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Fujifilm X-H1 camera review: An impressive workhorse

By Marcus Wong - 22 Jun 2018
Launch SRP: S$2899

Imaging performance analysis

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.

25.4mm at f/11 , 0.6s, ISO 400 (100% crop).

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.

71.5mm at f/2.8, 1/125s, ISO2500

100% crop.

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.

34.3mm at f/8.0, 1/200s, ISO 25,600

100% crop.

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9.0
  • Performance 8.5
  • Design 8.5
  • Features 9
  • User-Friendliness 9
  • Value 8.5
The Good
More video options make this the most well-rounded camera Fujifilm has released thus far
In-body stabilization is smart enough to incorporate the stabilization on lenses
The Bad
X-Trans III sensor is two years old now
Battery life is low for a professional series camera
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