Fujifilm has announced the X-H2S, price tag £2,499/$2,499, the company’s new flagship camera for stills and video that promises to be four times faster than its predecessor.
The new Fujifilm camera joins the company’s X Series range of mirrorless cameras and is aimed at professional photographers and hybrid shooters.
Specs
Inside the Fujifilm X-H2S is a 26.16-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HS sensor which uses the same back-side illumination design as before but now adds a stacked layer structure. This stacked design is what enables the camera to reach faster speeds than before.
Paired with the newly designed sensor is an all-new X-Processor 5 image processing engine, which doubles the speed of the X-H2S. What’s more, Fujifilm says the new processor improves image quality at the high and low ends of the ISO range and has delivered improvements to AF accuracy and speed, as well as supporting the camera’s high frame rates for video.
As well as improved AF speed and precision from the new processing engine, Fujifilm has enhanced the prediction algorithm for the X-H2S AF system. This has improved the camera’s ability to track subjects in Zone AF and in low-contrast conditions.
The Fujifilm X-H2S also uses Deep Learning AF technology and can automatically detect animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes and trains, as well as human faces and eyes, when they are in the frame. What’s more, the X-H2S supports AF+MF in video mode and offers the same subject detection capability when shooting video.
The new sensor and X-Processor 5 combination also give the Fujifilm X-H2S a significant boost in continuous shooting speed. The camera’s signal readout speed is four times faster than its predecessor, which enables the X-H2S to shoot up to 40fps blackout-free in burst mode, with AF.
When using the camera’s electronic shutter, the Fujifilm X-H2S can shoot more than 1,000 frames continuously at up to 30fps in JPEG and 20fps in raw.
The Fujifilm X-H2S also adds five-axis in-body image stabilisation, or IBIS, which provides up to seven stops of shutter speed compensation. This means users will now be able to handhold the camera in low light or active situations. Find out which cameras have IBIS.
Other features include a 1.62-million-dot vari-angle LCD screen, a redesigned grip and dual memory card slots for both SD cards and CFexpress Type B memory.
Video
The Fujifilm X-H2S also brings some serious video capability to the table. The new Fujifilm camera can record 4:2:2 10bit video in 6.2K at 30p and in 4K at 120p. The camera also supports a variety of codecs, including Apple ProRes 422 HQ. ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 LT. When recording ProRes, the X-H2S also supports proxy recording such as ProRes 422 Proxy.
The Fujifilm X-H2S also adds F-Log2, which expands the camera’s dynamic range up to 14 stops and allows users to grade their own footage in post-production.
Fujifilm says that the X-H2S also has low power consumption and a heat-dissipating design, extending its maximum video recording time to 240 minutes when shooting 4K video at 60p.
There’s also an option FAN-001 accessory you can buy to extend your video recording in high-temperature conditions.
Fujifilm X-H2S Price & Release Date
The Fujifilm X-H2S price tag will be £2,499/$2,499 for the body only. The Fujifilm X-H2S release date will be in July 2022.
Fujifilm’s new optional cooling fan will be priced at £169/$199, while a new file transmitter grip, FT-XH, will be priced at £949/$999. Fujifilm is also launching a new vertical battery grip for the X-H2S, the VBG-XH, price tag £399/$399.
Specification
- Camera type: Mirrorless
- Announced: 31st May 2022
- Sensor: 26.16Mp APS-C (23.5 x 15.6mm) X-Trans CMOS 5 HS
- In body image stabilisation: 5-axis giving up to 7EV shutter speed compensation
- Processing engine: X-Processor 5
- Lens mount: Fujifilm X
- Sensitivity range: ISO 160-12,800 expandable to ISO 80-51,200
- Autofocus system: Intelligent Hybrid with up to 425 points plus subject detection for humans, animals, birds, automobiles, motorcycles, aeroplanes and trains
- Max continuous shooting rate: Electronic shutter: 40fps for 184 jpegs, 170 lossless compressed raw or 140 uncompressed raw, Mechanical shutter: 15fps for 1000+ jpegs, lossless compressed raw or 1000 uncompressed raw
- Max video resolution: 6.2K (6240×4160) 29.97/25/24/23.98p, DCI 4K (4096×2160) 59.94/50/29.97/25/24/23.98p or 120/100p in High Speed mode, 4K (3840×2160) 59.94/50/29.97/25/24/23.98p or 120/100p in High Speed mode
- Viewfinder: 0.5 inch 5.76 million-dot OLED Color Viewfinder with 100% coverage Eyepoint: approx. 24mm Diopter adjustment: -5~+3m-1 Magnification: 0.8× with 50mm lens
- Screen: Vari-angle 3-inch LCD with 1.62-million dots
- Dimensions: 136.3 x 92.9 x 84.6mm
- Storage: Dual: 1x CFexpress type B, 1x DS/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II
- Weight: 579g (body only), 660g with battery and card
Fujifilm 40MP X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor in development
Along with the X-H2S, Fujifilm has announced that it is developing an high-resolution sensor. The X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor is an APS-C format sensor with a pixel count of 40-million, but it doesn’t have a stacked design like the 26Mp X-Trans CMOS 5 HS sensor in the X-T2S. However, it will raise the game in terms of detail resolution for an APS-C format camera.
We might speculate that the 40Mp X-Trans CMOS 5 HR will appear in the Fujifilm X-H2HR at some point in the future. Fujifilm promises to deliver more information in September at the next X-Summit.