Fujifilm's latest entry in its Finepix range is the F30. Unlike Casio, which recently released the 10-megapixel Z1000 , Fujifilm has decided to equip the Finepix F30 with a far more sensible 6.3-megapixel CCD.

The camera looks very similar to previous models such as the Finepix F11 ; a small mode dial sits on the top, along with the shutter and power buttons, while the battery and XD Picturecard (16MB supplied) slot in below.

A 2.5in LCD screen occupies the vast majority of the rear and is coated in an anti-glare film, making it easier to use it in direct sunlight. Since there's no optical viewfinder, you'll have to rely on this screen when composing shots.

The controls for the 3x zoom lens sit just above the menu buttons; despite the relatively small size of these buttons, they're quite easy to use.

Impressively, the Finepix F30 takes just 1.5 seconds to fire up, which should reduce the number of missed photo opportunities.

A big feature Fujifilm is keen to highlight is the ISO 3200 setting. ISO settings adjust how sensitive the camera is to light - the higher the ISO, the higher the sensitivity to light.

This means if you're shooting in low light, selecting a higher ISO enables you to take a picture without the flash.

However, high ISO settings bring with them increase image noise.

To illustrate this, we've taken the same shot with each of the F30's ISO settings - as you can see, by the time it hits ISO 3200 image noise is rampant.

We don't see too many people using anything higher than ISO 800, while shots taken at ISO 3200 will only be acceptable should you have no other option (ie an event where flash photography isn't allowed).

View the Fujifilm Finepix F30 ISO image gallery

When shooting in the standard Auto mode, most camera settings are disabled, leaving you just to point and shoot.

The Manual mode provides access to settings such as white balance, metering and focus mode (manual focus is not available), as well as the ability to change the ISO setting.

A third shooting mode offers aperture and shutter priority, but a full manual mode that allows you to adjust both aperture and shutter settings is omitted.

Although the Auto mode allows for hassle-free shooting, we found the Finepix F30 a little too eager to make use of its high ISO capabilities. Even when shooting in reasonably well lit conditions, it would ramp up to ISO 400 or even ISO 800.

As explained above, this increases overall image noise. The way round this is to shift into the Manual mode and adjust the ISO setting yourself, but you then have to make sure all the other settings are correct.

Image quality on the whole was as we expected. In low ISO shots fine detail was excellent and colours both vivid and accurate. In low light the auto white balance feature occasionally struggled, but the auto focus was usually spot-on.

Purple fringing (where a purple haze is visible in areas of high contrast) was slightly more prevalent than we expected; it's usually something that's more noticeable in cameras with larger zoom lenses. That said, it's not overwhelmingly bad.

The lithium-ion battery is able to power the F30 to around 500 photos before it needs recharging, although this figure will reduce should you start taking movies (max 640x480 at 30 frames per second) or use it to show off your photos to friends and family using the LCD screen.

There's plenty to like about the Finepix F30 from Fujifilm. It's well designed, easy to use and has a super-fast start-up time. And, despite a few minor niggles, photo quality is excellent.

Due to the image noise it creates, we find it unlikely the ISO 3200 feature will be employed a great deal, and the way it elects to use unnecessarily high ISOs in Auto mode is a little disappointing.

On the whole, though, it's a decent pocket digicam that performs well.

Image gallery: view the Finepix F30's ISO settings in action