Master of All Trades

This is undoubtedly the best all-around mirrorless camera that has ever been produced to this day from Fujifilm. Combining the best features of different cameras currently offering in the market, from the fast-shooting speeds, autofocus, to the superb video quality. It is just astonishing to offer the 26MP stacked sensor, which shoots 40fps RAW photos, with the ability to shoot 6K 30fps or 4K 120fps video with external 10-bit 4:2:2 recording.

I can simply bring this camera on any shoot and be confident that it will produce the highest quality possible in any situation while remaining dependable. Since its release in May 2022, the Fujifilm X-H2S has been my main camera for all my works. I have been using it in every shoot, be it a photojournalism, sports and wedding. For almost two and a half months, I have been using this camera to its limits with over 20k shots, so I thought I would to share provide my user experience on the features that comes with it.

Design, Build and Feel

The first thing you notice when you pick up the X-H2S is how nice it feels in the hand. The deep right hand grip fits snugly into my hand. The leatherette texture is similar as X-T4.

The navigation joystick and AF On button are made bigger and much more rugged for much more convenient use. Even when wearing glove for my winter sports assignments. Personally this is my favourite layout to have the joystick next to the AF On button. It is perfect for back button operation.

The left hand ISO dial is now a PSAM dial, and to the right the Shutter speed dial has been replaced with the big info display inherited from the X-H1. I am fine with the PSAM setup as I was a DSLR user before switched to FUJIFILM X system. So it is not a stranger to me. However using the front and back scroll wheels for ISO and shutter speed changes when in M-mode is just as easy once you get used to it. The entire build of the camera feels incredibly sturdy and solid. When you handle the camera you get a distinct sense of heft, and durability.

The New EVF

There’s an update to the EVF. The high-resolution electronic viewfinder has a 0.8x magnification and uses 5.76 million dots for incredible detail. A refresh rate of approx. 120fps surpasses image blur and distortion typically caused by looking through the finder at extreme angles, making it easier to track moving subjects more accurately.

Personally, I would prefer the EVF Frame Rate Priority (120P) option from the EVF/LCD Boost Setting for most scenarios, especially weddings and low-light situations. It's blackout-free so in case my flash failed to fire, I would immediately know so without the need to check every image in playback.

Autofocus

The autofocus is superior and subject tracking is very reliable, even in low light. It holds onto eyes/faces more smoothly than before. This has allowed me to be more creative by setting my mind free of the entire autofocus process, especially in the mountain bike slopestyle situations where there are many other things happening at the same time that you need to cope with.

The improvement in AF is more than AF points or spread, however, as the X-H2S has much more processing power under its hood. The X-H2S can maintain focus with high accuracy even for fast moving subjects and it can automatically adjust exposure, even with sudden changes in brightness.

I will let you to review the following image sequence to comment on the X-H2S AF-C tracking performance. My setting was 30fps with Electronic Shutter. The AF-C Custom Setting was set to (2) Ignore Obstacles & Continue to Track Subject in order to having the AF tries to stay locked on to the same subject.

Video

Due to my packed assignments in this summer, I do not have enough time to play around with different video setting. I do did some slow motion 4K @ 120fps videos at the Crankworx mountain bike event. As you can see from my video, the MTB rider was out of focus after he jumped out from the platform. I used the centre AF area to capture this video. I would like to see Fujifilm will upgrade the AF-C focus point in video mode to provide a custom subject selection area for better tracking sensitivity.

Conclusion

As a working photographer, I have been waiting for a long time for Fujifilm to deliver this powerhouse that can make our job easier. It is safe to say that my setup currently revolves around the X-H2S. It provides everything I need in a camera and assume will work perfectly the upcoming X-H2 when I need different perspectives. My Fujinon XF200mm lens is very happy to working with this new partner. I am looking forward to seeing what the new X-H2 can be brought to the digital imaging scene.

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