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. 

DOORS OF SAINT JOHN, NB

I gave myself a photo project while vacationing in Saint John, New Brunswick. I was inspired by a photographer/artist who was selling prints of the colorful doors in the city. Saint John is a typical Maritime city with many colorful buildings, but especially with its doors. Saint John is Canada's oldest city and has some fantastic older architecture. Some buildings are over two hundred years old. So I spent a lot time wondering the streets in the older area of the city looking for interesting doors and buildings. Some buildings have faired better than others, typical for any old city I guess.

 

This was a great little project, it gave me another reason to explore the city and experience it's charms. I had a lot of people stop and ask me what I was doing, and some were very helpful, directing me to certain streets and buildings.

Saint John is a beautiful city and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Street, Travel, and Architectural Photography! You wouldn't be dissappointed, but be prepared for some foggy/rainy days. If you do go, do yourself a favor and explore some of the older streets away from the usual tourism areas, you will not regret it.

All pictures taken with Fujifilm's X30 and are property of Richard Belfry Photography.

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.

Sample pictures from the X30

Here are some of the first shots with the Fujifilm X30. I went out last Saturday morning, before sunrise, to Barrie to do some street shooting. I got into town in time for the "Blue Hour" (that hour before the sun has risen over the horizon but is still getting light out). I got a couple of great shots. I was shooting in Aperture mode with ISO set at 800.

I also wanted to test out the new Fujifilm film Simulation "Classic Chrome". Fuji has long been known for it's film simulations. Even my HS 25EXR which is about 4 years old has great simulations. Well now Fuji has created this "Classic Chrome" which is supposed to give the pictures a look and feel similar to the old "Kodachrome" film that was popular in the last century. Here are some example shots using this simulation.

All and all I am very impressed by this camera. It has a great size and weight to it that is perfect for Street/Urban Photography. It takes great pictures, even though it is only a 2/3 sensor and only 12 MP. But that 2/3 sensor is FujiFilm's amazing X TransTM CMOS II sensor, which takes amazing JPEG's that require little or no post processing. I am going to have a lot of fun with this little but awesome compact camera!!!!

New Camera.....Fujifilm X30!

I have been looking for a new camera, something that was better suited for Street Photography. I wanted a smaller camera, something that would be easier to carry all day long on the street. I wanted something that would still be recognized as a camera (something that a camera on a phone doesn't) but they wouldn't immediately identify as a "pro" camera. I was looking for something that people would see and know I am carrying a camera but one that wouldn't make people feel uncomfortable about it. I wanted a smaller camera, but not one that was so small that people would think I am trying to be all "sneaky" about taking their pictures.

I have been using the FujiFilm HS25EXR "Bridge/SuperZoom" camera for the last few years, it an amazing camera with a great manual zoom lens. I have gotten some really amazing landscape and wildlife shots with this camera. However I find it combersome and heavy when I am doing Street Photography. As an example, a year or so ago we were down in Toronto's Kensington Market neighbourhood, my wife had never been and her Son loves it down there. He loves some of the shops and stores, especially the vintage clothing stores. Well I had my HS25 and I felt it was too big going in and out of the shops. That is when I started researching cameras.

I have done a lot of research, both "print" reviews and video blogs on YouTube. I have been a FujiFilm guy for years, but I also researched cameras by other company's such as Sony, Canon, Leica and others. However I found myself drawn to two particular cameras......both by Fujifilm. I was drawn to the X30 and the X100T cameras. I really liked the X100T, with it's single focal length lens, it's "Hybrid Viewfinder" and other advanced features. However I didn't like the near $1400 price tag on the X100T. Based on the reviews I also was interested in the X30. I liked the manual zoom, the class leading EVF(for the size and price range), and the advanced film simulations and the new WiFi features. I eventually decided on the X30, which at the time of my purchase was on sale for $200 off.

So far I am liking the X30, I haven't done much shooting with it yet, but so far I am happy with the camera. I will post some shots in the near future once I get the chance to really get out and put the camera through it's paces.

Camera of choice!

Every photographer out there has their favourite brands of camera. My Dad for instance was always a Canon guy when it came to his SLR's, (I say was because he gave me his Canon camera to me to add to my collection). On the other hand my Brother is a Nikon shooter.

Myself, I have been a Fujifilm guy for years. My first "good" camera was the FujiFilm S2950 camera (which my Son now uses). I then upgraded to the FujiFilm HS25EXR bridge camera which is still my camera. I love the HS25, it is a fixed lens camera but it has an amazing zoom range (30X range 24-720mm without digital assist). It also shoots amazing macro pictures. I have taken some great shots over the last couple of years, including a great shot of a Bald Eagle when we were vacationing in Prince Edward Island. My son and brother in law were both using the S2950 cameras and I was able to zoom in so much closer before ended up scaring the Eagle away. The camera is fantastic for landscape and wildlife photography.

Unfortunately for my main photography interest of Street/Urban photography the camera isn't the greatest for a couple of reasons. The main reason that isn't working for me in that aspect is the size and weight. It isn't the biggest camera, nor is as heavy as most DSLR's but for Street Photography it still feels too big and heavy.

 If I am doing some Street shooting, say in Toronto, and want to go into a restaurant or store, having that big of a camera hanging on my sling (I use a sling style strap that screws into the tripod mount on the bottom of the camera) is a bit of a pain, If I am in a store, especially some of the cluttered stores in places like Kensington Market in Toronto I am always worried that my camera is going hit and breake something. Or that the lens will get damaged by coming into contact with something.

The other reason that I looking for a new camera is that when I am shooting with the HS 25EXR it is a little to obvious and intimating for people that I am trying to shoot. It looks too much big DSLR and people notice me when I am carrying it long before I raise it to my eye.

So I am shopping around for a new camera. Now even though a lot of the brands have some great small but advanced cameras out there, I want to stick with Fujifilm. So there are a few cameras I am looking at getting. I am really torn between the X30 and the X100T. I want a fixed lens, I don't have money that I can afford to spend on a lot of lenses, and for street photography I don't really need a lot of lenses anyway, so those two cameras would work great. The X30 has a small zoom range on it, while the X100T has a 35mm prime lens on it. I like the idea of the challenge of the fixed lens. But the X30 is almost half the price of the X100T which is around $1300 while the X30 is around $600. So I will probably go with the X30, but the X100T is such a pretty looking camera and is so tempting. Time, and money will decide which camera I end up buying. I will post an update when I finally buy one.