Industry News: Fujifilm Introduces the flagship X-H2S

entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
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I really like the look of Fujifilm products.
I think the styling and cosmetics of cameras greatly influences people's purchasing decisions (assuming the camera in question has the desired specification). In fact I believe that styling was the main reason why Nikon lost out to Canon on sales of DSLRs and now even more dramatically with MILCs.

Fujifilm have always produced attractively styled MILCs, but I never liked the ergonomics of the XT series. The X-H2S is much more to my liking, combining Fujifilm's beautiful and instantly recognisable trademark "retro" look, with specifications that blow many other cameras, including high-end FF models, into the dust.

Hopefully the existence of the X-H2S, and the likely launch of new Sony APS models, will encourage Canon to launch a pro-grade APS, based on either the R6 or R3. I suspect that prototypes already exist, but that they've been put on hold for a while, as a prosumer R7 will undoubtedly be a much bigger seller.
 
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LSXPhotog

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I remember that thread (I own Fuji too as well as that particular lens... ha). I was wondering what happened as I couldn't find it the next time I looked. When he deleted the thread, it appears that also deleted your review of the lens. I have a love/hate relationship with that lens. Love that it's a pancake, but hate that it doesn't have the performance of my EF-M 22mm.
PRECISELY!!!! My comparison point was and has always been the stunning EF-M 22mm lens. So I got the 27mm in the kit and was immediatly let down by everything it did. haha

Hopefully the moderator was at least suspended or reprimanded for what he did. DPReview doesn't make it very clear that when you review a lens it creates a public thread to discuss your review. Why?! I would have posted on the forum for that. haha
 
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josephandrews222

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I had the M5 (still have it, actually) and owned the M6 Mark II three times. (Long story there) Yes, I’m still satisfied with the switch, but the autofocus from Fujifilm is a very large step back even behind the old M5! Using Fuji cameras is just pure fun and enjoyable…it makes taking photos on vacation a lot more exciting to be so connected to the camera turning dials and thinking before you shoot. I’ve even brought the X-100V into the pits at the past two races I worked and really loved it’s size/weight/image quality.

As for the thread, it was deleted by the moderator. (I may have taken a screenshot, but I’m not sure where - I just looked.) But I can show you all the dialogue between me and the shithead moderator that was clearly on a power trip. I can then show you the email I sent to DPReview pleading my case and the email I got BACK from DPReview where they said their moderator was not in the right and that they would be speaking with them about it. Haha

Basically, you have a gear list on DPReview. I just sold the XF27mm f/2.7 lens and moved the lens from “Own” to “Owned” and left a short little 3 start review. I was completely unaware that this isn’t just a review like you see on B&H or Amazon…no, it’s an entire thread in their Fujifilm forum. So, unbenounced to me, there is a thread posted that has 3 pages in less than 24 hours. Comments like “It’s not overrated, it’s sharp!” Or “How can you not like this lens, it’s a pancake, it can’t be perfect.” Apparently if you’re a Fuji owner you can only have a hive mind thought on every lens or camera. If you speak poorly about something in your opinion, you are digitally tarred and feathered. Haha

Well, because I wasn’t there nurturing the comments section making replies, the moderator had already suspended my posting privileges when I returned - my comments had to be reviewed by moderators before they could be made public. I also have an incredibly arrogant private message from the moderator explaining to me etiquette for using their forum and how to properly review a lens - yes, seriously. I clarified my statements with him privately then made a post about it. It was at this time that I realized my posting privileges were suspended. My next post I wanted everyone to know what just happened - so I broke down exactly what I just said privately and that in less than 24 hours this guy’s immediate response was to suspended me all because I left a 3-start review on a lens he likes and wasn’t there to explain myself all day.

Moments later, I get an email informing me that I was permanently banned from DPReview. I protested it immediately with another employee and was reinstated in less than 12 hours. The whole ordeal took roughly 48 hours and I made 3 posts total. They admitted he was wrong and they would be speaking to him about it. The guy was on a power trip.

I’m not sure this was a conspiracy of them not wanting to say anything negative about a product on their site - that’s a little too “tin foil hat” for me. But this was a stupid Fujifilm fanboy with too much power that he flexed on me. Fuji is a weird camera system…it’s hard to define why there is so much passion behind their cameras and lenses…but I can tell you that I shoot with the X-T4 and XF70-300mm lens and I feel like it’s 1985 and I’m working for National Geographic and I’m having a blast using this thing. Meanwhile that lens is losing its mind as you zoom and pulsating focus to pretend it’s parfocal, and the camera body is finding a face in a tree behind a person’s face - and you don’t care. LOL
...and also this from LSXPhotog (posted while composing a response):

PRECISELY!!!! My comparison point was and has always been the stunning EF-M 22mm lens. So I got the 27mm in the kit and was immediatly let down by everything it did. haha

Hopefully the moderator was at least suspended or reprimanded for what he did. DPReview doesn't make it very clear that when you review a lens it creates a public thread to discuss your review. Why?! I would have posted on the forum for that. haha

==========

Where to start here...

Thanks for letting us see behind the DPR curtain--I'm not surprised with anything in your report. In fact, what you've described seems quite reasonable. Of course, DPR as represented by the 'rogue' moderator was in the wrong. LIke you, I do not sense any systematic bias, though.

I suppose the DPR critics will say that the place is full of rogue moderators--not my experience, though, as a semi-regular poster there. Of course I could be mistaken.

And I share your admiration for the EF-M 22mm lens; both of our daughters have returned from overseas trips with images obtained with that lens mated to both the original M...and later, the M6 & M10 bodies...and I couldn't believe my eyes--the large sensor/tiny lens/small body combination delivered on all counts for two young adults who had (and have) never pressed the shutter button of any DSLR.

I have virtually the same respect for the EF-M 11-22 IS lens...I presume you have tried that one as well (I see from your list that you own the Fuji 10-24...at a kilobuck it is out of stock at B&H today). Especially when paired with the M6MkII's 'sort-of-still-modern' sensor, the IS properties of the 11-22 enable some amazing indoor/night-time vacation and travel shots...all in a package that, in my hands, works well with only a tiny (in fact, point-and-shoot) wrist-strap for handling.

Evidently the dials on your favorite (fun-to-shoot) Fuji are superior, in your view, to those found on the M6MkII. Of course I'm interested in the details...as many often point out, ergonomics matter a lot.

I guess the demise of the M format means I'll be looking closer at any-and-all APS-C bodies and lenses, particularly those that are small-and-light.

Who knows...
 
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Jan 27, 2020
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I think the styling and cosmetics of cameras greatly influences people's purchasing decisions (assuming the camera in question has the desired specification). In fact I believe that styling was the main reason why Nikon lost out to Canon on sales of DSLRs and now even more dramatically with MILCs.
Wow, it's pretty amazing (but not surprising) how everyone is different I have been buying cameras since 1980 and not once did I care what the camera looks like. Nor have I been looking closely enough...I always thought Canon and Nikon look the most alike among the major brands!
 
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Blue Zurich

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Wow, it's pretty amazing (but not surprising) how everyone is different I have been buying cameras since 1980 and not once did I care what the camera looks like. Nor have I been looking closely enough...I always thought Canon and Nikon look the most alike among the major brands!
I commend you on not succumbing to our societies narcissistic vibe.
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
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Wow, it's pretty amazing (but not surprising) how everyone is different I have been buying cameras since 1980 and not once did I care what the camera looks like. Nor have I been looking closely enough...I always thought Canon and Nikon look the most alike among the major brands!
I have to admit to being influenced by styling myself - there are some cameras that to me look stylish, e.g. Canon M and R series, Fujifilm XT series, OM Systems OM-1, and Ricoh GRIII. And then there are others that from a styling perspective just don't appeal, e.g. Panasonic, Sigma, Zeiss, Nikon and Sony.

But specifications, ergonomics and lens choice are my main considerations when it comes to parting with my money ;)
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
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I commend you on not succumbing to our societies narcissistic vibe.
I agree that society nowadays is extremely narcissistic - a deplorable trend. I guess there are some shallow folk who choose a camera to look fashionable or to impress others, but when my purchases are influenced by styling, it's not because I'm trying to impress anyone, it's simply because I appreciate good design.
 
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ReflexVE

Fujifilm X-H2S (M50 Veteran)
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May 5, 2020
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Another switcher here. I want to confirm the points made about Fuji AF, it's way behind even the M50 I came from. That said I do not regret switching, I wanted something small and light at a reasonable price and the X-S10, outside of autofocus, was a measurable upgrade in every regard. If Canon takes crop sensor cameras seriously again at some point in the future I'd gladly reconsider them, but I wasn't impressed with the R7/R10 releases. Hopefully they go a bit more up the market and also get the size closer to the M line and what Fuji is releasing.

Advantages I've found with Fuji are a lack of feature crippling, products from the lower end of the stack tend to have the same specs and capabilities as the top of the stack, lacking only things like weather sealing and perhaps some controls. This lets you buy in at a reasonable price and get 90% of what you'd get at the top of the line. I don't suffer at all having bought a X-S10 vs a X-T4, and that's really nice. For me, the manual control options were a drawback, I tried to use them initially for several months with another Fuji camera I was able to borrow, but when the X-S10 was released I jumped to get that PSAM dial and I don't regret it. I get that a lot of photographers enjoy the classic controls, but for me it was just unnecessary simulation of a past that I had no connection to (I was never a film photographer).

I'm mixed on the lenses. As noted by others, Fuji users can be utterly fanatical about their lens options. And compared to Canon's crop options, Fuji has a much wider selection covering almost everything you could want to do. But many of them are first generation X mount and it really shows. Here is what I have and my thoughts -

XF16mmF1.4: Noticeably softer than the Sigma 16mm I used with my M50 at any aperture. Really do not enjoy it.
XF35mmF1.4: Coming from the excellent EF-M 32mm f/1.4 this lens was a disappointment all around. Slow and not terribly sharp. That said, the brand new XF33mmF1.4 is extremely nice, I do not own it yet but it is likely superior to Canon's offering.
XF56mmF1.2: This is a fantastic lens. It became my favorite almost immediately. For X mount it is the one that is on my camera the most, just as the 32mm was practically glued to my M50.
XF90mmF2: Also excellent, and with no EF-M equivalent unless you adapt an EF lens. Really nice for portraits and fairly fast focusing with more accuracy likely due to the LM AF mechanism.
XF16-80mm: This zoom is alright, image quality is 'okay' but not exceptional. Better than the kit lens you get with a M camera, but I prefer to just use primes in that range when possible.
XF55-200mm: Again it's okay, I think the EF-M 55-200 is superior. That said the new XF70-300mm is getting excellent reviews and looks nicer than the EF-M at all the crossover focal lengths, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

A real mixed bag IMO. The positive is that Fuji is aggressively upgrading the lineup both in terms of image quality and autofocus performance. The new 18/23/33 are getting fantastic reviews and apparently dramatically improve autofocus performance in the real world even on the existing bodies. I'll be taking advantage of Fuji fans love of the 16/35 to upgrade to the 18/33. There are no previews of those lenses yet on the X-H2S but I can't wait to see the results. The older lenses are lauded by Fuji fans for their supposed 'character' but I really am not sold on that, I value accuracy over distortion. When I want 'character' I'll grab my Helios.

I currently view the Fuji ecosystem as that bridge that is missing in Canon's current lineup between entry level and professional cameras, with many Fuji bodies being on par with at least the mid-range pro cameras (when paired with the right lenses and with the caveat about AF). The X-H2S has me excited, although it's likely not a camera I'll buy due to it's size and price, but given how Fuji tends to rapidly trickle down their top tier tech, I expect a nice upgrade to my X-S10 at some point in the next couple years that likely brings AF into the upper tier even if it's not best in class. Which is good enough for me.

I also did splurge on a GFX 100S GF110mmF2 and holy crap. Nothing I've seen on the market touches that for image quality and it's honestly a joy to shoot. Out of reach and completely unjustifiable in most cases however.
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
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..... having bought a X-S10 vs a X-T4, and that's really nice. For me, the manual control options were a drawback, I tried to use them initially for several months with another Fuji camera I was able to borrow, but when the X-S10 was released I jumped to get that PSAM dial and I don't regret it. I get that a lot of photographers enjoy the classic controls, but for me it was just unnecessary simulation of a past that I had no connection to (I was never a film photographer).
As a fairly ancient photographer who used multiple film cameras including Alpa, Chinon, Contax, Fujica, Halina, Kodak, Konica, Linhof, Littlejohn, Minolta, Miranda, Nikon, Praktica, Rollei, Toyocaflex, Weltaflex, Yashica and Zorki, I spent half a lifetime with manual controls. But while Fujifilm XT series cameras are undoubtedly beautiful to behold, nothing would persuade me to revert to manual controls again. I consider the PASM dial method to be far quicker and simpler to use.
 
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Chig

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If the R7 had pro build quality, 40fps, BSI sensor and all the other goodies offered by this Fujifilm machine, would you have been willing to pay USD 2500 for it?

Canon are not truly interested in producing the "best" cameras, what they really want is to produce the *best selling* cameras. They know that the market for a pro-grade APS is pretty small, which is why they brought out a prosumer R7 at a bargain price. It'll sell like hot cakes, but in most regards the Fujifilm appears to be the "better" camera.
Sadly true :sneaky: I would buy an R7 with these specs in an R6 body and so would many others even at say $2,500-3000 but Canon will make more money with the R7 as it is as it will sell at least 10x as many at a similar profit margin.

I've decided to skip the R7 and save up for an R6 instead
 
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Chig

Birds in Flight Nutter
Jul 26, 2020
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The GPS on my (now sold) Canon 5DS caused it to lock up several times. Consequently, with my 5DMkiv and R5 bodies, I've never been brave enough to turn it on. I only very rarely need location data for my images, other than elevation, and I can get all that from my phone anyway.
That's interesting as my 7Dii has started locking up lately so perhaps I should turn GPS off ?
 
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Yep! I warn everyone making the switch to be prepared to take a major step backwards in autofocus. Fuji users are actually beginning to feel like the worst camera fans out there because if you say ANYTHING negative about their cameras, they harass you endlessly. I posted a negative review about a lens, the XF27mm f/2.8 WR R lens on DPReview and it offended the moderator so much that my account ended up being suspended. I just highlighted the worst focus breathing of any lens I’ve ever used and the really poor minimum focusing distance. Thought the lens was overrated and sold it….this sent them into a temper tantrum of harassment about how sharp and compact the lens was and that comes with a trade off!! Haha I said that the Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 had none of these issues, cost less money, and was almost identical in size - still being called a pancake lens. Oh well!

The autofocus on X-H2S that I’m seeing is still pretty bad and laggy. Then you hear the reviewer say they’ve caught up to or are showing boxes on ear subjects further out than Canon/Sony….then you look at the footage and it’s a mess. Haha The reviewers are just pathetic and dishonest people looking to capitalize on thei affiliate links for preorder. Why Fujifilm can’t get their autofocus to just stick to a single subject is beyond me.

I would also like to highlight that as great as the video features are with this camera, very VERY VERY few of Fuji’s lenses are even usable as video lenses. Zooms fake being parfocal by adjusting the focus as you zoom…which comes in odd pulses of focus and makes all footage unusable if you zoom. Manual focus on all lenses I’ve owned/used (including the latest LM) is also done in pulses so you can’t actually perform a smooth manual focus transition - for some reason autofocus can achieve this, but now manually pulling?

I could go on and on. But if I am 100% honest, I truthfully don’t believe I’ve ever had more fun shooting a digital camera than when I walk around with a Fuji. It makes it the perfect recreational and fun camera to own for me…but it’s not ready for prime time professional use - at least not for me shooting motorsports, automotive, commercial, and real estate photo/video on a daily basis.
I completely relate to this! I recently published a few videos on YT that were highly critical of Fuji AF / AE in VIDEO mode and all the fanboys came screaming at me. I am one of those fanboys which is hilarious, but I'm also honest. If something isn't working as it should, people should know about it. I'm going to start selling some of my Fuji gear and am considering either Sony or Canon. Any advise from a former Fuji user like yourself?? Thx a bunch!
 
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Looks like a nice camera with full of features but does it worth $1000 over the R7?

Seems good but too expensive at £2499 - for that same amount of ££ - would opt bit more for a Z7 MK 2 (good 20 mp APS mode) / or a R6 or if I really wanted a good and fair price APS ML would opt for the Canon R7 - coupled with some RF FF Glass. Beauty of Canon, Sony and Nikon ML system is that you can use same APS ML lenses (apart from EOS M lenses) on both APS and FF bodies in the same system and can expand to add more FF glass & FF body/ies compared to restrictive Fuji system - where only APS ML lenses can be mount.

Also plenty of Fuji APS ML lenses cost same or more than FF ML equivalents from Sony / Canon and Nikon.
 
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LSXPhotog

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I completely relate to this! I recently published a few videos on YT that were highly critical of Fuji AF / AE in VIDEO mode and all the fanboys came screaming at me. I am one of those fanboys which is hilarious, but I'm also honest. If something isn't working as it should, people should know about it. I'm going to start selling some of my Fuji gear and am considering either Sony or Canon. Any advise from a former Fuji user like yourself?? Thx a bunch!
Well I still have Fuji and I really enjoy it. But I'm extremely honest about them and I've grown to become incredibly honest about Canon as well. I could personally never bring myself to shooting on a Sony camera or getting involved with their system, but it doesn't mean I have any problems suggesting their cameras or admiring their continued accomplishments either. (5+ years ago I had a very poor interaction with brand rep and an Artisan that slammed that door shut and locked it twice. haha) Sorry to hear you were met with many comments that I'm sure weren't very polite. haha It's a great community to be a part of, but they do have their head down a bit and hate when people turn the lights on. I really think it's just a bunch of people that love taking photos and don't understand why some features are that important to others if they don't need them.

My advice is to identify the kind of photography you enjoy. There are certain things that Fuji does better than anyone else, which is provide their users with a deliberate, tactile feel you can't get with anyone else...but that comes at the cost of some AF tracking performance and quirky workflow hiccups. The X-H2S is an example of them departing from that, and moving to a more modern layout. Personally, I feel that the experience on a Canon is better tailored for speed, dependability, and is functionally better sorted out for my needs. But they're not really "fun" to shoot like a Fuji.
 
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