Fujifilm Finepix F30

[alo100]

There's only 2 photos from F30 in this thread. Then there are several from F11. I can find many topside photos from F30 but what I want to see is the underwater ones as its really my purpose for getting another camera. Can you give me the link to see your photos? Or PM me.

Btw... I am also contemplating Canon SD800 IS. It has image stabilizer, wide angle, ISO 1600 and manual. Its also slimmer and more pocketable. But while it can do ISO 1600, I don't know about the quality of the high ISO photos while I know those from F30 are good. Don't comparre it to the past Canon models as this one uses the new Digic III processor.

The main lure of the Canon over the Fuji for me is the IS and wide angle. What do you think? Is wide angle a good thing to have underwater? It also has a wider range compared to F30. F30's range is quite limited actually I find. But will have to wait to find out about the Canon though. Think its not out yet.

Hm? The bird pic's are done by F30 also (you can try to contact the owner if you're interested in the related info about the pic).
Too bad, I've removed my own pic's, it has been there for a month

 

[starlan]

OK, I think I am misttaken Wuffruff. I read in another forum that both will have housings to 130ft, but I definetely say make sure this is correct before you commit to the camera!! Also, the other parts about ISO, sensor size and manual controls are a seperate issue of course and you should consider those too.

**EDIT: I just checked it out and yes I think the SD800 case is the kind thats only rated to 10ft so beware - it will only be good for snorkelling at the surface!)**.

 

[WuffRuff]

IS is probably limited in value underwater as is high ISO...

Why is high ISO not useful underwater? I thought it would be useful as high ISO ability means good low light performance, which is what the underwater environment is like.

Of course, if you have a strobe, you will not need high ISO. But I plan to use internal flash for now. I might get a strobe but that would be later on. I have seen many good photos taken using internal flash alone so I think it would be fine if you have the right camera and right settings.

 

[starlan]

High ISO is definetely more useful than IS underwater thats for sure, but how useful? Im not really sure. I think it will help for natural light photography. My prior cam went to ISO200 on Auto ISO (what I used) and many of the pics without flash came out blurry due to the shutter not being fast enough to be able to freeze those fast moving fish. ISO800 for example on the F30 is very very clean, equivalent noisewise to ISO200 say on a cam like the SD700 so you have 4 times the shutter speed which will freeze the action. Also, if youre going to be using the internal flash I have read that the flash units in the SD700's are pretty weak, I assume they will be similar on the SD800, and remember if you shoot high ISO with the F30 and still use the flash you get good looking images (the flash throttles down to not overexpose and blow the subject), kind of like the strobes that have adjustbale power based on the circumstances. I think this is a great feature, in fact it does this on all ISO's. So say you shoot always at ISO400 (which is very very clean, quite comparable to ISO100 on the SD700) you can just leave it there and toggle the flash on and off and you know your images will be exposed fine without having to adjust any ISO settings. Also, using a higher ISO like 400-800 may increase the reach of your flash as-well (but be careful for backscatter) There are also two Auto ISO options on the F30 which I think is very useful, (Auto 400 - limits max ISO to 400 - should be perfect for most diving situations and especially tropical, holiday diving, etc.) and Auto 1600 (for low-light situations and good for cases where you might be diving in a non-tropical setting with, low visibility, low light, etc..) In fact, the main reason I got the F30 was due to the high ISO, smart flash that adjusts output and the aperture/shutter priority mode and Manual WB that the camera offers, also the battery life is superb (around 600 shots with the LCD) and the video quality is real nice too (one minor gripe with the video is that there are no WB settings unfortunately, WB options are only offered for photo's). I think these will come in handy for a compact P&S underwater. Hope this helps a little.

Theres a link here: http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/9195/fuji_finepix_f30_underwater_housing/

And its like a minireview of the F30 housing. Unfortunately, the diver only shot on Auto (in the Netherlands at that!) and did not use Manual WB or even the Underwater setting on the cam. Still it gives you an idea.

Why is high ISO not useful underwater? I thought it would be useful as high ISO ability means good low light performance, which is what the underwater environment is like.

Of course, if you have a strobe, you will not need high ISO. But I plan to use internal flash for now. I might get a strobe but that would be later on. I have seen many good photos taken using internal flash alone so I think it would be fine if you have the right camera and right settings.

 

[WuffRuff]

Hey thanks, Starlan. You have been very helpful. After reading your posts, I think the F30 would be a much better cam than SD800 for my purposes. The only fault I can find with the F30 is the lack of full manual control and RAW, both of which is found in E900 which is probably the best underwater camera atm but unfortunately, I just do not like the bulk and weight that comes with it in the Ikelite. I've been waiting and hoping that Fuji would come up with an upgrade to the E900 soon... hopefully in a smaller, slimmer and prettier package. If this isn't announced at Photokina, then I'll probably go ahead and get the F30 first. Anyway, the housing is cheap and the camera would be very useful on land too!

 

[starlan]

No problem. Yes, the E900 is a nice camera too that offers good high ISO performance as-well. Not quite as good as the F30 but still a pretty good ISO800, plus it has RAW as you state. I suggest you check out www.inonamerica.com too, if youre serious about underwater shooting INON makes great strobes and have some good lenses too (macro, wide angle) that fit the F30 and a mount thats specific for the F30 (also see this thread here: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=159415). In fact, I see many posts here by users of such P&S cams such as Olympus Sp-350 and Canon S80, Fuji E900 etc.. that use such setups (Inon strobes, lenses, etc.) and they produce incredible images, very very comparable to DSLR images and in my opinion just as good. That said its not cheap but still significantly less than a DSLR setup still. I honestly, think the difference between DSLR's and P&S's is much more significant topside and less underwater since there are plenty of accesories for P&S cams (even the F30) you do have the equipment to be able to produce striking results as I see posted here often. Also, no its not fully manual, but remember if you shoot in Aperture priority mode and set the aperute to say f5 (the sweet spot of this lens or any other aperture you please) and use +/-EV adjustments, you can make the camera adjust the shutter speed in -1/3EV incriments, getting you very close to fully manual anyways (or the opposite, pick a shutter say 1/125 and use EV to adjust cams aperture). Though, the F30 is not a perfect camera by any means (no cam is really) and I woudlnt want to give you an unfair view, the most major problem it has is Purple Fringing which is significant at the wide open aperture (f2.8), but the easy solution to this is shooting at an aperture of f5, which completely takes care of that problem. Also, the F30 can overexpose in bright and contrasty scenes outdoors (probably not a factor underwater) in those cases I recommend using -1/3 EV on Multi (pattern) metering and also using Average for landscape scenes is great. Also, in shade and overcast situations, the Auto WB is a little too blue for my liking, I always use Shade WB in these cases for a warmer color. Just some tips for you if you eventually get the camera and all the shortcomings of the camera can be corrected with a little knowledge (without even having to resort to post-processing at all). What I like about the F30 is that, it has really enabled me to understand digital photography a lot better (Aperture, EV adjustments, metering, etc..) and got me intersted in going fully manual (a DSLR - for land), I feel much more comfortable now using friends DSLR's.

EDIT: PS. One last tip , the LCD on default is way too bright, when reviewing your pics many look quite overexposed but are in fact fine its just the overly bright LCD, so set the LCD brightness to -2 for an accurate depiction of what the camera records. That was my last tip

 

[WuffRuff]

Thanks for all your tips & tricks, Starlan. Wow... you have really got this camera figured out, huh! Well, if I do get it and take it for a trip, I will post some pics here as a reward.

 

[starlan]

LOL, Ive figured it out pretty well I think, but I learned most of the tips from dpreview.com in the Fuji forum there. The forums are filled with excellent info there. I edited my post above with one last tip BTW (lcd brightness since its too bright by default on the camera).
Please do post pics no matter what cam you get, I will do so too when I go diving.

Thanks for all your tips & tricks, Starlan. Wow... you have really got this camera figured out, huh! Well, if I do get it and take it for a trip, I will post some pics here as a reward.

 

[WuffRuff]

Wonder if anybody knows...

1) Does the F30 housing come with a flash diffuser?
2) Are we able to purchase the O-rings for the housing? And from where? (its the part that will wear out first, i suppose)

 

[pakman]

Wonder if anybody knows...

1) Does the F30 housing come with a flash diffuser?
2) Are we able to purchase the O-rings for the housing? And from where? (its the part that will wear out first, i suppose)

1. Yes. Here's a link to the Fuji housing from the Fuji Film USA website...
http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/digitalCameraAccess_Details.jsp?group=grpDigiCamAcc&NavBarId=4&accid=500143

2. I presume you could get it directly from Fuji or via your Fuji dealer...