Justin Cider
Senior Member
- Messages
- 1,838
- Solutions
- 8
- Reaction score
- 2,583
I'm going to try and keep this brief but also as highly informative as possible.
I've now used this camera for day to day video recording, a short product advertisement and a full day wedding so I feel like I've put it to the test enough to give it a review of sorts as well as found some bugs that might be helpful for others to know.
Video quality/capability:
Let's start with the most important and most impressive first. Whether it's high bit rate capabilities in h.265 or the even more insane ProRes intake this camera makes complete use of its 6k over sampled 4k footage. Expect to sell an organ to fund memory card investments (which I'll discuss in its own category) as ProRes HQ in the highest quality video recording settings will burn through an eye watering 4.7ish gigs per second of footage. Will I use that often? No, at least not any time soon but for when I want it or need it it's there. 4k 24p, or 25p for those across the pond, is what we've come to expect from Fuji especially in the last few models. ProRes however certainly raises the bar. 4k 60 is noticably improved over the XT4. 4k 120p isn't quite as good but honestly isn't terribly noticable right next to the higher detailed frame rates and I'd never be reluctant to use it based on quality. Worth noting that you cannot get away with using anything less than 720mbps without it falling apart so don't even bother trying and it's got to be all-intra. I would have liked to see even ProRes LT here but it was likely an omission due to heat. Per usual from Fuji and shockingly omitted by lots of hybrid brands out there, 4K DCI is available for frame rates up to 60p but it's absent with 120p likely because of the already cropped sampling. 240p remains a gimmick and still appears to be 720p upscaled to 1080. It's soft, has a ton of artifacting and generally just looks terrible. Fortunately I can't think of any time I would have a need for a frame rate that high. 6.2k open gate has it's uses but I won't be using it a ton outside of things shot intentionally for social media.
Autofocus:
For 60p frame rates and under, it is significantly more confident than ever before from Fuji and in most circumstances it works quite effectively. Face and eye detect AF is sticky and accurate. Some refinement is still needed and although I've given up on kaizen will hopefully come in future firmware updates. One large annoyance I ran into several times in a wedding environment is that the AF box seems to have no impact on face detection. No matter what AFC settings are used the camera does not prioritize the face that is currently in the box on the screen making face detection nearly unusable in medium-wide and wider shots with multiple subjects. With the joystick on the camera you can switch between faces and it will remain somewhat sticky on the face last selected but that is not a substitute for what should be a much more intuitive experience when using a box. When things get to 120p the camera completely goes off the rails. There was better AF accuracy back in the XH1. Face detection and any other form of animal or bird detection is completely unusable in this frame rate. Even when the camera does manage to find a face it will randomly then lose it in even the most simple lighting and background situations. If you're attempting to track a moving subject get ready for a very frustrating experience. To be perfectly honest this is completely unacceptable out of a $2,500 camera and must be addressed via firmware ASAP.
Memory cards:
This is where things get really complicated and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what's going on with this camera. Buyer beware do not attempt to use any version of SanDisk extreme memory cards with this camera or you will experience problems. The CF express cards can't handle 4k 120p, ProRes at any frame rate or 6.2k. The problem is, if you were to look at Fuji's website for card recommendations, The chart they have only one of those things as limited. You will experience frame dropping and glitching in the video files. UHS 1 and UHS 2 SanDisk cards also do not meet what is listed as the tolerances by Fuji for those specific cards as well. Here's where things get even more complicated though and I have recorded hours of footage to test this issue to continue to find consistent results. Specifically with the V30 UHS 1 cards, you should be able to record up to 200 megabits per second according to Fuji. I can tell you with my XT4 I have recorded about 10 terabytes of footage on those cards using 4K60 at 200 megabits per second without any issue. On the XH2S using those exact same settings, h.265 4:2:0, about 1/3 of the video is glitchy and has significant frame drop. But that's not what is complicated. What really scratched my head, and I first found it by mistake, is that if you format those cards with the XT4 and then use them in the XH2S it doesn't seem to have a problem. This seems to also apply for the issues I was having with the UHS2 cards as well. There's something about how the XH2S is formatting cards that is affecting it. This appears to only be with SanDisk cards though. In all of the test footage I shot this weekend with Sony tough memory cards I experienced none of these problems. The CF Express cards took anything I threw at them and the SD cards performed at or above Fuji's rated capability even when formatted in the XH2S. So at this point I've got to think it is something specific with SanDisk and this model of camera. The good news is I can just use all those SanDisk cards on my XT4 which I still use as a second angle and have no problems with.
Overheating:
I'm happy to report there's nothing to report. I shot the majority of the wedding day with an external battery pack plugged into the USB-C port and maybe that was enough to not cause heating issues but it was in the upper 80's and I never once got a warning. I'm glad I didn't bother to order the fan!
IBIS:
It's still not Panasonic, but it's still much better than Sony. They sure did hype it up in the release video but I don't really see much of a difference between the XH2S and the XT4. The one place that I do see the difference might actually be a big deal to some people, and that is in the improvement in stabilization warping at wider angles. With the viltrox 13 mm 1.4 I don't think I saw any significant warping unless I was really careless with the camera. So not exactly the gimbal replacement they were so bold as to proclaim.
Dynamic range/log:
F log 2 appears to be all that it was cracked up to be in my test so far. One of the large reasons I shoot with Fuji cameras and first made the switch is because of the eterna film simulation. Although the log footage is impressive I will continue to use eterna for 90% of the time. When a specific project calls for it flog2 will certainly provide very impressive capability though. Just like in the XT-4 you can preview a rec 709 image on the screen which I will mention for anyone who didn't realize that it did that. That was a very welcomed added feature in the XT4. The LUTs that Fuji provides to convert log to eterna is still a bone of contention with me as it results in an image significantly more contrasty and oversaturated than eterna is. Yes you can turn down how heavily the LUT is applied in any software but it's not just as simple as only using it at 90%. It just does not have the tonality that eterna has straight out of camera. Just like for FLOG 1, I will be forced to convert to 709 and color grade from there but it would have been nice to be able to use log alongside eterna for an even close to matched result.
Controls:
Having seven custom modes on the camera is a game changer. Never has it been so easy to rapidly change between frame rates on a Fuji camera. It was because of that that I would limit myself in switching things because especially with weddings things are too fast-paced to take a second to make the changes. With the XH2S I was constantly switching between my delivery frame rate of 24p, 60p and 120P without having to do anything beyond twisting my variable ND filter.
Editing:
I use final cut pro and have since converting from premier about 3 years ago. I was hoping to be able to provide some feedback on what it was like to edit some of these files on my 3-year-old Intel iMac with an rx580 graphics card but that computer is on the fritz. Everything that I've shot so far on the XH2S I've been reviewing and editing on my current model MacBook pro with the M1 pro chip. Although there is a certain smoothness to how ProRes looks on final cut run on a Mac without even waiting half a second for it to render, it's not like anything else is bogging down the machine either. H.265 4:2:2 720mbps all intra 4k 120fps was what I was concerned about and it barely got the fan purring. Now I certainly wouldn't expect the same performance out of my older iMac but I also don't think it would have brought it to its knees either. To be perfectly honest, if you're going to buy a $2,500 camera, then spend another 500 bucks on memory cards per hour of footage at that kind of quality and bit rate than I'd imagine you probably also already have a fairly capable computer. My MacBook pro I got on sale from Best buy for $1,700. No that's not pocket change but it's also far from crazy money in the computer world, especially one that can handle the video specs that it can. I don't want to get too far in the weeds on this subject but somebody in a post last week asked about what it was like to edit some of these files. If you are using an older machine and especially one that isn't a Mac you're going to want to use H.265 and limit yourself to 4:2:0. It seems like lots of things have an issue with 4:2:2 including stock video players.
Overall impressions:
This is certainly the best that Fuji has done so far, and with a little more development on the firmware side it could be the ultimate prosumer hybrid camera. There is nothing else on the market that checks as many boxes, even if some things still come with a check minus, at this price point.
I'm happy to answer any additional questions I might have missed in this review.
I've now used this camera for day to day video recording, a short product advertisement and a full day wedding so I feel like I've put it to the test enough to give it a review of sorts as well as found some bugs that might be helpful for others to know.
Video quality/capability:
Let's start with the most important and most impressive first. Whether it's high bit rate capabilities in h.265 or the even more insane ProRes intake this camera makes complete use of its 6k over sampled 4k footage. Expect to sell an organ to fund memory card investments (which I'll discuss in its own category) as ProRes HQ in the highest quality video recording settings will burn through an eye watering 4.7ish gigs per second of footage. Will I use that often? No, at least not any time soon but for when I want it or need it it's there. 4k 24p, or 25p for those across the pond, is what we've come to expect from Fuji especially in the last few models. ProRes however certainly raises the bar. 4k 60 is noticably improved over the XT4. 4k 120p isn't quite as good but honestly isn't terribly noticable right next to the higher detailed frame rates and I'd never be reluctant to use it based on quality. Worth noting that you cannot get away with using anything less than 720mbps without it falling apart so don't even bother trying and it's got to be all-intra. I would have liked to see even ProRes LT here but it was likely an omission due to heat. Per usual from Fuji and shockingly omitted by lots of hybrid brands out there, 4K DCI is available for frame rates up to 60p but it's absent with 120p likely because of the already cropped sampling. 240p remains a gimmick and still appears to be 720p upscaled to 1080. It's soft, has a ton of artifacting and generally just looks terrible. Fortunately I can't think of any time I would have a need for a frame rate that high. 6.2k open gate has it's uses but I won't be using it a ton outside of things shot intentionally for social media.
Autofocus:
For 60p frame rates and under, it is significantly more confident than ever before from Fuji and in most circumstances it works quite effectively. Face and eye detect AF is sticky and accurate. Some refinement is still needed and although I've given up on kaizen will hopefully come in future firmware updates. One large annoyance I ran into several times in a wedding environment is that the AF box seems to have no impact on face detection. No matter what AFC settings are used the camera does not prioritize the face that is currently in the box on the screen making face detection nearly unusable in medium-wide and wider shots with multiple subjects. With the joystick on the camera you can switch between faces and it will remain somewhat sticky on the face last selected but that is not a substitute for what should be a much more intuitive experience when using a box. When things get to 120p the camera completely goes off the rails. There was better AF accuracy back in the XH1. Face detection and any other form of animal or bird detection is completely unusable in this frame rate. Even when the camera does manage to find a face it will randomly then lose it in even the most simple lighting and background situations. If you're attempting to track a moving subject get ready for a very frustrating experience. To be perfectly honest this is completely unacceptable out of a $2,500 camera and must be addressed via firmware ASAP.
Memory cards:
This is where things get really complicated and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what's going on with this camera. Buyer beware do not attempt to use any version of SanDisk extreme memory cards with this camera or you will experience problems. The CF express cards can't handle 4k 120p, ProRes at any frame rate or 6.2k. The problem is, if you were to look at Fuji's website for card recommendations, The chart they have only one of those things as limited. You will experience frame dropping and glitching in the video files. UHS 1 and UHS 2 SanDisk cards also do not meet what is listed as the tolerances by Fuji for those specific cards as well. Here's where things get even more complicated though and I have recorded hours of footage to test this issue to continue to find consistent results. Specifically with the V30 UHS 1 cards, you should be able to record up to 200 megabits per second according to Fuji. I can tell you with my XT4 I have recorded about 10 terabytes of footage on those cards using 4K60 at 200 megabits per second without any issue. On the XH2S using those exact same settings, h.265 4:2:0, about 1/3 of the video is glitchy and has significant frame drop. But that's not what is complicated. What really scratched my head, and I first found it by mistake, is that if you format those cards with the XT4 and then use them in the XH2S it doesn't seem to have a problem. This seems to also apply for the issues I was having with the UHS2 cards as well. There's something about how the XH2S is formatting cards that is affecting it. This appears to only be with SanDisk cards though. In all of the test footage I shot this weekend with Sony tough memory cards I experienced none of these problems. The CF Express cards took anything I threw at them and the SD cards performed at or above Fuji's rated capability even when formatted in the XH2S. So at this point I've got to think it is something specific with SanDisk and this model of camera. The good news is I can just use all those SanDisk cards on my XT4 which I still use as a second angle and have no problems with.
Overheating:
I'm happy to report there's nothing to report. I shot the majority of the wedding day with an external battery pack plugged into the USB-C port and maybe that was enough to not cause heating issues but it was in the upper 80's and I never once got a warning. I'm glad I didn't bother to order the fan!
IBIS:
It's still not Panasonic, but it's still much better than Sony. They sure did hype it up in the release video but I don't really see much of a difference between the XH2S and the XT4. The one place that I do see the difference might actually be a big deal to some people, and that is in the improvement in stabilization warping at wider angles. With the viltrox 13 mm 1.4 I don't think I saw any significant warping unless I was really careless with the camera. So not exactly the gimbal replacement they were so bold as to proclaim.
Dynamic range/log:
F log 2 appears to be all that it was cracked up to be in my test so far. One of the large reasons I shoot with Fuji cameras and first made the switch is because of the eterna film simulation. Although the log footage is impressive I will continue to use eterna for 90% of the time. When a specific project calls for it flog2 will certainly provide very impressive capability though. Just like in the XT-4 you can preview a rec 709 image on the screen which I will mention for anyone who didn't realize that it did that. That was a very welcomed added feature in the XT4. The LUTs that Fuji provides to convert log to eterna is still a bone of contention with me as it results in an image significantly more contrasty and oversaturated than eterna is. Yes you can turn down how heavily the LUT is applied in any software but it's not just as simple as only using it at 90%. It just does not have the tonality that eterna has straight out of camera. Just like for FLOG 1, I will be forced to convert to 709 and color grade from there but it would have been nice to be able to use log alongside eterna for an even close to matched result.
Controls:
Having seven custom modes on the camera is a game changer. Never has it been so easy to rapidly change between frame rates on a Fuji camera. It was because of that that I would limit myself in switching things because especially with weddings things are too fast-paced to take a second to make the changes. With the XH2S I was constantly switching between my delivery frame rate of 24p, 60p and 120P without having to do anything beyond twisting my variable ND filter.
Editing:
I use final cut pro and have since converting from premier about 3 years ago. I was hoping to be able to provide some feedback on what it was like to edit some of these files on my 3-year-old Intel iMac with an rx580 graphics card but that computer is on the fritz. Everything that I've shot so far on the XH2S I've been reviewing and editing on my current model MacBook pro with the M1 pro chip. Although there is a certain smoothness to how ProRes looks on final cut run on a Mac without even waiting half a second for it to render, it's not like anything else is bogging down the machine either. H.265 4:2:2 720mbps all intra 4k 120fps was what I was concerned about and it barely got the fan purring. Now I certainly wouldn't expect the same performance out of my older iMac but I also don't think it would have brought it to its knees either. To be perfectly honest, if you're going to buy a $2,500 camera, then spend another 500 bucks on memory cards per hour of footage at that kind of quality and bit rate than I'd imagine you probably also already have a fairly capable computer. My MacBook pro I got on sale from Best buy for $1,700. No that's not pocket change but it's also far from crazy money in the computer world, especially one that can handle the video specs that it can. I don't want to get too far in the weeds on this subject but somebody in a post last week asked about what it was like to edit some of these files. If you are using an older machine and especially one that isn't a Mac you're going to want to use H.265 and limit yourself to 4:2:0. It seems like lots of things have an issue with 4:2:2 including stock video players.
Overall impressions:
This is certainly the best that Fuji has done so far, and with a little more development on the firmware side it could be the ultimate prosumer hybrid camera. There is nothing else on the market that checks as many boxes, even if some things still come with a check minus, at this price point.
I'm happy to answer any additional questions I might have missed in this review.
) can you please share a few words on these? I am skipping some parts of your quoted text for the sake of compactness, please accept my apologies in case I will unintentionally "overskip" something important.
so no improvement here, I think
