Fujifilm XH2s - The Greatest APS-C Camera Yet?

This is Fujfilms new flagship camera, the X-H2s, a Photo & Video hybrid a lot of people were anticipating.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the Fujifilm XH2s for a few days. So here’s my first impressions, hands on experience shooting a little bit of video and street photography. It might be worth mentioning that my opinions here are all coming from a Canon R6 user.

Fujifilm have not paid me for this review, they simply supplied the X-H2s and the new 33mm 1.4 for me to use. This was actually organised by Castle Cameras in Bournemouth so this is only possible because of those guys. I’ll leave their online shop link in my description. If you’re buying any gear I recommend you check out what they’ve got going on.

Hands On Experience - Ergonomics, Design and User Ability.

First thing I noticed right away was how nice it felt in my hands. The grip was chunky, the body felt solid. As someone who uses the full frame mirrorless canon r6 it felt nice to go back to something a little bigger that would fill my Grip. For example the Sony a7 series is way too small and I know my picky finger hangs of the bottom. My point here is that I don’t think smaller camera ergonomics is the best way forward. Especially as the size of human beings hands isn’t going to change. (of course I’m talking about professional gear and not point and shoot pocketable cameras) A good solid grip and body that is comfortable to hold is a big win.

The design of the strap hoops is something i haven’t seen before, they sit a little more flush and within the camera design. I mean it’s just a 1% detail but I liked it.

There is also a new design change with the X-H2s as it doesn’t follow the same style as other fuji models with the multiple exposure dials on top that give fuji that vintage aesthetic

You’ve got a big screen and only one settings dial. Because this bit of kit is less of an accessory and more of a tool that gets the job done, the straightforward modern design will probably appeal to a bigger market of people, which I’m sure is fuji’s goal here. Perhaps if fuji release the XT5 it’ll be the same as always with multiple exposure dials to please the already existing fuji customers.

Pretty much half of the settings dial are custom settings options. Which I personally think it brilliant, as someone who uses the Canon R6 for video and photo It’s a little annoying that you can’t save custom video settings. But with this Xh2s you’ve got 7 choices. This is a piece of gear that will be used by working professionals, having this many custom settings is so convenient. After just 3 days of using the camera I immediately feel like my R6 is missing something.

Street Photography

I realise this camera isn’t designed specially for street photography but that’s how I tested this camera the most so I’ll share my brief experience.

The camera is very quick. From quickly needing to switch on the camera in spontaneous moments when I was shooting to even snapping focus everywhere I needed it to. I just felt like I was using a tool that would perform whatever I was throwing at it.

The 33mm 1.4 lens has a major factor to play in this one, but the image quality was outstanding. I’m not the kind of guy to sit and pixel peep my images but it was impressive. But when you’re paying over £2000 for a camera you cannot expect anything less. At the time of recording this Fuji also announced the Xh2 which does have 40 MegaPixels compared to this 24mp sensor. So if you wanted something for bigger and better portraits or landscapes photos. The regular XH2 might be for you.

There isn’t anything massively controversial or surprising about my experience with regards to street photography. It performed to its highest level and I was more than happy with the quality it delivered. If I had to compare it with using my Canon R6 I just wouldn’t be able to notice the difference and I don’t think anyone else would either.

The reason for someone making the decision to buy this in regards to photography would be for Fuji’s new subject tracking focus and of course the ridiculously quick 40fps burst mode. That has to be an absolute dream for wildlife or sports photographers for example.

Beautiful Video Quality.

I have to be totally honest, the 6.2k footage I filmed with this camera was absolutely beautiful. I would go as far as saying one of the best I’ve seen from a camera at this price point. The dynamic range was instantly noticeable and this was where I see the reason for it’s price. This is a APS-C which means it won’t handle low light like a full frame sensor. For example the canon r6 which is a similar price. But I can’t talk from personal experience as I didn’t put it through any intense low light situations to give you a proper analysis.

Something else fuji have over other brands is their film simulations. It’s just like a picture profile on steroids. I put the camera into the eterna/cinema film simulation and all the footage you’re watching is straight from the that look. Which in all honesty is probably better than my attempt to grade flog.

The IBIS worked wonderfully. All the video I shot was handheld and it felt great. I prefer the handheld look anyway so I don’t mind a little bit of natural movement. But compared to the dodgy wobble effect on the R6… I much preferred the IBIS on the XH2s. I actually need to update the firmware on my R6, apparently that wobble has been fixed…

That’s as technical I’ll get on the video specs but there are many new upgrades and features Fujifilm were slacking on with their previous models that make this a serious upgrade for any fuji users wanting professional video at the £2,500 price point.

Street Photography in Brighton using the 33mm 1.4 LM WR

Buying Decisions… would I get one?

If I was only doing photography and maybe a little dabble in video. I think you can get just as good images from a cheaper camera, maybe the xt4 if we’re only talking about Fujifilm. BUT if you needed that quick 40fps burst mode and subject tracking focus… perhaps it could be worth it.

If you’re already using a camera like the XT4 for something of a similar level from another brand and you felt lacking on the video front. That would definitely be a reason to upgrade. Going one step further, if video is way more important for you the recently announced XH2 could be a better option as it’s actually cheaper than the s model and shoots in 8k.

Honest thoughts are that it definitely feels just like a tool. I could use my R6, or this XH2s or a Sony A74 and it would deliver great results, in reality nobody would know what you used. Your output of work would be the same regardless of where you decided to spend £2500 in my opinion.