A sudden revelation from the Fuji F30

Archiver

Top Veteran
This post is going in Open Gear Talk because it pertains to gear in general, not just the F30.

In 2006 I bought the Fuji F30, following a few others including the Canon S45, S70, and Casio Z750. For its time, the Fuji F30 was a revolutionary camera, capable of higher ISO shooting than anything else in such a small size. It became one of my everyday carry cameras and it accompanied me to work, out with friends, to the snow and to concerts.

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F30 - Southbank by dusk comparison
by Archiver, on Flickr

Then I bought a film camera, the Fuji Natura Black. And I was stunned. The look of film was so much more vivid, crisp and rich than anything I could wring out of my digital cameras. This began my odyssey into film and larger sensor cameras, including Canon DSLR's and the Sigma compact cameras.

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Natura - Southbank By Dusk [explore #8, 2006 10 06]
by Archiver, on Flickr

In the last few weeks, inspired by DPReview's Throwback Thursday articles, I've dusted off the Fuji F30 and taken it out for the first time in a few years. After shooting with it for a few days, I couldn't help but be oddly bugged by the output. Comparing it with more recent cameras, it is clear that the dynamic range is not very good, particularly in highlight rolloff. The F30 blows highlights faster than Monica Lewinsky blew Bill Clinton's cigar. And at ISO 400 and above, details begin to smear more and more.

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F30 - Punch it UP
by Archiver, on Flickr

And then it struck me why film was such a huge draw to me, coming from small sensor digital cameras of the early-mid 2000's: dynamic range and highlight rolloff. Sure, I'd read about it, but I didn't really understand it. Until then, I thought all-white skies and frosted highlights were normal. Having shot a fair bit of film, and a lot of large sensor cameras in the intervening years, I now see the small sensor output with much better understanding. Film was huge because of the wide dynamic range. Sigma/Foveon was even better because it gave a film-like richness in a compact digital body.

And now I'm bummed because one of my favourite cameras of yesterday just doesn't cut the mustard any more. :(
 
And now I'm bummed because one of my favourite cameras of yesterday just doesn't cut the mustard any more. :(

Not sure there's reason to be bummed :) It was one of the best small sensor cameras of its time - yet technology has improved since...
But... to be honest, even today it might still be one of the best digital cameras of its size.

Most cameras today are bigger than the F30. There's been a trend to increase image quality at the expense of camera portability (e.g. the Sigma DP series... The original DP's were still somewhat pocketable, but with every new generation they got bigger and bigger...)

If you're careful to expose for the highlights and do a little post-processing, the F30 might still be a good contender in the "matchbox-sized" camera class today!

Haven't used mine in a while, but here's one my favourite F30 shots (and yes, the sky's a bit blown too :) )

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friendly
by tilman paulin, on Flickr
 
Not sure there's reason to be bummed :) It was one of the best small sensor cameras of its time - yet technology has improved since...
But... to be honest, even today it might still be one of the best digital cameras of its size.

Most cameras today are bigger than the F30. There's been a trend to increase image quality at the expense of camera portability (e.g. the Sigma DP series... The original DP's were still somewhat pocketable, but with every new generation they got bigger and bigger...)

If you're careful to expose for the highlights and do a little post-processing, the F30 might still be a good contender in the "matchbox-sized" camera class today!

You're absolutely right about the size. It was really surprising to see just how small it is in comparison with my current cameras like the Ricoh GR or Pana LX7. It puts a large battery in a very small body, the same battery that is used in the Fuji X100 and Ricoh GXR. The battery life on the F30 is phenomenal. I'll certainly have a go at exposing to preserve highlights and bringing up the shadows and mids in post. :)
 
It puts a large battery in a very small body, the same battery that is used in the Fuji X100 and Ricoh GXR. The battery life on the F30 is phenomenal.

oh, yes! I completely forgot about the great battery life!
I have a thing for digital devices that don't require you to worry about battery life and the F30 was quite impressive in that regard.
 
I once took the F30 on a four day overseas trip, and didn't need to charge it. With any modern camera apart from a DSLR, you'd have a swag of spare batteries and be swapping them on the charger all night.
 
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