X-H2S grip arrived

First impressions:

• Tripod screw wheel has nice big nubs so it is easy to tighten up
• Camera contact cover goes in the battery tray under one of the batteries - so it can't pop out and get lost when you are removing the grip
• As well as the usual brass pins, there is what appears to be a USB C connector as well
• Total weight with 2 cards, 3 batteries, body cap and 2 Optech strap ends is 1170g/2.5lbs
• To me it looks/feels a little bit more integrated to the body than X-T3/4 grips did

You’re killin’ me. Can’t order my XH2S till my XPro3 sells. So here I sit…waiting for bites.

That's great!  Now you can shoot all day in the rain and not have to try and dry the body to change batteries.  Nice for vertical shots as well.  How dose it feel for vertical framed images for the Focus stick, Shutter Release, Reaching controls on the body?

Morris

Morris0 wrote:

That's great! Now you can shoot all day in the rain and not have to try and dry the body to change batteries. Nice for vertical shots as well. How dose it feel for vertical framed images for the Focus stick, Shutter Release, Reaching controls on the body?

Morris

Hi Morris,

Just brought it out for a walk-round and it feels pretty good.

One observation is the 3 buttons (AF ON, AEL, Q) on the back are in the same order but offset differently.

Holding the camera by it's integrated handgrip, the transition to the VG-XH is very smooth and comfortable. I can't say it's better or worse in this respect than the X-T3/4 grips I've used previously, and I don't have them any more to directly compare, but it just struck me how nice this one feels.

Also, crucially for me, I can now balance my Sigma 150-600mm Sport on a gimbal without resorting to counter-weights and/or super-long arca swiss plates. Works perfectly with just the Wimberley replacement foot I have on it. For once, a heavier camera is better

As mentioned the connectors are different, as is the plastic cover that fts over these on the grip. This would be quite easy to lose, and there's no place I can see to store it. I would worry that the connector, which projects more than with previous grips, would be a little vulnerable if the grip was removed and put in a bag without this cover. I don't intend to do that, but if I did, a spare cover might be a good idea.

Snap Happy wrote:

Holding the camera by it's integrated handgrip, the transition to the VG-XH is very smooth and comfortable. I can't say it's better or worse in this respect than the X-T3/4 grips I've used previously, and I don't have them any more to directly compare, but it just struck me how nice this one feels.

Also, crucially for me, I can now balance my Sigma 150-600mm Sport on a gimbal without resorting to counter-weights and/or super-long arca swiss plates. Works perfectly with just the Wimberley replacement foot I have on it. For once, a heavier camera is better

As mentioned the connectors are different, as is the plastic cover that fts over these on the grip. This would be quite easy to lose, and there's no place I can see to store it. I would worry that the connector, which projects more than with previous grips, would be a little vulnerable if the grip was removed and put in a bag without this cover. I don't intend to do that, but if I did, a spare cover might be a good idea.

Thank you Tim,

If you only take the grip off in a safe place you don't need to worry about the cover.   In the field I only change the grip batteries.  Not only is it safer, it's faster.  On a few other brands the grip slides into the battery slot and you only get two batteries.

Morris

A bit of Friday afternoon fun, comparing the gripped X-H2S with the 2004 Nikon D2X (a pro-bodied APS-C camera that I once owned):

Depth - within 1mm

Height - within 5mm (the X-H2S with grip is about 145mm)

Width - the X-H2S is 18mm narrower

Weight - the gripped X-H2S is about 80g lighter

Battery life - perhaps surprisingly, given the 18 years interval between these 2 cameras, even with a grip and 3 batteries supplying the X-H2S, it's likely the D2X would still massively out-shoot it, probably by more than twice.

https://www.apotelyt.com/compare-camera/nikon-d2x-vs-fujifilm-x-h2s

Snap Happy wrote:

A bit of Friday afternoon fun, comparing the gripped X-H2S with the 2004 Nikon D2X (a pro-bodied APS-C camera that I once owned):

Depth - within 1mm

Height - within 5mm (the X-H2S with grip is about 145mm)

Width - the X-H2S is 18mm narrower

Weight - the gripped X-H2S is about 80g lighter

Battery life - perhaps surprisingly, given the 18 years interval between these 2 cameras, even with a grip and 3 batteries supplying the X-H2S, it's likely the D2X would still massively out-shoot it, probably by more than twice.

https://www.apotelyt.com/compare-camera/nikon-d2x-vs-fujifilm-x-h2s

Love it!  Our old dSLRs barly used any battery power as the hardest thing they had to do was open and close the shutter and drive the focus motor of the body or lens.

Morris

Snap Happy wrote:

A bit of Friday afternoon fun, comparing the gripped X-H2S with the 2004 Nikon D2X (a pro-bodied APS-C camera that I once owned):

Depth - within 1mm

Height - within 5mm (the X-H2S with grip is about 145mm)

Width - the X-H2S is 18mm narrower

Weight - the gripped X-H2S is about 80g lighter

Battery life - perhaps surprisingly, given the 18 years interval between these 2 cameras, even with a grip and 3 batteries supplying the X-H2S, it's likely the D2X would still massively out-shoot it, probably by more than twice.

https://www.apotelyt.com/compare-camera/nikon-d2x-vs-fujifilm-x-h2s

For what it's worth

Z9 + battery = 2.9lb

X-H2S + grip + 2 batteries = 2.67lb

A weight saving of 0.23lb or 104g