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| Leaked: The Fujifilm X30 |
There’s no question, it’s a good looking camera. A little more modern that the X20, but still has that retro-ish feel. Except for one important fact: NO VIEWFINDER!
At least no optical viewfinder, and a groundbreaking one at that for a “rangefinder”. One that has color-coded shooting information right in the finder. After reading the first impressions review on dpreview, I can say without hesitation that I made the right decision to get the last of a dying breed, and save $100.00 at that. (Not that I would have paid the full retail price of $599.99 for the X30, but still.)
The X30 holds no appeal for me over the X20, and I much prefer the X20 over the X10; They actually got it right except for one thing; they shortened the maximum Image Preview from 3.0 seconds to 1.5 seconds. Why? A typical example of throwing usability completely out of the window and getting it blatantly wrong. The 1.5 second timing is so fast, that at first I thought the image preview was not working. The other major error was removing the option to turn the LCD off altogether from the display button and putting it in a dedicated menu item along with eye sensor, OVF and LCD. All of these options should be part of the display button. This is what happens when you don’t do usability testing on cameras which have user interfaces.
Still, I am overjoyed with this camera. Overall, the menus have improved by being more Nikon-like in their overall function and appearance, and the Q-button is simply genius. I can’t wait to take this out shooting.
At least no optical viewfinder, and a groundbreaking one at that for a “rangefinder”. One that has color-coded shooting information right in the finder. After reading the first impressions review on dpreview, I can say without hesitation that I made the right decision to get the last of a dying breed, and save $100.00 at that. (Not that I would have paid the full retail price of $599.99 for the X30, but still.)
The X30 holds no appeal for me over the X20, and I much prefer the X20 over the X10; They actually got it right except for one thing; they shortened the maximum Image Preview from 3.0 seconds to 1.5 seconds. Why? A typical example of throwing usability completely out of the window and getting it blatantly wrong. The 1.5 second timing is so fast, that at first I thought the image preview was not working. The other major error was removing the option to turn the LCD off altogether from the display button and putting it in a dedicated menu item along with eye sensor, OVF and LCD. All of these options should be part of the display button. This is what happens when you don’t do usability testing on cameras which have user interfaces.
Still, I am overjoyed with this camera. Overall, the menus have improved by being more Nikon-like in their overall function and appearance, and the Q-button is simply genius. I can’t wait to take this out shooting.
But, in defense of the X30, many are criticizing it for not having a 1" sensor. But forgive them, for they just don’t understand the physics of optics. In this camera, sensor size, speed, and focal length range are all in perfect, critical balance; increase the sensor size, and the others must change as well, and not for the better.
And now for the harsh from me; my faith in Fujiflm as a member of the elite three has waned. I’m happy to own this camera, but I don’t think I would invest in a more expensive offering from them. They just don’t seem to have the experience needed to make a near-flawless high-end camera, which I already have in the Nikon D610.
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