Fujifilm F30 Performance

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Fujifilm FinePix F30 Performance

Fujifilm FinePix F30 Timing

Average to slightly slow speeds for a consumer digital camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.7 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy
Shutdown	1.6 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	7 seconds	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.5 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	4.4 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	1.2 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	0.56 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.51 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.018 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	0.52 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects
High-Speed focus	0.33 second	Battery life is reduced when using this mode.
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	1.96 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	2.01 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Early shutter penalty?	YES	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	2.02 second (0.50 frames per second); 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	1.82 second (0.55 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous "Top3" mode Large Fine JPEG	0.44 second (2.3 frames per second); 3 frames total; 7 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous "Top3" mode 640x480 JPEG	0.44 second (2.3 frames per second); 3 frames total; 5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	4.4 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1164 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; 771-4000=USB 2.0 High

The Fujifilm FinePix F30's performance ranges from just average to slightly slow, depending on the task at hand. Start-up time is fair, at about 1.7 seconds for the lens to deploy and LCD to activate. Shutter lag at both wide angle and telephoto zoom settings are about a half-second, but "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are blazingly fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.018 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are on the slower side, at about 1.96 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. Continuous-mode speed is quite slow, at about 0.5 frames/second, though the camera captures as many as 20 frames at that speed. That said though, the "Top 3" modes capture at up to 2.3 frames per second, though only the top three shots are saved. Flash recycling is a little better than average however, at about 4.4 seconds. Connected to a computer, download speeds are quite fast, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Fujifilm FinePix F30 is responsive enough for most family photo opportunities, but its standard continuous shooting mode is a bit slow for sports or kids, and shutter response is a little sluggish. Still, overall performance is pretty good.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Pretty good battery life with the included custom LiIon battery.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon Rechargeable Battery	580

The Fujifilm FinePix F30 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power, which is included with with the camera, along with a charger. Though battery life is quite good, travelers and heavy shooters should pick up a spare battery.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. A very impressive 580 shots approaches that of much larger digital SLRs.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The F30 accepts xD Memory cards, though no card is included; 10 MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 10MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
2,848 x 2,136	Images	3	6
2,848 x 2,136	File Size	3.0 MB	1.5 MB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	-	12
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	-	786 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	-	15
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	-	626 KB
640 x 480	Images	-	77
640 x 480	File Size	-	128 KB