Fujifilm X-H1 camera review: An impressive workhorse

Introduction

Fujifilm’s X-series line-up has evolved quite gracefully and is well defined now, with the X-Pro and X-E cameras being rangefinder-style options for professionals and enthusiasts, while the X-T series is ideal for those looking for SLR-style options. Of course, there are the large-sensor compact camera options in the X70 and the X100F, as well as the entry level X-A series which didn’t use an X-Trans sensor. Then came the medium format GFX-50S, and we thought the X-series was truly complete.

Now, we’ve got yet another series in the family – the X-H series with the X-H1. “H” stands for “High Performance”, and you could say it is Fujifilm’s attempt to maximize their APS-C sized sensor as far as it can go for both stills and video.

The video portion is particularly important, as that’s one aspect that Fujifilm has admitted to lagging behind the competition in. The X-H1 gets separate menu options for video mode, as well as a new Eterna Film simulation, which simulates cinematic film with rich shadow tones and understated colors so your grading process will be kept down to a minimum.

The camera also records at a high bit rate of 200Mbps, and is capable of capturing 1080/120p high-speed video so you can capture better slow-motion videos.  It does DCI 4K (4,096 x 2,160 pixels resolution) shooting, has a 400% dynamic range setting (approximately 12 stops) and comes with a high quality internal microphone (24bit/48 kHz). Of course, there's also an HDMI micro connector (type D) and a standard 3.5mm jack for a microphone, as well as a 2.5mm jack for the Remote Release Connector.

It uses the same batteries as the X-T2 before it though the battery life is slightly lower due to the drain from the IBIS system, at 310 shots compared to the 340 frames of the X-T2.  There’s again a vertical power grip option though, so you can boost battery life to a total of 900 shots in a single outing. This also contains a headphone jack, allowing you to monitor audio while recording video.

Design and Handling

As you can see, the X-H1 is slightly larger than the X-T2, with a more pronounced grip and a slightly thicker body overall. The extra girth allows for a top display panel and a much deeper hand grip for better balance with larger lenses. This makes for better handling when longer lenses are mounted, thus giving you a very reassuring feel when using the X-H1

The top display panel seems to be the same as the one we first saw on the GFX-50S, and gives you a nice clear indication of what your key camera shooting parameters are set to. It works well in bright light and reverses from white-on-dark to a dark-on-white display for better viewing in dim light, which is a very thoughtful touch.

Meanwhile, the rear LCD display follows that found on the X-T2, with three-way tilt capabilities. And for the very first time, Fujifilm introduces touch capabilities to their Q menu system so you can easily change settings without having to reach for the buttons or dials. Having the option of touch control also means settings can be changed during video recording without the risk of shifting the camera in the process, or dial sounds being picked up.

In fact, the new Movie Silent Control actually disables the aperture ring, shutter speed dial, and ISO dial, so all controls are via the Q menu system on the LCD display. The X-H1 also provides shutter speeds equivalent to the shutter angles for 24, 30 and 60p video capture, so you can select options like 1/24th, 1/48th, 1/96th, and 1/240th.

The X-H1 also comes with a new feather-touch shutter button which is highly damped so to further reduce camera shake when you trigger the shutter. As we noted during our First Looks piece, this new shutter button is very nicely damped, so you hardly feel the shutter triggered. Suffice to say, it’s very easy to fire off a burst of shots in continuous shooting mode as just a touch will set the camera off.

Perhaps to accommodate for the new touch features on the rear LCD panel, the EVF on the X-H1 has been moved back 3mm so your nose won’t come in contact with the screen while using it. This has a higher resolution than the one we saw on the X-T2 (3.69 million dots compared to 2.36 million), and is brighter too (800cd/m² to 500cd/m²). The refresh rate also certainly seems fast enough, as we didn’t experience viewfinder blackout throughout our testing. We’d say that while it’s not as good as the one found on the Sony A9, it’s certainly close, and that’s saying a lot.

The camera also has two memory card slots, so that you have the option of overflow or backup storage. UHS-II cards are of course supported too (in both slots), so that the card is not the bottleneck when you’re shooting in high-speed bursts or high frame rate video recording. Overall, there’s a lot to like about the body design of the X-H1, as it brings the best of the X-T2 and the GFX-50S together, with the trade-off being just 166g in extra weight compared to the X-T2 (including battery and memory card).

Imaging Performance

Chief in the improvements for both videos and stills capture is undoubtedly the introduction of Fujifilm’s first in-body image stabilization (IBIS) system for an X-series camera. And this uses three axial accelerators, three axial gyro sensors, and dual processors to manage all the calculations. It works with all XC and XF lenses, with both mechanical and electronic shutter mode, and actually intelligently splits the stabilization over both body and lens to achieve the best effect.

Of course, we had to test this out for ourselves, so we tried shooting handheld at f/14, stopping down the shutter till we couldn’t get an acceptable image. The result? A 0.6-second exposure with the XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS lens (100% crop provided below). Safe to say, handheld shots at shutter speeds faster than half a second should be no issue with most lenses.

As much as some reviewers have complained about the new grip and larger body of the X-H1, we found that these changes made for better handling with larger lenses like the XF100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. Personally, size and weight differences aren’t the biggest reasons why we’d favor a mirrorless camera over a traditional DSLR, as it’s more about how the entire system fits your preferred style and the results you wish to get. In this case, the X-H1 made for a portable system that matched well with all lenses we paired it with.

As tends to be the case with cameras from Fujifilm, images straight-out-of camera have nice vibrant colors, and the camera’s exposure system is quite accurate too, giving you true to life exposures. Matched with Fuji’s excellent lenses, the combination is well capable of giving you usable out-of-camera JPEGs.

Autofocus is definitely faster on the X-H1 than the X-T2 (based on X-T2 with firmware version 3.0), and the various continuous autofocus options meant it proved quite adept with wildlife photography such as with birds and insects as you’ll see in the sample images in the following page. Those images were taken with the XF100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, and the IBIS system undoubtedly helped us get some images where there just wasn’t enough light for a faster shutter speed.

We do love new feather-touch shutter button, as it means the camera can respond to you almost instantaneously. Paired with the electronic shutter on the X-H1, we really were able to get much closer to our subjects without startling them. All in, the X-H1 performs much like the X-T2 before it on stills - which is to say very well - and gives more options with better handling of videos.

That said, it does seem like images from the X-H1 have a bit more noise than what we experienced with the X-T2. Looking at this image of the dancer above, it seems the camera has lost a lot of the fine detail. Patches of her cheeks have gone to mush due to noise reduction, and the area around her eyes especially show evidence of detail loss at a relatively low ISO level of just 2500.

Our studio tests also seem to confirm this, as images taken at ISO 25,600 show significant evidence of detail loss due to noise reduction. If you look at the text in the bottle, the fine text in the label has completely gone to mush, we’d recommend staying below this level.

Sample Images

The sample photographs below were shot with the Fujifilm X-H1. The photos have not been post-processed and are copyright to SPH Magazines. They are provided for your reference only and we ask that you do not reproduce them elsewhere.

Conclusion

We wish that the X-H1 was released together with a newer sensor as opposed to a two-year-old X-Trans III sensor, as that’s when the true advances in imaging capabilities can really be felt.  As it is, existing X-T2 users will be hard-pressed to justify upgrading unless they’re looking for a second body.

Still, the X-H1 presents itself as an interesting option for users who are more into video as well as those who require image stabilization without the use of a tripod. The improved handling should appeal to those are familiar with a typical DSLR handling, and the camera is more robust now, thus being better suited for photographers who find themselves working in more extreme conditions. Meanwhile, the vertical grip option again allows for higher response rate and faster capture speeds, bringing battery life and continuous capture performance close to that of the Sony A9, which is undoubtedly an impressive feat indeed.

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