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Fuji is aiming the X30 at enthusiast and professional photographers looking for a high quality compact camera for second-shooting at weddings, street photography and taking or days out. By the company's own admission, it isn't meant as a radical upgrade to the X20, but a refinement that makes the camera more versatile and using it a more pleasurable experience.
While some may be concerned about the loss of the optical viewfinder, I recommend trying the EVF as it's an excellent device that brings several benefits. The larger, tilting screen also helps promote creative photography, although as usual it's preferable to compose images in the viewfinder when possible.
Image quality from the X30 is on a par with that from the X20.
We liked
The X30 has a good solid build and most features are within easy reach. It's especially nice to have a zoom ring on a compact camera, along with both exposure mode and exposure compensation dials.
Switching to an electronic viewfinder brings some distinct advantages including the loss of parallax error and the ability to see the impact of settings changes. However, colours, especially green, tend to look a bit too vibrant in the viewfinder.
The screen is excellent, but it would be nice of it were touch sensitive and mounted on a full articulating bracket for easier viewing when shooting upright images.
We disliked
Although the X30 feels very nicely built and comfortable in the hand, it's larger than the X20 and our expectations have changed a little bit now that Sony and Canon has started putting one-inch type sensors in compact cameras like the Sony RX100 III and Canon G7 X that are smaller. It's also not much smaller than the Panasonic LX100 which has a Four Thirds type sensor inside and more traditional controls.
Also, while the camera generally performs well it has the odd 'moment' when it doesn't behave as expected, either refusing to turn on when it should or seeming to shift focus after locking onto a subject (although thankfully it doesn't).
Final verdict
Unlike some compact cameras, the X30 looks and feels like a 'proper camera' that puts the photographer in control. It also produces superb quality images that compare very well with those from cameras with larger sensors. At the higher sensitivity settings, however, its smaller sensor size starts to restrict performance in comparison with models such as the Sony RX100 III and Canon G7 X.
