By now, you have heard of Fujifilm's new X30 compact camera. Its bold lines and moulded grip pay homage to the X-Pro 1. While it has lost its iconic OVF, its general unification of X-camera design elements is a good thing. The X series, as a whole, has little to unify it other than round dials.

The X30 inherits the following from the X-T1 and X-Pro 1

- tilting LCD (X-T1)
- WiFi connectivity (X-T1)
- 2,36M dot EVF (X-T1)
- 3,0 inch LCD (X-T1)
- Weight (423g: X30 including battery; 440g: X-T1 including battery)
- front function button (X-T1)
- Easy to press rear buttons (X-Pro 1)

Raising the bar for functionality across the series is good. So is firming up design elements. Making a large compact camera with a teeny tiny sensor, however, is scummy. So, too, is yet again re-arranging button layout. No self-proclaimed premium camera manufacturer has changed hardware interface elements so often.

Picking up an X100/s and then operating an X-Pro 1 or an X-T1 or an X30 is nearly as frustratingly fractured an experience as going from Sony to Fujifilm. Unifying skin-deep design cues are a good idea. Constantly switching haptic interfaces, and switch-swapping iconic selling points such as OVFs, are not.

Ω is somewhat hopeful that Fujifilm will finally settle on a single, unified hardware interface.