As you know, the brand new Fujinon XF18-120mmF4 LM PZ WR features a Powerzoom, and I noticed some in the comments who asked how a PZ works.
Well, you will find the answer to this and other questions (some more simple like how to screw on a lens hood ;) ) in the dedicated Owners Manual here.
Some guys were sure: it is simply impossible that the Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8 is sharp at 600mm, due to mathematical calculations considering f/8 on APS-C combined with statistical elaborations on the effect of diffraction for a pixel pitch of ….
OK, I hear you, let’s keep it short: the XF150-600mmF5.6-8 it’s an unusable piece of junk at 600mmF8.
And looking at the sample gallery shared by DPReview (not to be mistaken with DPRTV) at launch day, which were the worst possible samples, one would agree with the above.
DPReview says the GFX makes no sense and you better get full frame, but if you read the article, you notice they recommend three full frame cameras COMBINED in alternative to one single GFX camera
DPReview says that Nikon’s base ISO of 64 comes close to the tonal quality and dynamic range [of the GFX100S]. But apparently they do not watch their own studio comparison tool, as when I used it I saw a CLEAR advantage for the GFX100S here – we reported here
But the questions remains open: how does the XF150-600 perform at 600mm?
Well, I put to together a series of links where you can see the samples by yourself. Some of them I already shared in the live blog, but others are new links that I did not share in the original live blog coverage.
Look for example at samples of Alan Hewitt below. They show the performance at 600mm with an additional crop to it.
If you ask me, that is actually an excellent performance!
But as usual, watch by yourself and make up your own mind.
Fujifilm engineers are constantly and restlessly fine tuning, adjusting, tweaking, correcting, improving the firmware until almost the last day before it will ship to customers in mid-July.
This means: whoever tested the camera in the last few weeks, was actually playing around with a potentially buggy camera, and indeed some reviewers notices some bugs here and there (and reported them to Fujifilm).
But this also means, we can’t really make any conclusions about this camera in regards to IBIS, autofocus, image quality and what not.
The fact that it is just pre-production was highlighted also by Taylor Jackson in his Fujifilm X-H2S coverage, and yet, he seems to be impressed already by its autofocus, so much so that he says it is noticeably better than on his Canon EOS R6 and very likely on par with his Nikon Z9.
So why do I share this review in a dedicated article?
Well, because so far it is the only review I have found where a guy actually tests the X-H2S side by side with other cameras, meaning under the same conditions, same light, same subject, same everything. And we can actually see the different cameras tracking stuff side by side.
So what are his findings? Let’s find out in the summary and videos down below
The Fujifilm X-H2S picked up subjects at significantly further distances than his Canon EOS R6
he was not expecting it, but autofocus is fast, sticky and confident
you can see the eye AF picking up the eye even through dark sunglasses
a quick test with a person running towards the camera at 40fps – all images were in focus
Canon R6 vs Fujifilm X-H2S
he is impressed by how far eye and in general human detection works on the X-H2S
at far distances the Canon goes around focusing on various stuff. Fujifilm sticks on the person
Fujifilm camera more accurate autofocus than Canon R6
then he went to Island to photograph Puffins, and the camera detects their face
he shows 2 people very very far away on an endless beach, and the X-H2S picks up their faces (which is really just a few pixels on the screen)
Canon R6 vs Fujifilm X-H2 Indoors AF tracking
in short: the X-H2S wins
He also shared a Fujifilm X-H2s wedding photography Behind the Scenes video, which I will also share down below.
In the wedding video he compares it to the Nikon Z9 (which he has used really a lot) for indoors wedding photography. Here are his findings:
the Fujifilm X-H2S gets very very close if not on par with the Nikon Z9
it’s crazy to say it’s on par considering the Fujifilm camera is half the price of the Nikon Z9
Reasons to get it for wedding: physical size of Fuji kits, costs a lot less than other stacked sensor cameras, great color sciences (but this one is subjective)
he will compare it to the Canon R3 in a later video (and FujiRumors will report about it)
But again, it’s pre-production. So don’t take anything here as the final verdict.