After a four-year hiatus, Fujifilm’s lineup again includes an XH model. But not like the likes of the X-H2S (left) replacement: it’s expected in September. |
When we were briefed on the X-H1 in 2018, Fujifilm emphasized the idea that it was intended as a still / video hybrid. It had the most advanced video specs seen on an X-Series camera, achieved in-body stability which is so useful for video shooters and internal log capture, all of which suggest that Fujifilm takes video very seriously.
It was the first X-Series camera to feature a top-plate LCD instead of a dedicated exposure compensation dial. And it was also the first X-Series model to feature a large handgrip, which became another thing that caught the hands of some users. So to speak.
What was clear was that it sat at the top of the company’s lineup. Fujifilm has dubbed the X-H1 its ‘flagship’ and it was launched this week, the most expensive X-Series camera.*.
But the X-H1 had no immediate follow-up, and many of its features, including in-body stabilization, were added to the X-T4, which further enhanced the XH in terms of both photo and video capabilities. Which raises the question: What does the XH line stand for?
With a single data point to work with, different people have focused on different aspects of the X-H1 to answer that question. Now that the X-H2S has arrived and we know more about its 40MP sister model, where does it leave us and what does it mean for the XT line?
What is X-H2S?
To understand what an XH might be, it is important to understand what an X-H2S is and just as important, what it is not.
Needless to say, the X-H2S is not an X-T4 replacement: it is much more expensive and has no ‘T’ in the name. An X-H2 pledge in September suggests that it is not a direct successor to the X-H1. Instead both the feature set and the price indicate that this is a new, high-end X-Series camera we’ve never seen before.
The stacked CMOS chip that enables the X-H2S’s high performance for both stills and video is also part of why the camera is so much more expensive than previous X-Series models. |
Stacked CMOS sensors are much more expensive to manufacture, but they do offer the high-speed shooting, fast-refreshing viewfinder, advanced AF and high-end video capabilities that X-H2S offers. This means that the BSI sister model of the X-H2S looks more expensive than its predecessor (and, obviously, a bit more expensive than mid-range full-frame cameras), but promises a level of performance that we’ve only seen from other stacked CMOS. The camera
The X-H2S does not necessarily indicate what the future X camera will cost from now on
The least expensive Micro Fourths camera with a stacked chip costs 2200. The lowest launch price of a full-frame camera with a stacked CMOS sensor was 00 4500 Sony a9. Compared to competitors with usable fast electronic shutters and super high-speed shooting, the X-H2S suddenly doesn’t seem as expensive.
Evidence of that performance will come when we test it, but it should be made clear that this is a high-performance model that did not exist in the X-Series before: which means that it does not necessarily mean the price of the future X camera from now on. Gives the signal.
This video model?
The speed of stacked CMOS definitely has advantages for video. And, like the X-H1, in 2018, the X-H2S sets the bar high enough for the X-Series’s video capabilities.
Easy to be overwhelmed by the array of resolutions, bitrates, and codecs, but the X-H2S offers a feature that is not only high for the brand, but high for any still / video camera we’ve seen yet. It doesn’t have the polished video support tools like the Panasonic GH6 and I’m sure the Zoom Flickr video will be linked in the comments as soon as I release, but the X-H2S looks very, very promising camera for video shooting.
If the X-H2S is intended as a video-centric model, why would the fan unit be an optional extra? |
But that’s not to say it’s a video camera. Fujifilm’s presentation of ‘Heavy Duty’ may indicate the name ‘H’ in the name, but its static features suggest that the ‘hybrid’ is just as relevant as it was with the X-H1. Just consider the decision to make the cooling fan optional: this is an additional expense for users who need extra reliability when shooting video in warm environments that Fujifilm X-H2S steel shooters do not want to bear. It’s hard to imagine a clearer hint for both the X-H2S still and the video shooter.
But what will happen to the dial?
The X-H1 is the first X-Series camera to control exposure compensation by pressing a button instead of a dedicated dial, instead giving a portion of the upper plate to an LCD status panel. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there.
This design has had no effect on later XT models, with the X-T3 and 4 still offering dedicated dials that many users prefer about Fujifilm. Instead, the next time we saw an XH-like control layout was in the company’s first medium format body: the GFX 50S.
The control layout and vision of the X-H2S comes straight from the camera, like the GFX 50S II: not exactly Fujifilm’s most video-centric model. |
There is a logical advancement in this control layout that started with the X-H1 and led to the design of the X-H2S via the GFX 50S, 100, 100S and 50S II. Anyone who thinks that the shutter speed dial has been sacrificed to satisfy the video-shooting hypocrites is not watching the development of the GFX series.
The control logic of the X-H2S is not taken from a video camera or copied from other manufacturers, it is borrowed from the GFX 50S II, which I can not imagine has created a lot of waves in the video world.
What does this mean for the XT series?
The X-T4 brings a greater grip, image stabilization and enhanced video capabilities to the XT range. If both X-H2 models offer all of these things, it turns off a hypothetical X-T5 to play a hybrid role. |
To understand what we have to say about the X-H2S XT series, it is worth considering what we know about the promised X-H2 model. It will be a 40MP camera with a BSI sensor at the heart and it seems fair to assume it will share a body with the X-H2S (why not share the name XH otherwise?).
So that means there will be a 40MP, large-gripped ‘flagship’ model that, without the expense of a stacked CMOS chip, would like to sit close to the original-1900 price tag of the X-H1. I’m guessing, but again the X-H2 will be compatible with VG-XH and FT-XH accessories (why build a file transmitter with ‘XH’). Named at the same time, if they don’t work together?)
We have been told that dedicated dials are ‘more than the XT feature’.
This leaves room for a hypothetical ‘X-T5’ as well (or slightly lower, if options like FT-XH compatibility are lost). We’ve been told that dedicated dials are ‘more than an XT feature’, which means I can imagine it being one of two ways:
The first might be that the main difference would be that the XT has a slightly smaller grip and a completely traditional dial: basically a 40MP X-H2 with a different control layout.
This approach would, in theory, leave room for an X-T5S with stacked sensors, although I doubt that Fujifilm has the potential to sell two $ 2000 + APS-C models.
If both XH models address the still / hybrid role of still / video, then there is an opportunity for an X-T5 to focus more on photography. But Fujifilm probably wouldn’t want it to be too trampled on the toes of the X-Pro series. |
Another possibility is that with the two XH models playing hybrid roles, the XT could become a more traditional photographer’s camera: perhaps losing ProRes support and the CFexpress slot, retaining its dials and even recovering the lovely two-way tilt LCD, a fully articulated one. Instead. But we can dream.
Another flagship on the horizon
The X-T4 was introduced as the X-Series flagship and, by adding a larger grip, flip-out screen, in-body stabilization, and impressive video specs, helped arguably intertwine the XT and XH lines. But with two XH cameras in the lineup, a putative X-T5 no longer has to fly the flag for all stills and video ambitions of Fujifilm.
The high-performance X-H2S is running, and with the news that its high-resolution sister ship will be next to the slipway, the XT series is free to plot its own trajectory. But we still can’t be sure where the wind will take it: Fujifilm’s latest flagship has left us all as armchair admirals, trying to explain the obscure shapes.
* The black version of the X-Pro3 was launched for $ 100 more, but you can buy the silver version for X 100 less than the X-H1, so I’m going to consider the hardened coating as an optional addition to the part. The innate cost of the camera.