X-T4 vs X-H2s/X-H2/X-T5 (for Portraits, Sports, Street, Travel)

Studio_Melon wrote:

[...]

That said, I’m not here for financial advice. I want to get some input from people actually using these cameras.

I have X-T20, X-T3 and X-H2s so I think I can try to answer...

Questions:

1. Just how much better is the X-H2(S) autofocus than that of the X-T4 in real life scenarios (I have watched some videos, but would love to get more input).

Well, for stills I can't complain at all even on X-T20. The real challenge is AF-C: X-T3 (it's on par with X-T4) is much better in this regard than X-T20, so for action it's much better but many folks here shot action/wildlife even with H1 (the same sensor as T20) with excellent results. I can say that H2s has significantly better AF-C than X-T3, but found subject tracking is far from being perfect (especially on busy backgrounds), but In general it's a huge step forward from X-Trans4.

Example below is achievable with X-T3, but H2s works much better in terms of catching and tracking subject on busy backgrounds:

What works weird? When I shot scene below (burst) with AF-C + subject tracking I got inconsistent focusing  (camera had difficulties and half of the frames were not focused on the bird). AF-S without tracing worked much better here, but I know it's quite difficult scenario.

2. Does anyone have experience testing the X-H2S vs the XH-2 (or have a good article/video on it to recommend)?

Can't help here

3. For that matter, how does the autofocus on the X-Trans 4 (X-T3/4/etc) compare to the X-Trans III cameras (X-T2/X-Pro 2) (I know its significantly improved but curious to hear from people who made the jump)

As mentioned above I found AF-C is much better in X-Trans4 (for me it was main reason to buy X-T3 - no regrets)

4. For anyone’s who’s upgraded to the X-H2S/X-H2, do you feel it was “worth it” and why?

From my point of view H2s is decent camera but a bit overpriced for those who just want top notch AF-C and speed, but are not interested in video stuff at all.

To be honest I don't like H2 ergonomics (wrote a lot about it on this forum) so it's a quite expensive compromise for me (I wish Fuji released photo oriented speed/action camera)

Was it worth? Well, comparing to X-T3 H2s brought much better AF, tracking, speed (significantly reduced rolling shutter effect) and IBIS. I would say IQ/resolution is on par with X-T3 so no improvement here. What I don't like for the price is body having several design flaws (for me).

Would I buy it again? Probably yes, but If can afford M.Zuiko Digital ED 150‑400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO I would definitely buy OM-1.

Burst is the real advantage of H2s over any other Fuji camera, I couldn't get pictures from sequence below on my X-T3 (some of frames were out of focus, light conditions were quite difficult - strong morning sunlight from left-front direction - I just saw bird's shape and flares and halos in the lens):

Burst mode in H2s is a great thing which allows to pick one perfect moment from the sequence, i.e.

5. Should I perhaps consider "switching systems" for sports? Do any systems with better AF have a reasonably priced body / long zoom lens setup? (I love Fuji so I'd probably either keep the X-Pro 2, or maybe pick up an X-Pro 3 on closeout and continue to use Fuji for non sports work) (obviously this wouldn't be cheap...)

As above, OM-1 can be really interesting body and M.Zuiko Digital ED 100‑400mm F5.0‑6.3 IS is quite affordable giving FF 200-800 equivalent.

This would be the only alternative for me, but to be honest as EF Sigma 150-600 owner I also considered Canon R7 but it turned out quite disappointing.

I think the new X-T5 will be really interesting (considering the latest rumors about 3-way tilt screen). If it will really offer H2 sensor and CPU in X-T3 like body then I bet many stills oriented users should be happy.

It's a pity we don't have stills oriented camera body with speed stacked sensor - probably due to high costs Fuji decided to released only one hybrid body (unfortunately designers didn't pay too much attention to ergonomics).

To sum up, H2s is expensive and it's hard to justify its cost from financial PoV unless you're not strictly action oriented pro shooter (BTW I have already observed some price drops in my country).

For those who need burst speed and not expecting IQ gain, H2s has no alternative, and I hope we can expect some price drops in next months.

For me, X-T3 is the best camera design ever and now it has excellent price to value ratio - I could be reasonable choice from financial PoV as it's still very capable camera.

For those who need resolution and would like to get updated AF algorithms I would be better to wait for X-T5 before buying H2 (if battery grip is not required)

Cheers,

Artur