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Fuji X-T30 Performance


Timing and Performance

Excellent overall performance for its class.

Startup/Play to Record

Power on
to first shot
~1.3 seconds

Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.

Play to Record,
first shot
~1.0 second

Time until first shot is captured.

Power on to first shot was slightly faster-than-average for a mirrorless camera, though not as fast as most DSLRs. It's also difficult to accurately time, as there is a shutter pre-press penalty. Play to Record wasn't bad, but also had a pre-press penalty.


Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Mechanical / Electronic Shutter

Full Autofocus,
Single Area (center) AF-S mode
0.060 / 0.080
second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (All timing performed with the Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 lens.)

Full Autofocus,
Single Area AF-S,
Flash enabled
0.163 / N.A.
second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture. (Bundled flash in Auto mode.)

Manual Focus
0.059 / 0.079
second

For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Prefocused
0.051 / 0.067
second

Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Fuji X-T30's autofocus speed was very fast for a mirrorless camera. The X-T30's full autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) was only 0.060 second using single point (center) AF-S mode. Note that Boost mode was enabled and Release/Focus Priority was set to Focus Priority for the above tests (unlike most cameras, Fujis oddly default to Release Priority even in AF-S mode).

With the built-in flash enabled, the X-T30's full AF shutter lag increased to 0.163 second to account for preflash metering, but that's still very quick.

Manual focus shutter lag was also very fast at 0.059 second. Prefocused shutter lag was quick at 0.051 second, though that's not as fast as some competing mirrorless cameras.

We retested the X-T30's lag times using electronic shutter modes to see how using it impacts performance. (Note that the X-T30 does not offer an electronic first-curtain shutter option like its bigger brother, the X-T3.) As you can see, electronic shutter increased lag times, but not too dramatically.

With Boost mode off, Full AF lag increased to 0.090 second with the mechanical shutter and 0.105 second using the electronic shutter which is still quite fast. Manual and prefocused lags were not significantly affected by Boost mode.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.


Cycle Time (shot to shot)

Single Shot mode
Large/Fine JPEG
Mechanical Shutter
0.35 second

Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).

Single Shot mode
Lossless RAW + L/F JPEG
Mechanical Shutter
0.37 second

Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).

Early shutter
penalty?
Yes

Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.

Continuous High
Large Fine JPEG
Mechanical Shutter
0.13 second
(8.0 fps);
79 frames total;
14.3 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 20 frames. Slows to an average of 0.2s or 4.9 fps when buffer is full.

Continuous High
Lossless RAW
Mechanical Shutter
0.13 second
(8.0 fps);
18 frames total;
8.4 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 18 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.41s or 2.5 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
Lossless RAW + L/F JPEG
Mechanical Shutter
0.13 second
(8.0 fps);
18 frames total;
11.9 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 18 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.66s or 1.5 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
Large Fine JPEG
Electronic Shutter
0.05 second
(20.0 fps);
28 frames total;
13.2 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 28 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.1s or 10 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
Lossless RAW
Electronic Shutter
0.05 second
(20.0 fps);
17 frames total;
7.7 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 17 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.47s or 2.1 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
Lossless RAW + L/F JPEG
Electronic Shutter
0.05 second
(20.0 fps);
17 frames total;
11.4 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 17 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.74s or 1.3 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
16.6MP JPEG
Electronic Shutter
1.25x crop mode
0.03 second
(30.0 fps);
25 frames total;
16.2 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 25 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.09s or 11.5 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
16.6MP LL RAW
Electronic Shutter
1.25x crop mode
0.03 second
(30.0 fps);
18 frames total;
6.7 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 18 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.37s or 2.7 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous High
16.6MP Lossless RAW + JPEG
Electronic Shutter
1.25x crop mode
0.03 second
(30.0 fps);
17 frames total;
8.2 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 17 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.52s or 1.9 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Flash Recycling
3.5 seconds

Built-in flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were fast -- below 0.4 second for both JPEG and RAW+JPEG frames. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG.)

The X-T30 offers six full-resolution continuous modes consisting of Continuous Low at 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 fps, and Continuous High at 8.0, 10 and 20 frames per second. In addition, there are three 1.25x crop modes which save 16.6-megapixel files rated at 10, 20 and 30 fps. Note that all speeds above 8 fps use the electronic shutter.

The Fuji X-T30's top Continuous High burst mode speed with the mechanical shutter was very good, testing at 8 frames per second no matter the file type, meeting Fuji's spec. As mentioned, the X-T30's top full-resolution burst rate is 20 frames per second using the electronic shutter, and our lab results exactly matched that spec as well, no matter the file type. The X-T30's 30 fps 1.25x crop mode also exactly met spec in the lab. We did not test the lower-speed modes.

Full-resolution buffer depth was quite generous for JPEGs at 8 fps, with a tested buffer depth of 79 best quality JPEG files. When shooting losslessly compressed RAW or RAW+JPEG, the buffer depths dropped to 18 frames which is still pretty good for the class. Interestingly, RAW and RAW+JPEG buffer depths didn't change much when shooting at 20 fps, at 17 frames, though when shooting just JPEGs it fell from 79 to 28 frames. In the 30 fps 1.25x crop mode, buffer depths were 25 best quality JPEGs, 18 lossless RAW and 17 lossless RAW+JPEG frames.

Buffer clearing was reasonably quick given the buffer depths with our fast 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x SDXC card, taking between a best-case of 6.7 seconds and a worst-case of 16.2 seconds to clear after max-length bursts depending on the mode and file type, and the camera lets you adjust settings as well as view just-shot images while the buffer is clearing.

Recycling the built-in flash after full-power discharges took an average of 3.5 seconds, which is fair.


Bottom line, the Fuji X-T30's performance is excellent for its class with a decent startup time, super fast autofocus, low shutter lag, fast cycle times, and very fast bursts modes. Buffer depths could be deeper but they are still good for the class, and buffer clearing is reasonably quick when using a fast card.

Battery

Battery Life
Decent battery life for a mirrorless camera.

Still Capture
with XF 35mm f/1.4 lens		 Battery Life, Shots
(Normal / Boost)
Electronic Viewfinder
360 / 260
LCD Monitor
380 / 300

The Fuji X-T30 uses a custom NP-W126S rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and is charged in-camera via USB. The CIPA-rated battery life (with flash disabled) is about average for a mirrorless camera in Normal mode, but it's lower than average in Boost mode, and much lower than most DSLRs. We recommend getting a second battery for your X-T30 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

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

 

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