X-H2s three weeks in...

So after spending about 3 weeks with X-H2s, I find myself liking more than I dislike, but some aspects aren't living up to my expectations.

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras...  I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't.  However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7  custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings.  This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

AF PERFORMANCE

I find the AF top-notch and as good as I thought it was the day I received the camera. However, it has created a situation where I now find myself being in a whole new world of learning. Things like IS Stabilization cannot keep up with AF and Burst speed so I can see the limitations of this speed. This is honestly something I hadn't really even thought about.

Anyway, you can see it will lock on fast and you can snap the image really fast with good lighting.

HIGH ISO PERFORMANCE

In my opinion, the images are insanely good right up to ISO 6400 and that's pretty impressive. I never really went this high with my X-T4, because I found excessive noise at ISO 3200 with my X-T3 (maybe it was just the image processing chip or a poor sample on my part).

This image is taken at ISO 6400 using Auto-ISO with a peak ISO setting of 6400. The room had very low lighting and

IBIS AND OIS

So, this is the only area I find that camera struggling a little bit.  When I first shot with the camera I was playing around with the 80 Macro OIS and I found the IBIS extremely good!

Since that time, I've tried it on the Fuji 35 F/1.4 and Sigma 56 F/1.4, but the performance was still only 3 to 3.5 stops and I could never get the 5 stops proclaimed without OIS being included in the equation.  This is a bit of a disappointment to me as I was hoping for better and maybe the lenses will get some firmware to help this issue.  
VIDEO

I really don't need to say much here, the camera does very well with video and it is really hard to beat the quality of this thing for video.  If you're into video, you know what to expect here and my only note is that focus breathing was significantly less than with my X-T4.

IMAGE QUALITY

It's very good and I would say is pretty much what you would expect from Fuji.

OVERALL

I don't really have a lot of complaints about the camera, it has been excellent.  I think my biggest issue has been the IBIS and the learning curve that comes along with a camera that can react as quickly as this can with top-notch accuracy.  It's an excellent body and one I like a lot.

FuzzyDice wrote:

[...]

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras... I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7 custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings. This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

But I can't understand why the hell they didn't put this dial on the right to be accessible for the right thumb, and what was the problem with clickable dials (they could just add disable option for click in settings if it was a problem for some).

IMAGE QUALITY

It's very good and I would say is pretty much what you would expect from Fuji.

I heard mixed opinions regarding IQ, even sensor sensitivity comparison to XP3 and XT3 showed that the new stacked sensor is slightly worse in this regard, but good to see your pics and read real user opinion.

OVERALL

I don't really have a lot of complaints about the camera, it has been excellent. I think my biggest issue has been the IBIS

That's interesting, I've never thought about it...

Many thanks for your thoughts and reflections - very helpful.

Cheers,

Artur

FuzzyDice wrote:

So after spending about 3 weeks with X-H2s, I find myself liking more than I dislike, but some aspects aren't living up to my expectations.

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras... I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7 custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings. This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

This is the one thing I have actually found most enjoyable/usable in the X-H2S. I have a general list of settings for my regular shooting scenarios eg. Landscapes, Sports, Portraits and Wildlife.

Each one has a totally different list of base settings and I really appreciate how these are baked into each setting.

Annoyingly, for the most part my X-H2S has been sitting on the shelf. Between work and home life I just haven't had a chance to do anything since it arrived on Friday - bar fire off some test shots around the house.

GMacF wrote:

FuzzyDice wrote:

So after spending about 3 weeks with X-H2s, I find myself liking more than I dislike, but some aspects aren't living up to my expectations.

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras... I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7 custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings. This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

This is the one thing I have actually found most enjoyable/usable in the X-H2S. I have a general list of settings for my regular shooting scenarios eg. Landscapes, Sports, Portraits and Wildlife.

Each one has a totally different list of base settings and I really appreciate how these are baked into each setting.

Annoyingly, for the most part my X-H2S has been sitting on the shelf. Between work and home life I just haven't had a chance to do anything since it arrived on Friday - bar fire off some test shots around the house.

Right and those configuration options, I’m sure, are why they went with the design they did.

GMacF wrote:

FuzzyDice wrote:

So after spending about 3 weeks with X-H2s, I find myself liking more than I dislike, but some aspects aren't living up to my expectations.

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras... I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7 custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings. This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

This is the one thing I have actually found most enjoyable/usable in the X-H2S. I have a general list of settings for my regular shooting scenarios eg. Landscapes, Sports, Portraits and Wildlife.

Each one has a totally different list of base settings and I really appreciate how these are baked into each setting.

I agree that C1-C7 is a great idea assuming we can configure every single setting - much better than several physical controls when you need to switch between completely different setups in a moment. I found that there is a custom button function to recall C1 setup - I wonder why C1 only - would be nice i we can switch between all of them or at least C1 and other Cx set on the dial.

Annoyingly, for the most part my X-H2S has been sitting on the shelf. Between work and home life I just haven't had a chance to do anything since it arrived on Friday - bar fire off some test shots around the house.

Hope you'll find the time soon.

Cheers,

Artur

Artur Darulewski wrote:

FuzzyDice wrote:

[...]

CONTROLS

So, the controls are an issue for many people used to shooting with the X-T line of cameras... I personally love the X-Tx line of control and wish that were something they kept for the X-H2s, but they didn't. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker, as the 7 custom setups can more easily preset AF, shooting mode, EV Comp, AF Type, Burst Type, and IQ settings. This is all pretty intuitive and not a bad way to shoot over all.

But I can't understand why the hell they didn't put this dial on the right to be accessible for the right thumb, and what was the problem with clickable dials (they could just add disable option for click in settings if it was a problem for some).

IMAGE QUALITY

It's very good and I would say is pretty much what you would expect from Fuji.

I heard mixed opinions regarding IQ, even sensor sensitivity comparison to XP3 and XT3 showed that the new stacked sensor is slightly worse in this regard, but good to see your pics and read real user opinion.

OVERALL

I don't really have a lot of complaints about the camera, it has been excellent. I think my biggest issue has been the IBIS

That's interesting, I've never thought about it...

Many thanks for your thoughts and reflections - very helpful.

Cheers,

Artur

I know it’s weird, but I don’t think there are many cameras on the market, where AF speed is this fast.

Just wants to say how much I enjoyed your sample photos!m and thoughtful review.

dwmcreative wrote:

Just wants to say how much I enjoyed your sample photos!m and thoughtful review.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments.

A question regarding the IS - if shooting at high frames per second, I'd think the shutter speeds would be high (light seems good).

If so, I'd think the need for IS whether it's in lens IS or body IBIS would be minimal.

A more germane item which the OP notes is that there's  seemingly some limitation to IS.   I've thought about this off and on -  that is, both lens IS and body IBIS are mechanical systems.  There's physical movement of parts involved.  Empirically speaking, it's not surprising there's some threshold at which the electronics are operating faster than the mechanics.

It's sort of a "how many angels can sit on the head of a pin" situation but shortcomings and successes of mechanical and electronic interfacing is an interesting topic.

Craig268 wrote:

A question regarding the IS - if shooting at high frames per second, I'd think the shutter speeds would be high (light seems good).

That depends on the situation.  Sometimes I’m not shooting high FPS, just trying to use the faster AF and a stable shot, and the IBIS just really cannot stabilize as fast as the AF can lock.  I mean it makes perfect sense that it wouldn’t, but when you experience it is when you realize that limitation was always going to be there.  Before I was like IBIS is a must own and now I’m like, IBIS is much more limited than I realized it was.

Now if you’re just talking about action and burst shooting, I agree the light and shutter speeds will probably function perfectly.

If so, I'd think the need for IS whether it's in lens IS or body IBIS would be minimal.

As I mentioned above, it is a limitation of the IBIS system that you don’t really think about until you run into that wall.

A more germane item which the OP notes is that there's seemingly some limitation to IS. I've thought about this off and on - that is, both lens IS and body IBIS are mechanical systems. There's physical movement of parts involved. Empirically speaking, it's not surprising there's some threshold at which the electronics are operating faster than the mechanics.

Yes, I was just expecting more from the IBIS in single shot and it was pretty much the same as the X-T4 if the lens didn’t also have stabilization.  If the lens is stabilized, you do see a good improvement, but I haven’t measured that to say for sure how many stops you would get.

It's sort of a "how many angels can sit on the head of a pin" situation but shortcomings and successes of mechanical and electronic interfacing is an interesting topic.

Right and that’s something that is very logical and completely understandable, but you just don’t think about it, until you hit that wall, and then you realize the box is bigger than before, but you’re still in a box.

FuzzyDice wrote:

Craig268 wrote:

A question regarding the IS - if shooting at high frames per second, I'd think the shutter speeds would be high (light seems good).

That depends on the situation. Sometimes I’m not shooting high FPS, just trying to use the faster AF and a stable shot, and the IBIS just really cannot stabilize as fast as the AF can lock. I mean it makes perfect sense that it wouldn’t, but when you experience it is when you realize that limitation was always going to be there. Before I was like IBIS is a must own and now I’m like, IBIS is much more limited than I realized it was.

Now if you’re just talking about action and burst shooting, I agree the light and shutter speeds will probably function perfectly.

If so, I'd think the need for IS whether it's in lens IS or body IBIS would be minimal.

As I mentioned above, it is a limitation of the IBIS system that you don’t really think about until you run into that wall.

A more germane item which the OP notes is that there's seemingly some limitation to IS. I've thought about this off and on - that is, both lens IS and body IBIS are mechanical systems. There's physical movement of parts involved. Empirically speaking, it's not surprising there's some threshold at which the electronics are operating faster than the mechanics.

Yes, I was just expecting more from the IBIS in single shot and it was pretty much the same as the X-T4 if the lens didn’t also have stabilization. If the lens is stabilized, you do see a good improvement, but I haven’t measured that to say for sure how many stops you would get.

It's sort of a "how many angels can sit on the head of a pin" situation but shortcomings and successes of mechanical and electronic interfacing is an interesting topic.

Right and that’s something that is very logical and completely understandable, but you just don’t think about it, until you hit that wall, and then you realize the box is bigger than before, but you’re still in a box.

+1 Agree

Thank you very much

for your very informative report of your X-H2  experience in REAL LIFE use !

Your shots  are very impressing both technically as „artistically“ as the portraits are authentical in an emotionally very touching way.

As for the IBIS/OIS:

I‘d like to know about EV rate with more modern Fujifilm lenses. As we all know, the 1.4/35 is one of the 3 lenses of the very beginning and dates in 2011/2012…

since it’s 1st Gen. AF was a lot slower than that of the newer gen. Lenses it might also take more time to send the exact Focussing distance to the body for exact calculation of the necessary movement of the IBIS.

Question: did you set the IBIS on „permanently on“ or not?  This consumes  more energy but Leeds at least with my X-T4 to better IBIS performance (even with the oldest primes) .

As for heavy use like fast AF, eye-AF, max. Shots/sec. and fast EVF frames, perhaps with film-Simulation PLUS IBIS …

… maybe even the enormous performant processor gets near its limits if you set all of them to max… ?

If this is the reason it might be easily possible to resolve the problem with a better firmware, which distributes the processors ressources in an better adapted way?

And at last: I think the new stacked sensor weighs more than the sensor of the last gen. Sensor… this might limit the IBIS with this first version of Firmware and should be possible to be corrected with coming firmware updates in the near future?

Again thank you very much for your real-Life review !

As someone who loved the old Lay-out of their User-Interface of the X-series I see certain advantages for a well and thoroughly designed mixture with direct access to customer-settings by a wheel including confirming the choice with a click on it (like as before in older bodies for other functions).

This is the first time that I am thinking about a purchase of the X-H2 or X-H2s to (perhaps) replace my X-T4 instead of a coming X-T5…

cheers

pictograph wrote:

Thank you very much

for your very informative report of your X-H2 experience in REAL LIFE use !

You’re Welcome!

Your shots are very impressing both technically as „artistically“ as the portraits are authentical in an emotionally very touching way.

As for the IBIS/OIS:

I‘d like to know about EV rate with more modern Fujifilm lenses. As we all know, the 1.4/35 is one of the 3 lenses of the very beginning and dates in 2011/2012…

since it’s 1st Gen. AF was a lot slower than that of the newer gen. Lenses it might also take more time to send the exact Focussing distance to the body for exact calculation of the necessary movement of the IBIS.

I wouldn’t say a lot slower, it was slower yes and hit rate for tracking does go down with some of the original lenses, like the 18 and 35, but honestly optical clarity of those lenses required stopping down a few stops anyway.

Question: did you set the IBIS on „permanently on“ or not? This consumes more energy but Leeds at least with my X-T4 to better IBIS performance (even with the oldest primes) .

I tried both and the continuous could not keep up either.  At that point I would say the best option is the ISO Bump and shutter speed.

As for heavy use like fast AF, eye-AF, max. Shots/sec. and fast EVF frames, perhaps with film-Simulation PLUS IBIS …

I set the camera to only fire when focus was confirmed so it is about 15 FPS max, but that’s not bad.

… maybe even the enormous performant processor gets near its limits if you set all of them to max… ?

If this is the reason it might be easily possible to resolve the problem with a better firmware, which distributes the processors ressources in an better adapted way?

stabilization will likely never match the speed of this AF, as it is just too damn fast and even sensor stabilization technology is a reactive technology.

And at last: I think the new stacked sensor weighs more than the sensor of the last gen. Sensor… this might limit the IBIS with this first version of Firmware and should be possible to be corrected with coming firmware updates in the near future?

It might, but with a stabilized lens I do see a several stop difference in base performance.

Again thank you very much for your real-Life review !

As someone who loved the old Lay-out of their User-Interface of the X-series I see certain advantages for a well and thoroughly designed mixture with direct access to customer-settings by a wheel including confirming the choice with a click on it (like as before in older bodies for other functions).

The old layout is still superior in my opinion, but this has some strengths too.

This is the first time that I am thinking about a purchase of the X-H2 or X-H2s to (perhaps) replace my X-T4 instead of a coming X-T5…

That’s what I did.

cheers

anadon5000 wrote:

So with all of that said, do you (or anybody out there) find eye af would have a really high hit rate (like a Canon/Sony) with kids without setting af to confirm focus first? at something like 10fps ? And does that confirm-first method feel laggy? Really dying to finally get a Fuji and it’s awesome AWB/SkinTones/colors w/ great eye af like Sony, etc… or close…. Thanks!

That’s the issue isn’t it.

So consider this

Canon EOS R6

Mechanical 12 FPS

Electronic 20 FPS

Prone to Rolling Shutter

Sony A7 IV

10 FPS Max

Electronic is Prone to Rolling Shutter

Fuji X-H2S

Mechanical 15 FPS Max

Electronic 40 FPS Max 0 Blackout with AF

Rolling Shutter is not a significant issue at all.

So, if you can drop to 15 FPS Electronic with a 100% hit rate, and you’re only dropping about 11% of the frames at 40 FPS Electronic Shutter, then I would say it is already ahead of the competition that is in the same price range.

Oh and Confirm AF was about 15 FPS, so that’s pretty damn good. Also, I can shoot Electronic shutter without worrying about distortion.  This is a crop sensor A9 II or A1 class camera.

anadon5000 wrote:

FuzzyDice wrote:

anadon5000 wrote:

So with all of that said, do you (or anybody out there) find eye af would have a really high hit rate (like a Canon/Sony) with kids without setting af to confirm focus first? at something like 10fps ? And does that confirm-first method feel laggy? Really dying to finally get a Fuji and it’s awesome AWB/SkinTones/colors w/ great eye af like Sony, etc… or close…. Thanks!

That’s the issue isn’t it.

So consider this

Canon EOS R6

Mechanical 12 FPS

Electronic 20 FPS

Prone to Rolling Shutter

Sony A7 IV

10 FPS Max

Electronic is Prone to Rolling Shutter

Fuji X-H2S

Mechanical 15 FPS Max

Electronic 40 FPS Max 0 Blackout with AF

Rolling Shutter is not a significant issue at all.

So, if you can drop to 15 FPS Electronic with a 100% hit rate, and you’re only dropping about 11% of the frames at 40 FPS Electronic Shutter, then I would say it is already ahead of the competition that is in the same price range.

Oh and Confirm AF was about 15 FPS, so that’s pretty damn good. Also, I can shoot Electronic shutter without worrying about distortion. This is a crop sensor A9 II or A1 class camera.

Ah, great, thanks for the breakdown! Fuji sounds like a powerhouse w/ that stacked sensor for sure and I do love so much about Fuji cameras already. Sony A7IV skin tones weren’t my personal fave and it’s now between r6 and x-h2s for me. Advantages w/ both and a tough call. Thanks again for starting a thread and for sharing those shots!

I honestly thought about the R6, but I cannot stand Canon controls. Also, their best lenses are all around $2000! Most of Fuji’s best lenses are under $1000 and as far as I know, there are only 5 lenses above that price. Then some owners started talking about moire with the sensor, so I looked at the Z6 II and that AF system is just awkward even still. So, Fuji delivered what I wanted with the AF improvements and it was a done deal.

FuzzyDice wrote:

anadon5000 wrote:

So with all of that said, do you (or anybody out there) find eye af would have a really high hit rate (like a Canon/Sony) with kids without setting af to confirm focus first? at something like 10fps ? And does that confirm-first method feel laggy? Really dying to finally get a Fuji and it’s awesome AWB/SkinTones/colors w/ great eye af like Sony, etc… or close…. Thanks!

That’s the issue isn’t it.

So consider this

Canon EOS R6

Mechanical 12 FPS

Electronic 20 FPS

Prone to Rolling Shutter

Sony A7 IV

10 FPS Max

Electronic is Prone to Rolling Shutter

Fuji X-H2S

Mechanical 15 FPS Max

Electronic 40 FPS Max 0 Blackout with AF

Rolling Shutter is not a significant issue at all.

So, if you can drop to 15 FPS Electronic with a 100% hit rate, and you’re only dropping about 11% of the frames at 40 FPS Electronic Shutter, then I would say it is already ahead of the competition that is in the same price range.

Oh and Confirm AF was about 15 FPS, so that’s pretty damn good. Also, I can shoot Electronic shutter without worrying about distortion. This is a crop sensor A9 II or A1 class camera.

I'm not sure if what I'm about to say is entirely relevant to the above but I found it to work superbly for sports. When shooting football (soccer) on my X-T4 I would have to turn off Eye AF as it was more a hindrance than anything else. However I finally got to a match at the weekend and on the X-H2S I left Eye AF on and it worked brilliantly. I haven't done a deep dive but, at a quick glance, out of the ~1200 shots I took just one, yes ONE, was OOF. I was running 30fps in x1.25 crop mode (just so I could do a direct comparison with the X-T4).

The other caveat is I was using it in Focus release priority which I know is not what was asked above but I just wanted to share my own findings in case they are in anyway useful.

GMacF wrote:

FuzzyDice wrote:

anadon5000 wrote:

So with all of that said, do you (or anybody out there) find eye af would have a really high hit rate (like a Canon/Sony) with kids without setting af to confirm focus first? at something like 10fps ? And does that confirm-first method feel laggy? Really dying to finally get a Fuji and it’s awesome AWB/SkinTones/colors w/ great eye af like Sony, etc… or close…. Thanks!

That’s the issue isn’t it.

So consider this

Canon EOS R6

Mechanical 12 FPS

Electronic 20 FPS

Prone to Rolling Shutter

Sony A7 IV

10 FPS Max

Electronic is Prone to Rolling Shutter

Fuji X-H2S

Mechanical 15 FPS Max

Electronic 40 FPS Max 0 Blackout with AF

Rolling Shutter is not a significant issue at all.

So, if you can drop to 15 FPS Electronic with a 100% hit rate, and you’re only dropping about 11% of the frames at 40 FPS Electronic Shutter, then I would say it is already ahead of the competition that is in the same price range.

Oh and Confirm AF was about 15 FPS, so that’s pretty damn good. Also, I can shoot Electronic shutter without worrying about distortion. This is a crop sensor A9 II or A1 class camera.

I'm not sure if what I'm about to say is entirely relevant to the above but I found it to work superbly for sports. When shooting football (soccer) on my X-T4 I would have to turn off Eye AF as it was more a hindrance than anything else. However I finally got to a match at the weekend and on the X-H2S I left Eye AF on and it worked brilliantly. I haven't done a deep dive but, at a quick glance, out of the ~1200 shots I took just one, yes ONE, was OOF. I was running 30fps in x1.25 crop mode (just so I could do a direct comparison with the X-T4).

The other caveat is I was using it in Focus release priority which I know is not what was asked above but I just wanted to share my own findings in case they are in anyway useful.

I never thought about that, but I should try the sports finder mode to see if that helps me get even better at handling the camera.