Fujifilm X-H1: What you need to know

Introduction

The Fujifilm X-H1 arrived in the last few hours of February 14th, at least out here on the West Coast in the US, making it a Valentine's gift that came in just under the wire for the Fujifilm faithful. It's deserving of a big red bow with a range-topping APS-C 24MP X-Trans sensor, sitting above the X-T2. It builds on many of the X-T2's features by adding in-body image stabilization, a touchscreen and enhanced video options. Here's a detailed look at everything that's new and improved.

Image Quality

Given the camera's pedigree and the initial results we've seen, the X-H1 looks highly capable of great image quality. The sensor, shared with the X-T2, has already shown itself to have performance comparable with the best of its APS-C peers, both in terms of dynamic range and noise performance at high ISO settings.

Throw in Fujifilm's excellent film simulation modes (plus a bonus new one!), and you've got a mighty tempting camera for stills shooters. However, the camera's unique X-Trans color filter pattern is worth taking into account – your results will vary greatly depending on your Raw conversion software.

Further enticing stills photographers is the X-H1's healthy 14 fps burst rate with electronic shutter and 8 fps with mechanical shutter (which can be boosted to 11 with an optional grip). Buffer depth looks reasonably good too, allowing for 40 JPEG shots or 23 uncompressed Raws (27 compressed). Fujifilm also promises autofocus improvement, with better performance in low light and at smaller apertures. All excellent news.

Image Stabilization

Despite Fujifilm previously suggesting that it couldn't be done, the X-H1 offers in-body stabilization rated up to 5 stops. Unusually, Fujifilm says the system works better with non-IS lenses because they project a larger image circle and tend to be neither too long nor too wide, both of which are harder to stabilize. With such a lens, up to 5.5 stops of stabilization can be achieved.

Viewfinder and rear LCD

Comparing to the X-T2, the X-H1 gets a higher resolution viewfinder: a 3.69 million dot OLED panel with 0.75x magnification to the X-T2's 2.36 million dots and 0.77x magnification. Like the X-T2, the X-H1 provides a 3" 1.04 million dot rear LCD that tilts upwards and downwards, but of course, adds touch sensitivity where the X-T2 has none.

The X-H1, like the X-T2, also comes with a 'Boost' mode that increases the viewfinder refresh rate from 60Hz to 100Hz for a smoother look.

Touchscreen

The X-H1's touchscreen is all-around nice to have, allowing you to place a focus point with a tap, tap and acquire focus, or acquire focus and shoot all with one touch. It's also usable as a touchpad with the camera to your eye. That said, we have a word of caution – in our initial use of the touchscreen both setting focus points and touchpad operation, the screen has felt noticeably laggy.

The LCD also provides touch control of the camera's Q.Menu, and in playback mode offers quick access to 100% image viewing, along with gesture-controlled swiping and scrolling. As in the X-E3, a swipe across the shooting screen acts as a Fn button shortcut.

Video specs

The latest generation of flagship mirrorless cameras take video very seriously, and Fujifilm has definitely gotten the memo. The X-H1 offers DCI 4K in 23.98p and 24p, as well as UHD 4K in 23.98/24/25/29.97p. Where the X-T2 requires an external recorder to use flat Log capture, the X-H1 allows for internal F-Log recording. The camera offers bitrates of up to 200 Mbps and 24-bit audio (vs 16-bit on the X-T2).

Plenty of other goodies are on offer for videographers, like a new Eterna/Cinema film simulation mode, slow motion 1080p capture, and the ability to record full HD internally while outputting 4K over HDMI. Autofocus in movie mode is still a bit of a question mark, but rest assured we'll be putting it to the test in short order.

Video interface and usability

In a further nod to the X-H1's cinematic leanings, Fujifilm's included specific shutter speed options in video mode that directly correspond to 90, 180 and 360 degree shutter angles on more dedicated video cameras. In other words, instead of being stuck with shutter speeds of 1/25 sec, 1/50 sec or 1/100 sec for shooting 24p video, you can choose 1/24 sec, 1/48 sec, 1/96 sec, and so on.

Touchscreen benefits aren't limited to stills applications either – Fujifilm put a lot of thought into adding touch control for video shooters. Movie Silent Control disables the aperture ring, shutter speed dial and ISO dial, shifting those settings to touch control. This makes it easy to leave settings dialed in for stills, and then jump quickly to video shooting with separate settings. It's a great feature to have if you're, say, shooting stills and video at the same time at a wedding reception, but our initial impression is that the interface itself feels a bit fiddly.

It's worth noting that the newly announced X-mount versions of Fujifilm's MK cinema lenses will work beautifully on the X-H1, as you can see your aperture as T-stops rather than F-stops.

Unfortunately, despite all the strides Fujfilm's made for video users, there's a notable lack of exposure aids of any kind – you don't even get zebra warnings, much less waveforms.

Who's it for?

It's not totally clear-cut who this camera is for. High-end stills shooters who want an X-T2 with stabilization may feel that their ship has finally arrived. But with so much emphasis on video features, is this a camera that's better suited for photographers who need to shoot video along with their stills?

Fujifilm tells us it's a camera for both parties. Like the Sony a6500, it acts as a step-up model even if you aren't planning on shooting video (a step-up model that happens to be VERY capable in the video department). So if you're a stills shooter who buys one, do us a favor and give the movie mode a try – it looks pretty darn good so far.

[Read More ...]

The following blog post was originally published to republished from:  https://www.proton-pack.com

Fujifilm X-H1: What you need to know was originally posted by https://www.proton-pack.com