from the HS25EXR, is very smooth. The EVF (Electronic View Finder) is very nice and easy to read. The camera so far handles very nice and I will be hopefully putting it through its paces very soon. I will be posting more indepth reviews of the different functions as I discover and "play" with the camera.

Fujifilm HS25 EXR....more than a "Bridge Camera"!

I have mentioned in other posts that my main camera for the last few years has been the Fujifilm HS25EXR "Bridge" or "Superzoom" camera. When I first bought this camera I was looking for something with a longer zoom range for landscapes and such. I couldn't really afford to get into a DSLR at the time, especially with the price of the lenses.

At the time I was using a Fujifilm Finepix S2950 camera which had an impressive 18 times zoom, but I wanted more. I really like the Fuji camera so I decided to look at the newer Fuji cameras that had longer zooms. I settled on the HS25EXR, which has a zoom range of 24-720mm. 

I bought this camera just in time for our trip to Canada's east coast, and it was amazing camera for that trip. I managed to get some great photos, from street to landscape to wildlife photos. I was pleasently surpized by it's performance on that trip.

By watching YouTube videos (my main learning tool) I discovered a lot of things that the videos were describing for DSLR's I was able use and do with this camera. I have done portraits, weddings, engagements shoots, and other such shoots with this camera. It may have a smaller sensor than a DSLR, may not have as good low light performance and other such things. To me though it has been a great and versitle camera. 

I recently got the FujiFilm X30 camera, mostly for Street Photography, and now that I am getting really serious about portraits and other such shoots I will be looking to upgrade my camera. I will be looking at upgradeing to a FujiFilm X series mirrorless system camera, such as the XT1 or even a bit cheaper XT10. It will depend on how much I am able to spend.

 With the experience I have had with the S2950, the HS25EXR and now the X30 I have to say that I love Fuji cameras!.