The Truth About Fuji's new X-H2 Camera

My goal is to be useful, educational and maybe entertaining on my channel. This video is not one I enjoyed making because Fuji is my brand of choice for personal and professional work. However, the Fuji X-H2 is not up to my expectations for a modern mirrorless camera in terms of autofocus. I paired it with the Fuji 56mm F/1.2 lens to shoot a local 5k race, not the action shots which I used the Fuji X-H2s for, but just portraits and candid shots. I tried very hard to stay in that narrow lane of portraits and non-moving subjects, but over and over again, when I reached for the camera in a scenario where there was a moving subject, the subject detect and the eye autofocus would work properly about half of the time. This is a problem for me, and though I still much prefer the portraits I got over the Canon EOS R shots I took last year at the same event, and which I review in this video, I'm conflicted about this camera

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[ryanhoviolin]

Hey Wes, nice video!
About the XH2 autofocus, the XH2 should focus much much better with moving subjects than the XT4, which was my impression after about two weeks of use. It is a new AF algorithm in the XH2 and when using Continuous autofocus with eye detection turned on, I actually only use single point autofocus (where the camera gives you the focusing square box. In order for the camera to pick out a single person and their eyes among many moving people, you need to make sure that the square focusing box is always on the subject before the eye detecting can find the correct eye, it’s really counterintuitive but it works like that. Don’t use Wide Tracking when there’s a lot of people around, this only works when there is only one subject in the frame. Second method of focusing on moving subject in Continuous AF is to use Zone Focusing with eye detection turned off. The AF in the new Fujis do work very accurately, but it will depend if you can nail that settings for your own context. Now that there are 7 custom modes on the mode dial, I just set up 7 different AF scenarios so that i can pick and use the correct one on the fly. Good luck with finding the correct settings!

[kirklins]

This makes me plan on sticking with my X-T3 and wait to see if they iron out the details on auto focus speed/reliability.

[TheOneAboveAll_]

It seems like the same thing everyone was saying was improved is the same thing people have been complaining about again with fuji

[dantecorbett]

After all these months and the updates that have come to both cameras, Would you still suggest leaving EOS R to go towards Fujifilm? I'm deciding between Fuji & Panasonic S5II. I wanna believe that the Fuji can be fixed more via firmware... thoughts?

[AsuquoTravelsProductions]

I don’t know if any of you have noticed but to get the best results from your XH2 you need to put it to Continuous Autofocus/eye tracking in Area mode. Also when recording you can tap the LCD to focus on whichever subject you have on screen and immediately the eye autofocus will move to that subject. 😅

[ianwebster]

Fuji XH2 all day long, I have one and it’s fantastic 👍

[NoahBershatsky]

I'm new to the X-H2, but I've owned the 56 f/1.2 in the past (a couple of times). It is a SLOW lens. I would not use it for any action. 50-140mm f/2.8 would be a better choice.

[ThePhotographyHobbyist]

Hmmm...For PHOTOS, I haven't had the chance to shoot moving subjects yet with my X-H2 other than leaves or something like that for nature shots and it does very well (leaf moving in the wind for example). That's with the 16-80mm lens. I use the focus tracking mode with AF-C. It's nearly flawless so far. For shooting VIDEO with face/eve detect on, tracking me as I move around in the frame while I talk has been outstanding also with almost no failures. That's with me in a busy outdoor scene (nature) and only one person in the frame (me), in and out (I leave the frame, come back in, move from side to side, go father back, come forward...all good). I'll have to try some photos of people now to see how it does (in photo mode, again using AF-C with face/eye detect but I could also try AF-C with face/eye off and single point AF.

[mylifesix]

Thanks Wes! I would love to see X-H2 tested using single point focus continuous with moving subjects (even runners) - 15 frames per second. No face or eye detection on. My X-T3 even does decent with this. Also a side note to any fuji user. I made the mistake of turning pre focus on and forgetting about it the other day. That was a terrible idea. During a senior photoshoot when I would focus and recompose, the camera would loose focus. It drove me crazy. I rolled with it having to retake the same shot multiple times and finally moving my focus point instead of recomposing to get it. Got home after the shoot and figured out what had happened. Lesson learned.

[aurimaspovilionis]

For some reason I think that was 56/1.2 fault..
I had a chance to play with new 56 on h2s. Even on that camera it hunts.
So I’m not surprised that you experienced that kind of behaviour with this lens.
I would suggest to try H2 with some LM autofocus lenses.. for some reason I think you will change your mind.

[praetorian]

Fuji's colors are the king!! The people who wrote the jpeg algorithm at Fuji had advance knowledge of color, and they knew what they were doing. Watch a video tile "Fuji Rethink Raw" by Lee Varis, he goes into to technical details about Fuji jpeg files, his video sold me on Fuji and I never looked back since then. Just FYI - I am ex Canon and Sony shooter and now for the last 4-5 years in Fuji camp.

[FotosyMas.]

I think the Canon portraits look better. Can’t pin point what it is, maybe is that infamous “full frame look”.

I got the XH2 the day it came out, along with the XF 150-600mm. I’ve been using it for wildlife photography, mainly birds. I’m struggling with the autofocus in bird detection mode. It puts the box around the subject but the focus is almost always off.

I wanted this camera to replace my Canon R7 as wildlife and also double as family/portrait stuff. So far I’m still conflicted and I haven’t sold the R7.

[juliette-mansour]

I'm in the same boat as you, Wes. I shoot events. I got the XH2 on a good deal with the 16-80 kit lens. I have been shooting Fuji ASP-C cameras for years so thought the menu system and my lenses made this camera the perfect fit. 

However, I'm now doubting my decision, but not because of the autofocus. (As info, I used the wrong SD card (UHS-I by mistake) when I tested. Despite this, continuous AF is to with Zone Focusing with eye detection turned off worked great. No problem there. I use the ALL option on AF mode so I can use the front dial to quickly change focus modes). 

It's a beast of a camera but might be overkill for me. I shoot no video, first of all. Most of my event photos are passed along to the people who hired me to do this work so they can share them on social media. So I don't need massive file sizes to add to my already massive collection of photos across the years. 

I also have to now invest in CFexpress cards just so the XH2 can do its job properly and now my f/2 lenses and f/4 lenses seem gimpy. Lastly, in low light, it's way noisier than my Nikon D750 DSLR! I pushed it to the max too. Add the Lightroom worms and my nighttime shots were unusable. Very sad!

My question for you is what other systems have you considered? I have three days to decide if I'm going to keep this kit. I'm 50% there in my decision. All I want is solid autofocus for my work and as a bonus and for some wildlife shooting I do on the side. What other kind of shooting do you do and have you considered also the xh2s?

[FOTOUNIVERSE]

One of the reviews I have seen said the AF is much better with the 56mm Mark II. Might have been your issue? It's also a pretty complicated AF system which is going to take a while to figure out and get used to. It's also probable that Fuji will tweak things with FW as we go. I got an XH2s two days ago and have an XH2 coming tomorrow so I'm really curious as to what's what. The H2s is a lot better than the XT4 for sure.

[ertugrul]

What I don't like is that objects bend and warp when I move them while shooting videos with the product.is this normal ? I don't know if the same is happening on FF machines or not. I bought it for product shots. Nice video, congratulations, we are waiting for the next.

[ShutterFanatic]

Are you seeing worse iso noise on the XH2 vs the XH2s? I was hoping for and increase on the new sensor and would settle for the same but would be disappointing if less. Seen mixed things on this with some that I trust saying low light took a small step back. I am an XT shooter and bummed about this new sensor so far. I think 30ish would have been the sweet spot

[Tbonyandsteak]

Not an expert on XH2. But I get that the focus setting in Fuji are something you got to learn. In order to work proberly and the lenses have a great deal on its performances.
I mostly do landscapes, though. I hardly does those fast apertures.
So I have no focus issues at all, offcourse if you do video with a high framerate and narrow focus area. Focusing will a difficult challange. So you got to help your camera to get the right focus. like limit its focus area, choose the best area vs point focus, chose the right setting to the behaviour of your target. Etc.
Those settings would be a MUST to learn.
According to Fuji XH2 have a more exact focus than the XH2s due to it have more pixels to work with.

[markjsc]

Hi Wes - thanks for the great video! I'm trying to decide between the X-H2s and the X-H2. I'm strongly leaning toward the X-H2s but looking for any reason that I should reconsider the X-H2. Your experiences in this video are exactly what's making me think the "S" is right for me.

I'm a serious hobbyist. I have occasionally found opportunity to shoot portraits, sports, airshows, wildlife, or landscape, but I keep coming back to capturing my family's travel and special life events as my primary subjects. I recently parted with my Canon 5D IV and L glass after 6 years, so I'm looking for a high-end experience (flagship body, great glass). I think the X-H2 would be more than fast enough (it seems to be WAY faster than the Canon 5D IV), but the better autofocus performance of the X-H2s seems like a better fit for my style of shooting on the run. And despite the higher resolution of the X-H2 I think the 26MP of the "S" will be more than adequate for my needs (I rarely print anything - nearly all of my output is for web or screen viewing).

Can you think of any reason I should consider the X-H2 over the X-H2s? (Thanks in advance for any thoughts you can share!)

[codescholar]

Thanks for the video! I have the S but am debating on getting the non S version too. Can you post some RAF files shooting the same subject with both cameras? I’m wondering if the 40mp will really be noticeably different than the 26mp and I want to print 60” x 40”. I think the S has amazing auto focus and seems to have more dynamic range even in photos over the XT3 and I’m wondering if the S has more dynamic range in photos over the non S. Thanks!

[hasenmyer]

What camera/lens did you use to shoot this video? sorry if you listed it somewhere, I didn't see it.
Thanks