3 WEEKS WITH THE FUJIFILM X-H2S AND XF 150-600 LENS (STILLS ONLY)

Used the new Fujifilm X-H2S and XF150-600 lens extensively during a three week period in a variety of shoots from Airshows, Aerial photo flights and some limited birding shoots.

More at: https://bjornmoerman.blogspot.com/2022/07/fujifilm-x-h2s-xf150-600-3-weeks-field.html

Happy shooting,

BJORN

Really good read Bjorn and some really good points.

I was thinking the other day while aking some animal picture, why is the fastest auto iso shutter spedd 1/500? Life would be alot nicer if it was 1/1000+.

Excellent post. Thanks.

I am using a X-T3 with 100-400 for aviation, avian & wildlife photography. No videos.

I am very disappointed with the less than 10% keeper rate. The X-T3 with the 55-200 gives good results, the 100-400 is usually soft. I have been shooting for over 40 years and should by now have good technique. So it must be the gear.

Did you try the X-H2s with the 100-400? Any improvement in keepers?

At the moment I can only afford to upgrade either the lens or body. Which do you think will make the most difference?

I swapped to Fuji as I could no longer manage the weight of my Nikon D4s and 500vr. And have been happy with my landscape and other images. But not with Fuji for wildlife and aviation.

I am even thinking of getting a used D500/200-500 combo just for aviation and wildlife. I am still not convinced that Fuji is any good at it,

ChrisGibbons001 wrote:

Really good read Bjorn and some really good points.

I was thinking the other day while aking some animal picture, why is the fastest auto iso shutter spedd 1/500? Life would be alot nicer if it was 1/1000+.

Hi ChrisGibbons001,

I also wondered about this limitation but I recently watched a video on Manual mode plus Auto ISO.

If you put the camera in M mode, set ISO to one of the auto modes (it won't matter) and set your max ISO value  (min shutter speed you can set to  1/500 although it won't matter !)  , set your shutter speed to say 1/1000 and your aperture to what you want, then the camera will ignore the min shutter speed set in the auto iso settings as the shutter speed diallied in will take precedence.

That way you get auto iso functionality but min shutter speed dictated by the current shutter value.

Try it, it seems to work on my X-H1.

hotpot65 wrote:

ChrisGibbons001 wrote:

Really good read Bjorn and some really good points.

I was thinking the other day while aking some animal picture, why is the fastest auto iso shutter spedd 1/500? Life would be alot nicer if it was 1/1000+.

Hi ChrisGibbons001,

I also wondered about this limitation but I recently watched a video on Manual mode plus Auto ISO.

If you put the camera in M mode, set ISO to one of the auto modes (it won't matter) and set your max ISO value (min shutter speed you can set to 1/500 although it won't matter !) , set your shutter speed to say 1/1000 and your aperture to what you want, then the camera will ignore the min shutter speed set in the auto iso settings as the shutter speed diallied in will take precedence.

That way you get auto iso functionality but min shutter speed dictated by the current shutter value.

Try it, it seems to work on my X-H1.

With this method the shutter speed is fixed - its no longer a minimum.

Bjorn Moerman PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

Used the new Fujifilm X-H2S and XF150-600 lens extensively during a three week period in a variety of shoots from Airshows, Aerial photo flights and some limited birding shoots.

More at: https://bjornmoerman.blogspot.com/2022/07/fujifilm-x-h2s-xf150-600-3-weeks-field.html

Happy shooting,

BJORN

I have to say I really like your shots, most pleasing and super sharp images

Are there any of the igames on your blog taken with the X-F2s and 100-400?

JK5700 wrote:

Excellent post. Thanks.

I am using a X-T3 with 100-400 for aviation, avian & wildlife photography. No videos.

I am very disappointed with the less than 10% keeper rate. The X-T3 with the 55-200 gives good results, the 100-400 is usually soft. I have been shooting for over 40 years and should by now have good technique. So it must be the gear.

Hi, I also have X-T3 and both 55-200 and XF100-400 and I'm a bit surprised with what you wrote here. I agree, keeper rate is worse that you can get from Sony A7x or Action DSLRs from Canon and Nikon but I wouldn't estimate it as 10% in my case, rather about 40-50% and I don't have 40yrs of experience (maybe we have different acceptance thresholds). In fact significantly 1.4xTC affects AF-C efficiency, but bare lens is OK - at least for me (considering X-T3 limitations).

I'm also wonder what you mean by 100-400 is usually soft - is it related to optical IQ or OOF? This lens is rather good and many owners say it's sharp (even at 400mm it's more than acceptable)

Would be nice if you put some examples of soft images

Here are few samples of aviation/BIF photos from my XF100-400 (some are taken with 1.4xTC or X-T20) :

Well, X-T3 + XF100-400 kit is far from being perfect and not the best possible combo, but it works and if your equipment isn't damaged, I would venture to say you probably don't use it properly. You can look what Morris could do with the same gear.

Did you try the X-H2s with the 100-400? Any improvement in keepers?

At the moment I can only afford to upgrade either the lens or body. Which do you think will make the most difference?

I assume that H2s + XF100-400 should be better than X-T3 + XF150-600 even though new lens must have much faster AF system. We all know that the Fuji AF-C was a one of the biggest drawbacks and it looks H2s is much better.

I'm in similar position and I'm rather not interested in XF150-600 as 600/8 seems to be a bit too slow for me - that's why I mostly using Sigma C150-600/5.6-6.3 today.

I would rather buy new body first and test it with my lenses first.

I swapped to Fuji as I could no longer manage the weight of my Nikon D4s and 500vr. And have been happy with my landscape and other images. But not with Fuji for wildlife and aviation.

I am even thinking of getting a used D500/200-500 combo just for aviation and wildlife. I am still not convinced that Fuji is any good at it,

Waiting for Morris's comments

Cheers,

Artur