Hands-on impressions of Fujifilm’s new 40.2-megapixel X-H2 camera

With yesterday's announcement of the new X-H2 mirrorless camera, Fujifilm is trying to fill a hole in its lineup between itsAPS-C offerings and its medium format GFX line. One benefit of sticking with its smaller sensors and just adding resolution is that the camera is still fairly small. I was able to try out a preproduction version of the new X-H2 and the recently released X-H2S at the X- Summit NYC event. The first thoughts and details learned from the cameras are here.

Good grips

The X-H2 is a good value for a semi-pro camera with a high resolution sensor. The all-metal build of the X-H2 and X-H2S feels well-equipped for being thrust into a situation where your camera may take a small beating. The buttons and dial feel solid and clicky. As you turn it, you'll see that it's sturdy, with some nice weight and resistance. The rear screen of the Z9 does not feel like a weakness.

The height of the grips on the X-H2 and X-H2S can cause your finger to hang in the air. If it is a deal-breaker for you on bodies like those, it is because of the ergonomics. Yes, you can always attach a vertical grip, but those add-ons make the cameras feel more like old DSLRs.

A top LCD and EVF that are easy on the eyes

There is a button on the side of the electronic viewfinder that can be pressed to switch from a negative display to a positive one. It pops in low light and remains visible even in bright light, so it doesn't take much time for it to go out, even if the camera is turned off.

The EVF's 5.76 million dot viewfinder has a comfortable eye relief. The momentary blackness when using the eye sensor auto-switching live view mode is in line with how other cameras in this price zone work. The X-H2 and X-H2S are more expensive than the other cameras that do it better.

The EVF's behavior is changed by various power maximization modes. Normal, economy, low light priority, resolution priority, EVF frame rate priority, and EVF frame rate priority were counted. I noticed a change in the EVF's behavior when I swapped modes, like more jittery responsiveness with better visibility in the dark, all at the expense of battery life. The truth is that most people will leave it as it is, never change it, and be fine, since Fujifilm loves giving users a borderline excessive amount of control.

The need for speed (and slightly clunky AF controls)

The high-resolution X-H2 is just as good as the speed demon version. Both support the same eye, face, and object. Both cameras were able to focus on the eye of a static or moving subject. Even if you tell the camera to prefer the right or left eye, these settings may take a while to get used to.

Eye, face, and object tracking are not in the same place. If you switch from one focusing system to another, it will take more time to dial in and adjust. I hope that you can adjust to the menu system on your camera without having to take a class on camera menu logic.

Maybe just don’t use the electronic shutter on the X-H2?

The electronic shutters of the X-H2 and X-H2S were one of the things I did my best to torture test. I am spoiled by the fact that I can shoot at high speeds without a viewfinder. The e-shutter of the X-H2S seemed to work well with quick pans. The straight lines in the frame weren't affected by the jello effect.

The X-H2 had a different type of sensor. I could take a picture with movement in it and it would look crooked. The X-H2 sensor has a slower read out speed. It seems like the X-H2 can shoot 20 frames per second with its electronic shutter, but it will most likely be limited to situations with little to no subject or camera movement, which is a limitation you don't have to worry about on the X-H2S.

According to Yuji Igarashi of Fujifilm, that one camera solution would have cost too much, and it would have been easy to fix the dichotomy between the siblings. The good news is that these cameras have mechanical shutters that are quiet and don't cause a lot of vibration.

New Fujinon lenses

The new XF 56mm f/1.2 lens and the new GF 20–35mm f/4 lens were well built and felt good to use. The new 56mm is still small and compact, but it is better than the old one in many ways. When mounted to the GFX 100S, theGF 20–35mm and its focus and zoom rings were very strong. I get that "this thing means business" feeling when I pick up a medium format from Fujifilm, even though it is on the budget end of the spectrum.

At the end of its X-Summit keynote, Fujifilm announced two tilt-shift lenses as a joke. They are both 30mm f/ 5.6. There was no further information given by the presenters other than a brief tease.

I left the demo area of the X-H2 and X-H2S with mixed feelings. The X-series holdouts will have a lot to like. The only answer is the large jump up to medium format.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto took the photographs.