Have been shooting with Fujifilm X-T30 intensively for the last few months, and I think it is time for me to start share my experience with the “Little Giant”.
I had chance to brought X-T30 to my recent trips, included to Sumbawa (West Nusa Tenggara), Bali, and my (very) recent cruise journey to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Overall, it was a pleasant experience to have X-T30 with me, as a reliable travel partner to photograph street moments in various conditions.
Note: All photos in this post shot with Fujifilm X-T30 and various Fujinon lenses. Also, I am a street photographer, not camera reviewer. Do not expect any technical review, instead I will share about how I able to use X-T30 as my “primary weapon” to freeze artistic moment. There are several points that make me confidence to say X-T30 is deserve the the title of Little Giant:
Size
Still one of the most important factor for me to choose a camera. A camera “must be” compact and lightweight enough for me to carry around for several hours, because I do not like any type of straps but a simple wrist strap. Wrist strap is always my favourite because I will be able to have immediate reaction when needed, and can give me freedom to experiment with various angles to shoot a scene (unlike neck/sling strap).
Second reason is, a typical small camera will be less intimidate my subjects. Even if I’m getting close to subject and they realised I photographed them, they would not mind because I use a “tourist camera”, not professional one.
Ergonomic
Pair with some prime lenses like XF35mm f/1.4 or XF23mm f/1.4 (currently my most use lenses) and even with bigger zoom lens like XF16-80mm f/4, Fujifilm proves they able to design a compact system that still comfortable to hold for several hours straight and I never felt lack of grip at all (paired with a wrist strap). I think the way they design front grip and thumb rest is “highly efficient”. Relatively small size, but provide good grip for my hand.
All buttons and dials are “logically” right for me. Shutter Speed, Exposure Compensation and Drive dials are joy to use. They located at top panels, so I just need to take a glance to set my camera into certain settings, without even need to look at screen. It is really useful especially when capture decisive moment on the street, because I can focus more on the scene rather than keep checking camera screen when changing setting.
As you might already know, X-T30 lack of dedicated ISO dial, and we get Drive dial instead. Having ISO Dial on top is surely an useful feature like in X-T3. However, Driver dial on top has its own benefit too.
I can change from single shot mode to continuous low or high in a blink of eye, and do not even need to look at my camera at all. Like in the scene above, I realise would be too hard to catch the perfect timing when the guy at behind do backflip if using single shot. In this case, I just need to move my left fingers a little bit to change setting into continuous high (at 20 fps) in an instant. Voila! I got the shot that i want easily.
Personally, user experience of using camera is more important than image quality. It is no use to have camera with the best image quality if it has bad dials/buttons placement, too hassle, too big, too loud to carry around in daily activities, or perhaps too slow to catch “decisive moment” kind of action.
Tilt screen
Mandatory feature for the sake of comfortability and accuracy to shoot from extreme angle. I love to experiment with the way I shoot a subject, either shoot head on, or from extreme low/high angle. Without tilt screen it is harder to get accurate composition, and may lead to need crop my photos a bit more than I wanted.
Fast, responsive, and speed!
Ok, so this is the biggest reason why I love X-T30 so much: Speed! Compare to previous generation of Fujifilm cameras, their latest line up improves a lot in processor power. Fujifilm X-T30 has the exact same sensor and processor like its bigger sibling (Fujifilm X-T3 and X-Pro3), which is means:
1. Super fast (and accurate) autofocus both in single and tracking focus.
Even when use lenses that people tend to say slow to focus like XF35mm f/1.4 or XF56mm f/1.2, somehow X-T30 able to speed up and make them great to capture fast action moment. Also, the fact that X-T30 has 100% phase detection autofocus coverage means: I can lock focus on moving object from edge to edge frame faster and more accurate compare to contrast detection autofocus.
2. Up to 30 fps continuous shooting and improve in speed of electronic shutter.
Why shoot 30fps (crop mode) or 20fps (uncrop mode)? Well, for some people may say it is overkill feature to catch a moment. For others (include me), why not? It make sure we able to catch the exact moment that we want to capture with bigger chance to success.
Also improvement in electronic shutter feature is so useful. Now it can capture fairly fast moving object (like people who is running) without bending effect. Like in photo above, I captured people who moved a lot when playing football with electronic shutter (and 20fps continuous shoot). I find it has no problem at all with bending/distortion effect.
Truth to be told, since I own X-T30 I shoot majority of my photos (in outdoor area) only using electronic shutter because it produce no sound at all, and I do not see any drawback from it.
3. Better to shoot in low light (up to -3 EV compare to older generation at -1 EV).
In real use, it is much much much less hunting focus to lock on subject when shooting at night. I do not say that older Fujifilm camera is not capable in low light, but their newer line up proves they are much more capable to get the job done.
Colour output
I can not explain enough to people how I truly fall in love with classic chrome film simulation. It just render colour in some retro and magical way that make me want to keep shooting. I’m not a fan of sitting in front of laptop and doing complex post process. Having classic chrome as based colour speed up my process (and simplified them) a lot.
USB C Port
No, USB port will not affect the result of my street photography photos. However, as an Android phone user, USB C is a blessing!
On my last Cruise trip to 3 different countries (for 6 days), somehow I forgot to carry battery charger. I realised my mistake right when boarding time, so no way I can go back to get the charger. I already thought that this trip would not as fun as I thought, because I can only shoot in limited numbers (only carry 2 batteries). Then suddenly I realised, that X-T30 has USB C port, and I can use my phone charger to fill up battery through X-T30 body! Thanks to anyone in Fujifilm who decide to put USB C Port there!
Technical specification
For more complete features of Fujifilm X-T30 please check in Fujifilm official website here.
To sum up from my personal opinion: Fast and accurate autofocus, blackout free 30fps shooting is crazy, beautiful colour output, ergonomic design, compact size, joystick is a bliss, touch screen menu is responsive and easy to access, retro design camera does not intimidate subject, EVF is not large but great quality, and of course Fujifilm JPEG engine is still the best in camera industry.
Related article: Fujifilm X-T30 Review from Jonas Rask
I found that his review really informative and enjoyable to read. Of course complete with gorgeous result of his photographs!
Versus Fujifilm X-T3
I think this would be the most question asked by people. No wonder, because both of them share a lot of things in common: Sensor, processor, DSLR style, tilt screen, and practically 90% things are all the same. Of course X-T3 has its pros like weather sealing, more robust build quality, bigger grip and more advance video features.
However, X-T30 has more compact size that will suit better for street photography and more lightweight to carry around all day long. I also never found myself to shoot in such extreme condition (like under heavy rain) to create my street shots. Video feature is something I almost never touch as I focus more to produce still shots.
All in all, I think to decide which one better for street photography will be subjective depend on what we truly needs. For me both camera works perfectly fine. X-T30 has main benefit with significant lower price and X-T3 has more added advance features.
That is all my opinion about Fujifilm X-T30 based on real life experience. Personally, it is not just a Little Giant, but also a friendly, capable and versatile partner for my street photography works.
Keep shooting everyday and have fun!
Nico Harold
Hi Nico, I like your images. Simple compositions but interesting visual.
Many thanks Louis. Glad you like it 🙂