X-T30
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The best cameras, accessories and bags to give as gifts
For a creator with ambition, a smartphone alone probably won't cut it. If you have a decent budget, their talent for street photography, cinema or portraits will be better served by a mirrorless or DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Luckily, we're in a golden age of excellent cameras that can handle a lot of different jobs. We found six choice models hitting all the budget categories, ranging from $500 to $1,700, to help you find just the right camera. If your giftee is into filmmaking or street photography, Fujifilm's X-T30 mirrorless camera is one the best all-around options, while Canon's M6 Mark II is a speed and resolution champ. For more budget-minded shoppers, Nikon's D3500 is ideal for DSLR purists, while Sony's A6100 is packed with the latest tech. And for filmmakers or portrait artists, take a look at Nikon's Z 6 or the Sony A6500. Of course, the photographer in your life might be very happy with the camera they already own. In those cases, we've got a selection of accessories, from bags to gimbals, picked by our staff. (There's even a phone accessory, if they're really married to shooting with their smartphone.)
Fujifilm X-T30 review: A street photography and 4K-video champ
Amid all the drama in the full-frame mirrorless camera world, Fujifilm quietly unveiled the world-beating APS-C sensor X-T3, last fall. With an all-new 26.1-megapixel X-Trans 4 backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor, it was a major improvement on the X-T2 in speed, autofocus capability, ergonomics and, especially, video. Then, to further press its advantage on Sony, Fujifilm subsequently launched the X-T30 with the same sensor and image quality as the X-T3, for $600 less. Despite that price gap, the X-T30 is packed with features. It has full APS-C 4K video, shooting speeds up to 30 fps and AI-powered face- and eye-detection autofocus. All of that is squeezed into a lightweight, well-designed body that's ideal for travel and street photography. You can't have everything, though, so the X-T30 is missing some features found on its higher-end sibling. To find out how it would fare against rivals, like Sony's A6400, I took it for a spin on the streets of Paris.
Fujifilm’s X-T30 shrinks the X-T3 in size and price
Fujifilm continues its effort to conquer the APS-C mirrorless market with the launch of the $899 X-T30, a slightly stripped down version of the X-T3. It's much improved over its predecessor, the X-T20, with the addition of a focus joystick and touchscreen. On top of that, it shares the X-T3's 26.1-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 4 BSI (backside-illuminated) sensor and quad-core X-Processor, bringing better resolution and faster shooting speeds. It has a similarly classy, but much smaller body that weighs just 383 grams (0.89 pounds), compared to 539 grams for the X-T3.
