Fuji X-H2S: Initial Thoughts & Review

Fujifilm recently announced the Fuji X-H2S as a brand new APS-C camera with all-new stacked sensor technology designed to allow it to shoot 4K/120p video and 15FPS in mechanical shutter mode (40FPS in electronic shutter mode) for stills. This 26MP camera is designed for speed, and to keep up with the increased framerate, Fujifilm has developed the X-Processor 5 processor and equipped the body with a CF Express card slot for increased read and write speeds. 

Availability: July, 2022

US MSRP: $2499

Feel free to email the friendly Bluewater Photo staff at sales@bluewaterphotostore.com to keep up to date on new housing releases for this camera!

Quick Specs

• Sensor: 26MP X-Trans CMOS APS-C sensor
• Crop: 1.5x
• Processor: X-Processor 5
• Mount: Fujifilm X
• LCD Screen: 3″ fully articulated
• ISO: 160-12800 (expands to 80-51200)
• Storage Media: SD, SDHC, SDXC and CF Express
• Stabilization: 5-axis image stabilization
• Autofocus: Subject detection, face eye detection
• Weight: 23.28 oz/660 g
• Size: 5.35 x 3.66 x 3.74″ (136 x 93 x 95 mm)

Video with the Fujifilm X-H2S

The Fujifilm X-H2S can shoot up to 6.2K/30p and 4K/120p 4:2:2 10bit video.

The 4K/120p does have a 1.29x crop but isn't cropped if you lower the framerate down to 60p in 4K mode. 

The X-H2S comes with F-Log and now F-Log2, which improves the dynamic range performance, giving you a total of 14 stops of dynamic range as well as Apple ProRes RAW and BlackMagic RAW. 

The F-Log2 profile gives you considerably more dynamic range than F-Log but comes at a trade-off of increased rolling shutter. The rolling shutter doesn't make videos unusable, but it is noticeably worse when shooting in F-Log2. Color grading and post-processing are easy when shooting in both F-Log and F-Log2, thanks to Fujifilm's own LUTs.

There are also a few significant upgrades to the ports. There is now a full HDMI output, a headphone jack and a hot show that allows you to connect an external microphone and get up to four audio channels.

Photos with the Fujifilm X-H2S

The X-H2S is a run-of-the-mill camera when it comes to photography. That's not to say it's terrible, it's not, but the specs and its performance don't jump out as anything extraordinary. 

You can get highly details shots and with 15FPS (40FPS with the electronic shutter), you also have a good chance of capturing fast-moving subjects. The camera now also comes with various subject tracking modes (animal, bird, automobile, motorcycle and bike, airplane and train), which weren't present in the older X-H2. 

Overall, you can get some amazing photos with the X-H2S, but it's nothing that can't be achieved with similarly priced cameras from other manufacturers. 

Fuji X-H2S for Underwater Photography and Videography

As the X-H2S is a brand new camera, there aren't currently any underwater housings on the market suitable for divers. We've had word that Nauticam will be producing a Nauticam Fuji X-H2S housing, but it is yet to be released. 

If you're new to underwater photography, you may be better off choosing a similarly priced full-frame option such as the Sony A7 IV or Canon EOS R6 to get all of the advantages full-frame sensors give you.