Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world

Fujifilm's decision to downsize the popular X-T3 camera couldn't have been a wiser move. For many years, the famous Japanese camera company has upgraded its X-series mirrorless cameras to become more compact (and more affordable) but still possess excellent features. One of Fujifilm's most famous products is the X-T20, launched in 2017, becoming the best-selling camera device of this manufacturer. Now, the X-T20 may have found a successor.

With a starting price of $899 (about 21 million VND), Fujifilm has brought a more impressive aspect of the predecessor X-T3. Considering the X-T3 is widely praised as Fujifilm's best camera to date, the younger X-T30 seems to be off to a relatively good start.

Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world Picture 1

Because of the lower price, users certainly have to give up some features: this camera is not weather resistant and the electronic viewfinder on the camera is not as realistic and sharp as the one on the camera. X-T3. But this is a necessary sacrifice if you want the device to have such an affordable price. In terms of other features, it's hard to find a camera that can surpass the X-T30, especially when you're too immersed in Fujifilm's dials.

 Design

The X-T30 is much more compact and lighter than its older brother, the X-T3. The camera body weighs only about 400g, much lighter than the 550g weight of the X-T3. However, for those who like the feeling of holding the compactor firmly in their hands, the X-T30 is probably too small. Especially when installing heavy telephoto lenses into the camera, this small size can cause quite a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, the compact size is probably a privilege of the X-T30, helping users easily put it in their pocket, or is especially suitable for women thanks to its smallness and compactness.

Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world Picture 2

If viewed from the front or from above, the X-T30 looks exactly like the X-T20. You will see knobs to adjust the shooting modes and aperture speed. The rotary knob to adjust ISO like the X-T30 is no longer there, instead you can adjust ISO easily on the control buttons below. The device also has flash support, is designed to be very compact and hidden, only turning on when you switch to flash shooting mode. This is not often seen on Fujifilm's larger sized cameras. However, those who take photos often know that the camera's flash is rarely used. Just like the Advanced SR (Scene Recognition) function in Auto mode, no one buys a camera worth more than 20 million VND just to shoot in automatic mode.

Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world Picture 3

 Going back to the changes on the X-T30, it can be easily seen, the familiar cluster of 4 hard buttons has disappeared, replaced by an 8-way rotating button cluster that helps you easily adjust the camera's menu. The Q button (usually used for quick access to basic settings) has also been repositioned. Many users complain that they often accidentally press this Q button because it is located right on the raised handle of the camera. Fujifilm equips the X-T30 with a 3-inch touch screen, which can be pulled out and rotated in many directions, or flipped when needed to take selfies or record videos. The touch screen is often used to quickly touch the focus point, without having to use buttons to move.

Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world Picture 4

The X-T30 camera also has a 2.5mm headphone jack, but if you want to record sound when recording video, you should use a USB-C headphone or use a USB-C to 2.5mm jack converter. Fujifilm has USB 3.1 support, allowing the camera to operate at full capacity when installing an external battery pack (with USB Power Delivery) or charging the camera even when the battery is full. The SD memory card slot is located right next to the battery compartment.

Performance

The device is equipped with a 4th generation 26.1 megapixel APS-C sensor, powerful processing capabilities, fast shutter speed and image color closest to classic film quality. The X-T30 has excellent 4K video recording capabilities and a 425-point cycle-detection autofocus system across the entire frame. In fact, the X-T30 has now proven to be more accurate when focusing and detecting faces than the X-T3.

The viewfinder on the X-T30 is brighter than the X-T20, according to Fujifilm, it achieves a response of up to 0.005 seconds and runs smoothly at 100 fps. The weakness of the device is probably that when the modes are strong, the device's energy will run out very quickly. Of course these modes are really worth the money.

 As mentioned above, the EVF viewfinder on the X-T30 is not as excellent as the X-T3 even though it has added many new improvements. First, the lens size is smaller (0.39 and 0.5 inches) and the magnification is lower (0.62x instead of 0.75x). That is the most visible difference on the X-T30's viewfinder compared to its predecessor. Next, the resolution on the viewfinder of the X-T3 makes a huge difference (3.69 million points) compared to the X-T30 (2.36 million points). Finally, the X-T3 has a longer, protruding viewfinder on the back of the camera. For those who wear glasses, perhaps taking photos with the X-T30 will be very difficult, because the device's viewfinder lies flat with the rear screen.

Fujifilm X-T30: Small wonder of the photography world Picture 5

We all know that the X-T30 has better autofocus capabilities than the X-T3 at the moment. Both cameras can recognize multiple faces in a frame, but the X-T30 allows you to choose one of those faces as the main subject in the photo. It can also detect and lock small faces (when the subject is far away) during shooting. Besides, the X-T30 has a continuous shooting mode at 8 fps, slower than the X-T3 (11 fps). When shooting moving objects at high speed (sports mode), the electronic viewfinder on both cameras does not encounter any problems.

The video recording ability on the X-T30 cannot beat the X-T3. The device can still record beautiful 4K videos, but is limited to 10 minutes per video. This limit is set because if the camera is too active, the device will heat up quite a lot (caused by the small size of the device and having to operate too much).

summary

You can buy the X-T30 with a kit lens. However, this camera would be perfect if paired with the Fujifilm 35mm f/2 prime lens. Like the camera body, this lens has a compact design and blends well with camera settings. The X-T30 has faced many competitors from the high-end Mirrorless line (especially from Sony). If you have invested in Fujifilm's product line, the X-T30 is the right choice.

Advantage

1. Has the sensor of the X-T3 but is cheaper
2. Excellent autofocus and high-speed photography capabilities
3. Compact
4. Good 4K video quality

Defect

1. A bit small compared to people with large hands
2. Cannot withstand many types of weather
3. The electronic viewfinder is not as good as the X-T3

Samuel Daniel

Update 13 October 2023