Fujifilm X-H2S review
We review the Fujifilm X-H2S, a powerful camera that boasts impressive specifications and produces beautiful photos.
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Scores
- Design: 9/10
- Performance: 9/10
- Overall: 9/10
Pros
- 26MP stacked CMOS sensor creates beautiful photos
- Comfortable to hold
- Fast autofocus that recognises your subject
Cons
- You need a special memory card to access some functions
- Switching some settings through the menu can be slow
The rise of mobile phone photography has made it easier than ever for everyone to take good quality photos and video. But if you want great pictures or video, you’re going to need a great camera, like the X-H2S from Fujifilm.
The X-H2s launched back in 2022, and brought with it an impressive lineup of specifications for a mirrorless camera. A new stacked 26-megapixel CMOS sensor and high-speed X-Processor 5 gives this camera incredibly snappy performance, plus the ability to record Apple ProRes video.
Packed full of features and with a design that’s comfortable to hold and use, the X-H2S is an impressive camera that will suit passionate photographers looking for impressive image quality.
Design
The Fujifilm X-H2S is a beast of a camera. It’s fairly hefty, weighing in at about 660 grams with the battery and memory card inserted, it feels robust and solid to hold.
The grip is large and solid to hold, with buttons conveniently placed to control your ISO and white balance, and dials on the thumb grip and under the shutter button.
There’s a dedicated settings display screen on the top of the camera, which is clear and easy to read in all lighting conditions. It conveniently displays the camera’s current shooting settings.
On the left-hand side, the top of the camera features a traditional mode dial.
You get standard Aperture and Shutter speed modes, but rather than offering a variety of preset shooting modes, Fujifilm has opted to include seven different custom shooting modes on the mode dial.
Truth be told, that’s going to be pretty daunting for anyone looking to step up their photography from a good camera phone.
But if you know your way around a camera already, the customisation will let you preset the camera for different shooting scenarios, so you can quickly and easily get the best possible result.
Viewfinder and LCD
Framing photos is made easy with the electronic viewfinder. The 0.5-inch OLED display offers 5.76 million dots, making it impressively detailed and easy to find the perfect shot.
If you prefer, the 3-inch touchscreen LCD on the rear of the camera also does an impressive job of letting you shoot from different angles, thanks to the display’s rotating arm that flips out and rotates.
Because it’s an electronic viewfinder, you get to see any filtered photos like black and white through the viewfinder as well.
Performance
When it comes to taking photos, the Fujifilm X-H2 is a master of its craft. The autofocus in particular is fantastic, identifying your photo’s subject and focusing almost instantly.
Not only that, but when you’re focusing on a person, the autofocus intelligently identifies the subject’s eye to get the best possible shot as quickly as possible.
Dedicated AI-driven subject modes let you track and shoot specific subjects as well, like animals, birds, cars, bikes, aeroplanes or trains.
There are several customisation options for your focus settings if you really want to get the best photo. But if you prefer to just point and shoot, the X-H2 will do that too.
It’s worth pointing out though that you do need to dive into the settings to switch focus modes. That can be a little frustrating if you would like to change focus on the fly.
Image quality
Fujifilm is renowned for its incredible colour reproduction, and the X-H2 doesn’t disappoint in this regard.
Photos from the camera are crisp, vibrant, and colourful. The in-built 5-axis image stabilisation helps here, letting you take really great photos even in difficult lighting conditions.
Additionally, the X-H2S is capable of 40 frame per second burst mode, allowing you to capture the perfect action shot effortlessly.
Verdict
There’s no question the Fujifilm X-H2S is a fantastic camera. It takes wonderful photos, offers a huge amount of customisation and is robustly built.
It’s also relatively complex to use, particularly for anyone who is not already familiar with the intricacies of mirrorless or DLSR cameras.
But if you’re prepared to dive deep into the settings and get nerdy with your photography, the X-H2S is a great camera capable of delivering fantastic photos and video.
