Autofocus performance of X-H2 vs X-H2S for stills?

[RocketScientist90]

I've been shooting with my X-Pro 2 for a few years now and I am quite content with it for my photography needs, which are mainly focused on documentary type work (not professional). The only thing I don't like it for is for its AF performance, now my daughter is more active and moving. I therefore consider adding a X-H2 or X-H2s to the bag, but I am on the fence which one to get (or should I also still consider the XT-5?). On the internet I've read quite a few stories about horrific AF performance after firmware updates, but these seem to be mainly from videographers and to be focused on video AF. Also, after the latest firmware updates, things seem to be quite okay again.

So I am wondering - for stills - is there still any difference between the two bodies? Unfortunately, there is no shop in my area that has both cameras in stock, so I cannot do a one-to-one comparison myself. I am not a videographer, and don't expect to be filming a lot of highly dynamic scenes.

Before I switched to Fuji I used Nikon and Canon full-frame systems, which I got rid off to reduce the size and bulk of my camera bag, and currently use: X-Pro 2, XF 16 mm f/2.8, XF 23 mm f2, XF 35mm f2, XF 50mm f2 and the XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I don't want to switch systems again (for those that would otherwise recommend switching to Sony ;-)).

Your input is appreciated!

 

[a_c_skinner]

I cannot give direct comparisons, I think the T5 will be the same as the H2. I've never been disappointed in my H2's AF since the first firmware update. This plant was blowing around a good deal, a windy day where I'd not have attempted this shot in the past. AF-C locked on to one of the centre blooms and held it.

Knautia arvensis

The 40Mpix sensor is really good. Detailed and better colours than the 24Mpix sensor, esp. it has lost the Fuji tendency to cyan skies.

OTOH you'll get lots of keepers of a young child if you tell the camera to shoot continuously at 4 fps. Even if 90% are a miss you'll still get plenty of keepers.

I think I should have got the T5 not the H2 but I do use the bigger buffer from time to time.

Your lenses are new enough to focus quickly.

--
Andrew Skinner

 

[GMacF]

The AF is absolutely fine. A good few on here use them for wildlife and I myself use the X-T5 for fast action sports and I have no complaints at all.
If you ever use one the of the older GFX bodies then you’ll see what slow AF is REALLY like.

 

[rogalski]

I've been shooting with my X-Pro 2 for a few years now and I am quite content with it for my photography needs, which are mainly focused on documentary type work (not professional). The only thing I don't like it for is for its AF performance, now my daughter is more active and moving. I therefore consider adding a X-H2 or X-H2s to the bag, but I am on the fence which one to get (or should I also still consider the XT-5?). On the internet I've read quite a few stories about horrific AF performance after firmware updates, but these seem to be mainly from videographers and to be focused on video AF. Also, after the latest firmware updates, things seem to be quite okay again.

So I am wondering - for stills - is there still any difference between the two bodies? Unfortunately, there is no shop in my area that has both cameras in stock, so I cannot do a one-to-one comparison myself. I am not a videographer, and don't expect to be filming a lot of highly dynamic scenes.

Before I switched to Fuji I used Nikon and Canon full-frame systems, which I got rid off to reduce the size and bulk of my camera bag, and currently use: X-Pro 2, XF 16 mm f/2.8, XF 23 mm f2, XF 35mm f2, XF 50mm f2 and the XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I don't want to switch systems again (for those that would otherwise recommend switching to Sony ;-)).

Your input is appreciated!

Whatever you decide in the end - I strongly recommend renting the camera for a day or two and testing it yourself.

I trusted the press release, reviewers, and video reviews – and in the end, I ended up very disappointed with the AF-C performance of my X-H2S.

 

[RocketScientist90]

...

OTOH you'll get lots of keepers of a young child if you tell the camera to shoot continuously at 4 fps. Even if 90% are a miss you'll still get plenty of keepers.

I think I should have got the T5 not the H2 but I do use the bigger buffer from time to time.

Your lenses are new enough to focus quickly.

Good to know my lenses should be new enough . I've tried shooting at 3 fps and 8 fps on the X-Pro2, but the AF tracking is too slow. Tried different settings, but cant get it to work. Filling up the SD cards with just out of focus images sucks. I find it especially too slow when I try to capture her coming towards me down from a slide for example.

It appears to me that the X-T5 and X-H2 are very comparable cameras with the X-T5 in the classic-fuji dial layout, and the X-H2 in the PASM style. Other than that, they seem to be large interchangeable.

The X-H2s ofcourse clearly has a different sensor.

 

[RocketScientist90]

I think the X-T5, X-H2 and X-H2s are all going to be upgrades in terms of AF performance with respect to the X-Pro 2. But I can only spend my 2 kEUR once, and I am a bit hesitant after the firmware updates. Also, I've read that the H2 performance is nearly on par with the H2s now, but I cannot find confirmation of that yet. If so, the H2 is a bit cheaper and the upgrade in resolution would be nice too.

Can anyone here attest to that? X-H2 (firmware 5.2) being nearly on par with the X-H2s (firmware 7.1)?

 

[RocketScientist90]

That is a good idea! Will check out rental options in my area to see if they are available.

I see in the gearlist that you still have the X-H2s. Did you overcome the disappointment?

 

[Scottelly]

...

OTOH you'll get lots of keepers of a young child if you tell the camera to shoot continuously at 4 fps. Even if 90% are a miss you'll still get plenty of keepers.

I think I should have got the T5 not the H2 but I do use the bigger buffer from time to time.

Your lenses are new enough to focus quickly.

Good to know my lenses should be new enough . I've tried shooting at 3 fps and 8 fps on the X-Pro2, but the AF tracking is too slow. Tried different settings, but cant get it to work. Filling up the SD cards with just out of focus images sucks. I find it especially too slow when I try to capture her coming towards me down from a slide for example.

It appears to me that the X-T5 and X-H2 are very comparable cameras with the X-T5 in the classic-fuji dial layout, and the X-H2 in the PASM style. Other than that, they seem to be large interchangeable.

The X-H2s ofcourse clearly has a different sensor.

I don't think the X-T5 and X-H2 are interchangeable at all. For example, the X-T5 offers a tilting screen that can tilt to the right as well as up and down. That's good, but the X-H2 has a fully-articulating rear screen. The X-H2 has a 5,760,000 dot viewfinder, while the X-T5 has a 3,690,000 dot viewfinder. You might think that a 3,690,000 dot viewfinder is fine though. The X-H2 has two memory card slots, like the X-T5, but one of the slots in the X-H2 is a CF-Express slot, which is much faster, so if you shoot raw+jpg, like I do, you can have the raw files write to the CF-Express card, while the jpegs write to the other card, making it faster to clear photos out of the buffer. (I think video quality would suffer if you were using the X-T5 too, since you can't record at the best quality settings with the slower SD cards, but I'm not sure about this.) I think the biggest difference you would notice might be in the shooting buffer size. If you shoot series of photos in raw, like I do, you might really prefer the X-H2. It really sucks when you miss a shot, because you ran out of space in your shooting buffer. See about 16 minutes into this video:

 

[Morris0]

I've been shooting with my X-Pro 2 for a few years now and I am quite content with it for my photography needs, which are mainly focused on documentary type work (not professional). The only thing I don't like it for is for its AF performance, now my daughter is more active and moving. I therefore consider adding a X-H2 or X-H2s to the bag, but I am on the fence which one to get (or should I also still consider the XT-5?). On the internet I've read quite a few stories about horrific AF performance after firmware updates, but these seem to be mainly from videographers and to be focused on video AF. Also, after the latest firmware updates, things seem to be quite okay again.

So I am wondering - for stills - is there still any difference between the two bodies? Unfortunately, there is no shop in my area that has both cameras in stock, so I cannot do a one-to-one comparison myself. I am not a videographer, and don't expect to be filming a lot of highly dynamic scenes.

Before I switched to Fuji I used Nikon and Canon full-frame systems, which I got rid off to reduce the size and bulk of my camera bag, and currently use: X-Pro 2, XF 16 mm f/2.8, XF 23 mm f2, XF 35mm f2, XF 50mm f2 and the XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I don't want to switch systems again (for those that would otherwise recommend switching to Sony ;-)).

Your input is appreciated!

Whatever you decide in the end - I strongly recommend renting the camera for a day or two and testing it yourself.

I trusted the press release, reviewers, and video reviews – and in the end, I ended up very disappointed with the AF-C performance of my X-H2S.

What firmware was your X-H2s running? If you don't remember this, how long ago did you have the X-H2s?

Morris

 

[a_c_skinner]

Down the slide turn the AF off and prefocus, use a short burst. But I think the newer cameras will do a lot better.

 

[rogalski]

That is a good idea! Will check out rental options in my area to see if they are available.

I see in the gearlist that you still have the X-H2s. Did you overcome the disappointment?

I still own the X-H2S, but now I mainly use it in MF mode for video and AF-S mode for photography. I initially thought it would be my all-in-one camera, but in the end, I had to look for something else. That’s why I got the R5II – it handles everything the X-H2S can’t, without any issues.

The X-H2S does have great video capabilities like F-Log2, F-Log2C, oversampled 4K at 120p, and no crop in 4K60p – and I really appreciate it for all of that.

 

[rogalski]

I've been shooting with my X-Pro 2 for a few years now and I am quite content with it for my photography needs, which are mainly focused on documentary type work (not professional). The only thing I don't like it for is for its AF performance, now my daughter is more active and moving. I therefore consider adding a X-H2 or X-H2s to the bag, but I am on the fence which one to get (or should I also still consider the XT-5?). On the internet I've read quite a few stories about horrific AF performance after firmware updates, but these seem to be mainly from videographers and to be focused on video AF. Also, after the latest firmware updates, things seem to be quite okay again.

So I am wondering - for stills - is there still any difference between the two bodies? Unfortunately, there is no shop in my area that has both cameras in stock, so I cannot do a one-to-one comparison myself. I am not a videographer, and don't expect to be filming a lot of highly dynamic scenes.

Before I switched to Fuji I used Nikon and Canon full-frame systems, which I got rid off to reduce the size and bulk of my camera bag, and currently use: X-Pro 2, XF 16 mm f/2.8, XF 23 mm f2, XF 35mm f2, XF 50mm f2 and the XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I don't want to switch systems again (for those that would otherwise recommend switching to Sony ;-)).

Your input is appreciated!

Whatever you decide in the end - I strongly recommend renting the camera for a day or two and testing it yourself.

I trusted the press release, reviewers, and video reviews – and in the end, I ended up very disappointed with the AF-C performance of my X-H2S.

What firmware was your X-H2s running? If you don't remember this, how long ago did you have the X-H2s?

Morris

I still have it – I don’t remember the firmware version, but it’s up to date.