The X30 might be the next release in Fuji’s house. And a good soul out there decided to share, anonymously (and unfortunately didn’t even use a nick name), the following rumor with all of us.
The X30 will have a much longer battery life (the source said “over 400 shots”. The X20 can take about 270 shots, while the X-T1 approx. 350 frames). Plus: you’ll be able to charge it via USB cable.
The anonymous source didn’t say if Fuji will continue to include an external charger too, or just an USB-cable… and as I cannot contact it directly, well, in case you read this post dear source, please let us know (if you know).
For now, please take it with a grain of salt.
However, the question now is: do you prefer the classic external charger or the USB-charging? Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments and to vote the poll.
[poll id=”58″]
The rumored X30 specs list so far is: (TS= trusted source / NeS =New Source / AS = Anonymous Source / SRP = source who was right in the past, but not yet trusted / ORS = other rumor sites)
– 2/3 sensor (TS + NeS)
– EVF only (TS + NeS)
– EVF specs: 2,36mp, x0.62 magnification and 100% coverage (TS)
– Announcement: at photokina (ORS) – FR-sources just said “this summer” (AS)
– Battery: more than 400 shots with one battery and USB-charging (AS)
P.S.: Feel free to make my daily work here on Fujirumors a bit easier and to share rumors with us. You can do it via email (don’t worry, your identity won’t be revealed, never ever), or 100% anonymously via rumor box. In this case feel free you to invent a nick-name, so that I can, eventually, recognize you in future.
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65 Responses
How about being able to charge both via USB and an external charger. What an outlandish concept that would be.
Oh, and thanks as always for the great/hard work Patrick!
I’m with Martin: Having a choice would be ideal. If you have multiple batteries, an external charger is a must, so you can charge one while still using the camera. But if you don’t, or if you just want to top up the camera battery between uses, charging via USB would be very handy. I wish every camera offered both options.
Would you be willing to pay more for it? It would cost an extra cable plus the circuitry to handle it. While no doubt some people will rush in to say it costs Fuji 47 cents to do it (without accounting for all costs, overhead, plus Fuji’s profit requirements) it really doesn’t add a lot of benefit.
Yes, I would. I think it does add a lot benefit.
Shame about the sensor, but a 24mm – (?) lens would help. Otherwise, the rumored Pan LX8 would be a strong contender.
My charging preferance depends on the situation.
For a compact camera with a battery life long enough for the whole day, USB-charging is perfect, because I need no extra charger – USB is already with me because of smartphone and/or tablet.
When I need to use two or more batteries to use the camera the whole day especially in a shooting, an external charger is a must. This is often the case with bigger, more professional cameras.
Perfect would be to offer both. The external charger might even be optional – but with a fair price, please.
Better battery life would be a nice feature, but not a major one considering image quality…
If sensor remains a 2/3 X-trans II as supposed, the last possible improvement is about the lens. I’m dreaming of a much wider one : a 21mm eq. would be a unique feature in the compact cameras range…
And maybe another wish : go more compact (more like XQ1 size) to be a really pocketable camera would be great…
But I’m affraid these wishes will both remain dreams for this time!
x100s clone with a fixed 21mm pancake based on russar lens and optical wide angle viewfinder – homer simpson drool face 🙂
I’d love to have USB charging for my X-E1 as well. Yet another accessory less I’d have to carry around while travelling. USB-charging might be slow, but I wouldn’t care as I recharge at night and carry spare batteries in any way.
Dedicated charger only. Lets me charge a battery while using another. ‘Nuff said.
so after a long day of shooting you put one into the charger and plug it into the wall and go to sleep, in the morning you have one charged and one uncharged. you are very bright.
No, doing it that way would be dumb. I’ve always been smart enough to have one fully charged before bed and charging the other.
External charger + option to recharge via USB in case the charger breaks or to charge one battery in camera while the second one is charging from the wall.
Several months ago, I would have never guessed that Fuji would be heading into Photokina with the biggest buzz being about a 2/3 sensor camera.
While there were some very interesting rumours months ago (medium format, X-Pro 2), it seems very anticlimactic now. Perhaps they are leaning towards only releasing fixed-lens cameras, and the X-Pro 2 is still a long way off.
Perhaps, by the time Fuji releases the X-Pro 2, I won’t even care anymore, as the wait may kill my interest by then. That said, if they want customers to stick around, they need to provide an upgrade with a considerable improvement in image quality soon, as the current recycled sensor technology will not cut it for anyone looking to upgrade in the future.
The rumors are that X30, XPro2 and X200 are all coming.
Wow, 400 shots!? I still love what I was able to do with my Nikon D2H. As a working newspaper shooter, I had two bodies and just three batteries. Only needed one spare as the batteries would last for a couple of thousand shots before changing. Now I have two backup batteries for both my X100S and X-E1. ‘Course the size of all four batteries is about the same size as the one li-ion battery I had for my Nikons……
I can’t recall ever having to actually change batteries on a project with my D300s, and that’s after almost five years of professional use. Might be different if I, say, used the popup flash or something, but so far, not a single time. I actually only have one battery for that camera (I can put standard AA eneloops into the battery grip as a backup if there is an issue with the Nikon battery).
Try using your DSLRs in live view for thousands of shots. 😉
In that case, I wouldn’t be using the mirror, so technically, I’d be shooting mirrorless 🙂 Still, I guess the battery would last longer than on a Fuji since it’s just physically larger.
I don’t remember a “live view” on my D2H bodies and don’t use my X-System gear in live view. And I am not shooting commercially anymore. Left the paper just before they laid me off and have now retired.
Why would I do that? I don’t use LiveView in my Fuji gear now. And, I certainly wouldn’t do it for a thousand shots. I won’t speak for most press photographers, but as a general rule of thumb, if we are chimping, then we’re not really paying much attention to our job.
Using the EVF in a Fuji is essentially LiveView, only that you are not using the rear Display. And if you use an OVF the sensor, which is the largest power drain, is still on because there is no separate exposure meter or AF sensor. To make the power consumption of a DSLR comparable to a System camera you have to put it in live view.
Now don’t come back to say that is not relevant for practical purposes… I know. Just sayin: it is not because Fuji is behind in technology, it is an issue of a different technology.
I don’t use EVF either. Again, I stand by my statement.
I love my X-E2, but battery life is awful. To get good performance from the camera, you have to put it in “high performance” mode. Once you do that, you’re burning through batteries. I have 3 batteries, and while I’ve never run out, I’ve made it to the 3rd one in a single day.
I’m always fascinated by comments like this. Indicates that someone actually went out to shoot and literally shot HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of frames all day long and burned through multiple batteries (and probably a few high-capacity SD cards to boot) — doing PHOTOGRAPHY — not even hi-res video.
Tell me something — when you get home and import those 100s of GBs worth of photos into your photo editor, how many are actual “keepers”? How long does it take you to post-process the good ones?
So much for the “slow down and compose” and “shoot less” philosophy behind these X-series cams, EH???
Whoop out the .50 cal and a pallette of ammo and spray the field like there’s no tomorrow~~!!!!
I feel like flying you to Japan with your 10TB HDD full of jpg and raw images shot in one flippin weekend and trying to explain to the execs at Fuji why you need a battery capable of shooting even more…..
Except it doesn’t work out to hundreds and hundreds of photos in the real world. If you are in a scenario where you want your camera available at a moment’s notice, so you leave it turned on, even if you set it to eye sensor for the EVF only, the batteries do not last all that long. Thanks for playing though.
I think I could go about 1200 shots on my D2Hs at the paper if it were a JPG only day or about 750 in JPG+NEF
Then again I get well over 270 in JPG on my X20 now as it is. Still a better battery is always welcomed.
I shot RAW only, Aaron, and, for the newspaper work, the D2H was a great camera. While being APS-C was a little bit of a drawback, I made up for the shortcomings with the lenses I used. Loved my 12-24mm f4 for the wide stuff and had a 300mm f2.8 for sports and concerts. The only failure I had was the meter failure that occurred on the early models. Other than that one glitch, I used them for 10 years without a problem. Even had the original batteries still working when I sold them when I retired….
I got to admit, I loved my Nikons, D1 up to D2Hs. For press work they were workhorses. Editor thought I was nuts when some of us staffers complained about dis-positioning the D2’s for D3’s, cause the battery was so stable unlike our D1’s before it, and were worried about power draw with FF.
In time a lot of us, liked my D3S, but more often than not, I found myself using my X100, and subsequently, the X-Pro1 over the D3S. At first some of the guys thought I was nuts, then realized how much easier it was on their backs after a day of carrying the mirror less over two D3S’ and all the f/2.8 glass.
I’m now out of the game, and I think most of the gear is Canon.
Definitely external charger, for the following reasons:
– You can have more than one battery charging at the same time via multiple chargers
– You don’t wear out the USB connection on the camera and the heat generated while charging won’t stress camera components
– You can charge batteries while using the camera at the same time
– Users accepting internal charging with no external option unfortunately leads to companies thinking that using built-in batteries that are not user replaceable is acceptable (looking at you, Apple), which is just crazy
– If the charging circuitry breaks, you can send the charger in for servicing or buy a replacement with at most one day of delay. With built-in charging, you’d have to send in the camera, which can take 2–3 weeks depending on where you are.
– Oftentimes, charging needs to happen in public or semi-public places. I’m a lot more comfortable leaving a simple charger with a battery unattended than an entire camera
– When defective batteries go rogue in any way (bulge, explode, whatever), it is most likely to happen during charging. If the battery is in a separate charger, things like those at least won’t affect the camera.
Internal charging is a nice emergency option and also great for situations where minimal equipment takes priority, so having the option is nice. But external charging is essential for me.
I do wish Fujifilm took a leaf out of Sigma’s book and included two or more batteries in the box from the start. And I’d love it if the original batteries were not ridiculously overpriced (41€ for the original one vs. third party ones starting at 3–6€ including shipping) so it would actually make sense to get original spare ones rather than the aftermarket ones with questionable quality control.
I’d also wish they dedicated the same level of thought and design to the chargers as they do to the cameras. The one that comes with the X100s has this plastic adapter piece that always comes off and is incredibly easy to lose for instance (I think it’s one charger model that’s shared between a bunch of different cameras). And what if the original charger already had two bays so you could charge two batteries at once? When I’m in a situation where I go through 3 batteries a day and always need to have a set available, I would either need to buy 3 chargers to charge over night, or even 3 chargers 6 batteries if I want to charge during the day while I’m out. Mirrorless just needs more battery power while having less room for batteries than a DSLR.
Oh, should they really decide to implement external charging on X cameras, I hope they use an Apple MagSafe-like connection so that cables to protect the cameras. If they want to use the standard USB port, maybe they can use a small adapter or something.
Costs nothing to have the option to charge via usb. You are on vacation, instead of bringing 2 chargers you can bring one and charge two batteries simultaneously. It takes no space. If your charger breaks, you lose or forget it somewhere you can buy a usb cable anywhere or just borrow one most hotels, restaurants etc have them. Only positives. There is no downside to having this option you obviously have no idea what you are talking about as you spent so much time defending your flawed reasoning.
Relax, no need to attack me, I’m actually on your side 🙂
As I clearly stated, I think internal charging is great as an emergency option or for situations where chargers create additional luggage overhead, or for more casual vacation users who don’t normally travel with half a photo studio in their luggage and don’t need to have several levels of backup plans for every possible case.
However, I am of the opinion that external charging is essential to have on any camera and that completely *replacing* it with exclusive internal charging or even shipping the cameras without an external charger would be a bad idea (this is regarding the following quote from the article: “The anonymous source didn’t say if Fuji will continue to include an external charger too, or just an USB-cable”).
“Costs nothing to have the option to charge via USB” is an incorrect statement on your part since it of course requires development resources and dedicated circuitry in the camera. Therefore, there is a possibility that Fujifilm are making a tradeoff on external charging. We don’t know, and I don’t claim to, I just gave rational arguments why limiting external charging options should be carefully considered.
My motivation for giving detailed reasoning is in no way that I am obsessively defensive, it is because it is quite likely that someone at Fujifilm reads through the feedback here. If so, “yes” or “no” is not going to be as helpful to them in their design decisions as specific reasoning why. That is all. Otherwise I would not be commenting at all since it would in no way be constructive and I would rather spend the time on improving my work.
So please respect that while I am replying to your comment out of courtesy, I have in no interest whatsoever in an argument. If “you obviously have no idea what you are talking about” was intended as a provocation, I would respectfully ask you to find somebody else to pick on.
I’m sorry, forgive my remark.
So, everyone agrees:
Ideal: Usb+Charger (dont need to include usb cable)
Ok: Charger only
Bad: USB only
Also, does anyone use hdmi out or a wire to unload photos from the camera? I have the fuji x100s and I never opened that little side door once in over a year.
I can agree with that. 🙂
I don’t use HDMI. Never found it all that helpful for me. But I can see it being useful now and then for some people.
For projecting photos on tv? Unedited, unsorted, uncorrected photos? Plus 3 out of 3 tv’s I have all accept SD memory cards. Are there other uses for it? Tethering is done over USB I believe and these are not exactly studio cameras. That door on the right should be moved to the bottom of the camera where the memory card slot is anyway.
Lots of TVs out there (millions) without SD card capability. But it can also double, possibly, as a video out mode for people to do raw video or compressed video. So there is some utility in that. Don’t know if they do it now or not (I don’t really do video) but it’s possible.
I use HDMI out to post process raw files in-camera on a TV.
400 shots per battery would be impressive.
I hope Fuji supports direct wireless printing to the Instax in all future cameras and in a firmware update for current models. That would be a fun way to give people a print on the street.
@Patrick How about weather sealing, tilting touch LCD, and organic sensor potential? 🙂
Since now sources didn’t say a word about weather sealing.
The organic sensor is, I think, still not ready (if ever).
A tilt screen? I have no information about it, but my sixth sense says that Fuji will put a tilt screen in the X30… and the X-E3, and the X-PRO2, and the X-T1S, and the X100T, and the X-M2, and the X-Z1, and whatever X will come.
I suspect that your sixth sense is correct — Fuji seems over due for tilting screens and could leap frog Sony by making it touch too.
Yes, organic rumors have gone very quiet, but maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised that the stealth mode is rolling up to the launch. But more likely, it is not ready yet.
And weather sealing? HUGE missed opportunity for the X30, I think. Yes, many may cite the excellent points raised by Roger Cicala on his LensRentals.com blog about “weather sealing” being marketing hype. But that doesn’t preclude a bold manufacturer from creating a legitimately ruggedized product with a warranty to back it up. Fuji, in particular, seems suited to do this, as their cameras are already favored by travel and street photographers, and have even been wooing away pros, who are accustomed to having the feature. And the X30 would be a great place to start, as it is the perfect travel and carry it always camera.
As always, THANKS YOU for the excellent work on this blog!
Here is the product segmentation theory again. Te whole x-series is designed to be light-weight and fit for travel.
The x30 is no more a travel camera than the x-pro1. To be honest, the x-pro1 is already so tiny and light-weight that it is difficult to handle sometimes.
This being said, the x30 is designed for kids and students who want upgrade from p&s.
But the traveler’s first choice can equally be any of the x-series models, because they are designed with the same idea in mind: small & light.
We agree, partially 🙂
I’m just suggesting that the X30 is a particularly good candidate (as is the “X200”) by virtue of having fixed lenses. To your point, even the “big” XPro is relatively small. Maybe all of the new bodies will get the weather sealing. But the majority of lenses don’t have it, unfortunately.
The X20 may have been targeted as you suggest but I believe that enthusiasts are buying it, not very casual shooters. I have no evidence, of course. Just a feeling. But I believe the audience you’re describing would look at the XQ1 or more likely, a Canon Elph, rather than an X20. Anyone who recognizes the benefits of things like an exposure comp dial and VF has more ambitious photographic intent. 😉
LMAO @ ….”for kids and students who want to upgrade from p&s” ….
Yeah — there’s a real logical path there for sure. 16-year-old going from Apple iPhone to Fuji X30 cuz you know — kids and students spend inordinate amounts of time perusing forums like this looking for ideas for p&s upgrades…..
Ah HAHAHAHAHA
ahem.
Battery life is the real drawback of mirrorless cameras like is the drawback of battery cars or mobiles (especially considering the increasing size of the screens). Producers need to develop more powerful batteries that will have in the worst scenario the same size of the current ones.
400 shots (CIPA) is real good.
http://photobyandrei.wordpress.com/
Other industries should be poring over Elon Musk’s recently released Tesla patents for inspiration.
Meanwhile, I wish that camera companies would standardize on one or two battery sizes and make these sizes interoperable not only across their own cameras, but across brands as well. An open standard would simplify their own manufacturing (albeit at some proprietary accessory revenue), but would ultimately be great for consumers, which would benefit them in the end.
I don’t think that’ll happen. Each company makes quite a bit of profit on their batteries. They won’t give that up easily. And it would introduce some design constraints in future designs. As a consumer I totally agree but from a business perspective I don’t see it happening.
It is a dream, for sure. At least to think it might happen across brands. From a single manufacturer point of view, sometimes there are efficiencies to be gained. Olympus, for example, uses the same battery in the Pen EP5 and the OMD models. They likely did not consider the customer benefit to me, an owner of an EP5 and EM1, but I really like having the compatibility and they didn’t need to create a new part.
Do any of the X cameras use the same battery?
Yes, all x-cameras share the same x-batteries.
Thanks! That’s convenient.
I agree, the battery life of mirrorless cameras is ridiculous. My GF1 took time to get used to, but the optical finder usage of the X-Pro1 extends the battery life drastically. I can get close to DSLR type numbers if image review is off.
apart from the risk of fujifilm pulling a sony and leaving external charger out of the box, I can see at least two problems: serious camera heating while charging (especially in hot climate), which can’t be good for the sensor, and fast usb port wearing off. Not to mention charging times via usb are likely to be really long:(
USB charging is high on my wishlist (RX100 has it too), so this is good news! Now if they improved on the lens too (24-120mm equiv. please!) it’ll make it to my shortlist for a new travel camera.
In case you’re wondering why I like USB charging: I like (multi week) bicycle touring and USB means less volume, less weight (I’ll admit I’m a weight weenie ;-)) and the option to charge using the hub generator in my bike.
One more thing: why has nobody yet thought of putting an USB connector and charging electronics in the battery itself?
I would think it would require very little electronics (one small IC?) to charge a 3.7V battery from a 5V input, but I can barely tell the difference between a resistor and a diode so please enlighten me!
It would mitigate some of the problems people already described here at (I think) only small additional cost.
The IC to control charging is not that big or expensive, and in may cases it is already in the battery. The USB connector is not and I could imagine a few reasons for that.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, the real reason camera makers are doing this is that it reduces the cost of providing the camera. And to be fair to them I would guess most users will not miss the charger – I certainly don’t miss it with my Ricoh-GR, although I was skeptical at first.
Why not have the charger connected to USB? directly?
If the camera has USB charging, fine, the charger can still take USB power and charge.
Additionally —
Why are the fujifilm chargers so large?
Why does it come with all that cable? I bought the Wasabi third party charger, goes right into the wall, perfect. No cables, half the size!
Have the charger itself take USB. On the go, we can take one of those USB backup batteries, so we can plug the charger right into it.
I travel a lot, and never know what outlet situation is going to be like at hotel. Usually lucky to have one wall or desk mount outlet. Sometimes only outlet is one built in to base of lamp. I for one like long cords. Also, I travel with several different X-series, so I have to charge multiple batteries. Wall mount chargers limit that.
I don’t carry laptop very often, too much extra weight (and charger as well…) so USB charge is worthless to me.
I usually carry a large capacity USB battery anyways. Being able to charge the camera on the road will surely prove itself useful.
It’s not a replacement for external chargers though.
as much as i like this news, its not enough to make the camera (plus the evf) a strong contender to the latest releases from sony and the ones coming from Pana and possibly even Nikon. I even like the 2/3 sensor, but the camera must have better performance (IQ wise) and faster lens than before. Otherwise, its a good chance to be DOA
LOL @ “DOA” — they’ll sell more of these than you do prints of your own work.
specially if my prints are limited editions…good thinking..you are smart…LOL@smartjohn..trying to offend others because their have a point of view…@sóquenão…
So yet another new battery for X10/20 owners to buy.
Interestjng that the initial generation of high class Fuji compacts, the F10… series, got as much as 500 shots per charge in, like, 2005.
Note that when discussing mirrorless battery life, with the the fastest focusing mirrorless camera (Nikon 1) family, the V1’s battery still lasts reportedly 500-900 shots, even with raw+jpg… it uses the same battery as the D800. Why do most other mirrorless have such puny batteries, it’s one of their bigger drawbacks.
Well, I personally couldn’t care less wether it’s 230 or400 shots, as long as it is a typical small sensor camera I am no longer interested. Last time I used a camera with such a small sensor for more than a few tryout shots was in 2002 – Sony F717, same sensor size, right?, after that only APSc and larger.. Sony realized that the only small sensor format that can survive in the cell phone age is the one in the RX100…
It certainly still looks good, but in it’s inside, it is not too exciting, at least in my opinion.