The Canon PowerShot D30 is a small, sleek, and compact camera that has an underwater performance down to 25 meters. Furthermore, it has a shock resistance of about two meters and temperature resistance from 14 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 to 40 degrees Celsius).
The best aspect of this camera is that it does not need any separate underwater casing. All you need to do is grab your camera and dive headfirst in the sea! If we talk about the picture quality, it has a 12MP CMOS sensor, a built-in GPS, a clear LCD, and High-Sensitive (HS) system.
Whether you want an everyday Canon camera or the right tool for underwater photography, the Canon PowerShot D30 will do the job.
We’re going to dive deep into the characteristic features of the camera that we found admirable. Furthermore, we will compare it with its biggest competitors and see how it stacks up so you can decide if this is the right camera for you.
Design
Looking at the Canon PowerShot D30, its design is conservative. It is a rectangle-shaped camera with rounded edges. It has a flat top panel and grip pads which makes gripping and using the camera comfortable and convenient.
Due to its small size of 4.29 x 1.1 x 2.68 inches, it can easily be held single-handedly. It weighs 7.7 ounces which makes it extremely lightweight and easy to use.
The metallic blue and black body of the unit is constructed from high-density plastic which can survive impacts from as high as two meters.
Lens
The lens is on the left top corner. It has a wide-angle magnification of 5x which is equivalent to 28 to 140mm. Furthermore, it has an optical image stabilization option and built-in flash as well as an AF lamp which works great in low-light conditions.
At the top panel of the camera, you will see a small movie record button on one side and the power button on the other side. A slightly bigger shutter release is between these two buttons.
While most cameras have a zoom collar around the shutter release button, the Canon PowerShot D30 has a rocket switch at the backside of the camera. We found this switch really easy to use and did not once think about the zoom collar. Besides, the rocket switch works seamlessly, which delighted us.
Under the rocket switch, you will see a four-way control pad that has a button in the middle. This button activates the function menu. At the bottom, there are two buttons: playback and menu.
LCD
The LCD has a resolution of 461K dots and is approximately three inches when measured diagonally. The screen shows a contrasted, clear image that is visible even in direct sunlight. Canon has introduced the Sunlight mode in the PowerShot D30, which helps to enhance the brightness of the screen in bright outdoor or indoor conditions. However, we noticed the camera uses a lot of battery if you keep it on for longer periods.
The battery, memory card, HDMI, and USB connections are present in the compartments at the side and base of the camera. The compartments are securely closed with latches. They are firm and keep dust and water out nicely.
On the other hand, the latches are small and might be difficult to open or close if you have short nails.
Built-in GPS
The GPS of the Canon PowerShot D30 works impressively well. It efficiently records the local time and location of wherever you shoot.
Moreover, the GPS can also track your path through photos and videos that you captured so you will be able to visualize each one of your trips! You can also create personal travel guides and custom maps with your family and friends.
The Canon PowerShot D30 in Use
The Canon PowerShot D30 has a maximum aperture of f/4.8 when you fully zoom in on a subject, whereas the maximum aperture in the wide-angle setting is f/3.9. In both cases, we noticed that the pictures are well-defined, have vibrancy, and are clear.
We liked how quickly the camera powers up and takes a picture (it took us merely two to five seconds to turn the camera on and shoot a picture). If you use the single-shot mode, it can capture two pictures with only a two-second gap in between. Whereas in continuous shooting mode, the D30 can take a picture at a speed of one frame per second.
If we talk about the focus of the camera, it is super-fast and precise when you have good lighting. In low light, the focus is delayed by a second. As mentioned above, it has an AF lamp and a flashlight which enhances the quality of the image shot within four to five meters in dark conditions.
We were not pleased with the AiAF multi-zone autofocus system of the camera since it repeatedly focused on the backgrounds instead of the main subject of our picture. However, central-zone AF is much better than the multi-zone.
Underwater Picture Quality
Using the camera underwater, we found that the HS system helps to produce clear images even in low light, given that it is between four to five meters. The Canon PowerShot D30 has an underwater mode which helps to tune to the natural colors of any subject. The custom White Balance further enhances the vibrancy and contrast of the underwater environment.
If you want to capture zoomed-in pictures of any marine animal or plant, use the Underwater Macro mode which gives clear, sharp, and detailed images.
The camera impressively has little to no chromatic aberrations. While shooting test images, the only distortion we noticed was when we shot in spots that had no direct light.
Noise
The PowerShot D30 has six ISO settings. While all the ISO settings give exceptional results, you will notice noise around ISO 1,600 which intensifies at ISO 3,200.
At ISO 100, you will get crystal clear and sharp images that have ideal detail in the white and black areas of the picture.
At full magnification, there is almost no noise at ISO 200 and ISO 400. The edge detail of the image is very high at this stage. You will start noticing slight merging of the shadows at ISO 800, however. Noise becomes very prominent at ISO 1,600. At ISO 3,200, the colors of the image clearly start merging together. We think that the results at ISO 3,200 were much better than many of the camera’s rivals in the same price and quality bracket.
How Does the Canon PowerShot D30 Stack Up?
The Canon D30 has two prominent rivals: Panasonic’s LUMIX DMC-FT5 and Fujifilm’s FinePix XP60. Let’s compare these three cameras so you can get a better idea of what each one offers.
| Canon PowerShot D30 | Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT5 | Fujifilm FinePix XP60 | |
| Effective Pixels (millions) | 12.1 | 16.1 | 16.4 |
| Focal Length of Lens | 5-25mm | 4.9-22.8mm | 5-25mm |
| Magnification | 5x | 4.6x | 5x |
| Optical Image Stabilization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ISO Sensitivity | 3200, 1600, 800, 400, 200, 100, AUTO | 3200, 1600, 800, 400, 200, 100, AUTO | 6400, 3200, 1600, 800, 400, 200, 100, AUTO |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | No |
The Canon PowerShot D30 Is a Solid Choice
Whether you’re looking for a camera for blogging/vlogging or to capture your deep-sea adventures, the Canon PowerShot D30 is perfect. We liked the image quality, regardless of whether it was in the water or out.
It has slight distortion in low light, however, it is negligible. The chromatic aberration and noise are barely there no matter where you shoot. Moreover, it has various modes that can be used in different settings to get optimal results.
The D30 is water-resistant and the memory card, HDMI/USB port, and battery are all housed in small compartments that have rigid latches that keep water, dust, and other contaminants out.
