The new X-H2S sibling sacrifices speed for megapixels and 8K video.
With the newest camera in its X-series line, Fujifilm is finally moving things forward after years of APS-C mirrorless cameras with resolutions in the 20-something megapixel range. Today, Fujifilm will unveil the X-H2, a high-resolution camera featuring a 40.2-megapixel X-Trans sensor and 8K video, at its X Summit event in New York City. This professional-grade camera has the same CPU, in-body image stabilisation technology, dual card slots, electronic viewfinder, and other features as the latest X-H2S on which it is based. For those who prioritise megapixels above all else, it’s essentially the same camera with a new sensor. Although the higher resolution equivalent will retail for $1,999.95 in late September, it will cost around $500 less than the X-H2S. (body only).
The $999.95 XF 56mm f/1.2 fast-aperture portrait lens and the $2,499.95 medium format GF 20-35mm f/4 ultrawide-angle zoom are two new Fujinon lenses that go along with this announcement. The 56mm will be released in late September along with the X-H2, but the new zoom won’t be available to owners of Fujifilm GFX cameras until October.
The Fujifilm X-H2 appears to be almost verbatim to what was hinted about back in May. For individuals who value resolution more than anything else, there is the identical X-H2S body with a different type of sensor. The X-40.2-megapixel H2’s sensor is not stacked like the X- H2S’s, therefore it cannot attain the same readout and burst shooting rates. For instance, the X-blackout-free H2’s electronic shutter can capture photographs at a maximum rate of 20 frames per second with a 1.29x crop. That’s half as fast as the uncropped X-H2S, and the X-slower H2’s sensor will result in more noticeable rolling shutter effects in both still photos (when utilising the electronic shutter) and videos. The X-H2, however, still manages up to 15 frames per second (fps) at full quality because these cameras have the same mechanical shutter. Unexpectedly, the X-H2 features a quicker electronic shutter speed than the X-H2S of 1/18,000. However, rolling shutter effects may limit the applications of that speed as well as its ability to shoot blackout-free without distorting moving scenes.
By using a multishot mode, the X-H2 can capture images with more resolution than its native 40.2 megapixels. With Fujifilm’s Pixel Shift Combiner software, a burst of 20 pixel-shifted photographs taken while employing in-body image stabilisation results in a 160-megapixel monster image. Additionally, the X-H2 offers 8K video at 29.97 frames per second in case that wasn’t enough to make your storage drives groan in agony. Even though it achieves greater resolution levels than its X-H2S brother, it is also rated for a slightly poorer dynamic range, lacks open gate recording, and isn’t capable of recording 120 frames per second in 4K.
Though the X-H2 offers a slightly lower base ISO of 125, it maintains the same high-ISO speeds as the X-H2S (12,800 ISO, expandable to 51,200). This is good news for low-light stills photographers. There will almost always be trade-offs made in order to increase the number of megapixels, but for a camera costing just under $2,000, the X-trade-offs H2’s appear at least reasonable.
One model for speed and one model for resolution in a camera is not a novel idea; picture companies like Canon, Nikon, and others have been using this strategy for years. However, it is a first for Fujifilm, which has only thus far retained its medium format horses in the megapixel race. Fujifilm has to try to satisfy the demands of demanding users who want high-resolution stills, video, speed, and versatility in one system because it is one of the few brands without a full-frame system in its lineup.
