Fujifilm X-H2S and XF150-600mmF5.6-8 High Demand and Possible Shortage of Supply Notice

Fujifilm has issued a press release informing us that the demand for the Fujifilm X-H2S and the Fujinon XF150-600mmF5.6-8 is high and that:

  • they will do their best to deliver as soon as possible
  • it might take some time before products are delivered

For what it’s worth, I can confirm that also among the FujiRumors community pre-orders were strong for both of these items, while they were very low for the Fujinon XF18-120mF4.

Press Release

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WHOOPS: DPReview Removes Their (Bad) XF150-600mmF5.6-8 Samples While Other Photographers Show Super Sharp Images at 600mm

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.

But now it looks as if somebody at DPR had the decency to pull off the sample gallery, as the original link to them is now broken, the sample gallery never loads and on the main page any reference to the sample gallery (still visible in cached version) is gone.

So what happened? I see two options:

  • the lens was used in hot condition with lots of hazy air that influenced IQ
  • the pre-production copy had an issue
  • UPDATE: suggested in the comments, the X-T4 used does not support the lens yet

UPDATE: According to information I have received, the prototype lens didn’t have firmware for X-T4 (which was the camera used for the samples).

Anyway, damage done: the sample were so bad, that some Fuji shooters looking forward to this lens were hugely disappointed and moved away from it.

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.

Pre-Orders

Wooden Camera Accessories for Fujifilm X-H2S

Fujifilm has cooperated with Wooden Camera to release a couple of accessories along with the Fujifilm X-H2S.

Here is their X-H2S offering:

The Latest and Greatest

Fujifilm X-H2S vs Canon R6 vs Nikon Z9 Autofocus Comparison – Canon R6 is BEATEN and Nikon is CAUGHT

We should keep in mind one thing:

The Fujifilm X-H2S is still in pre-production.

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.


10 Things You Might Have Missed: Fujifilm X-H2 40MP X-Trans, September X Summit, Overheating Drama Ends, Crazy X-H2S Video Dynamic Range and More

What an event! What a day! And how much stuff to digest!

Now, the main specs of this camera are known. But going through the various video coverage, I’d like to highlight a few things that given the massive amount of information some might have missed.

All you read below can be found in the videos of our live blog coverage.

Fujifilm X-H2 40 MP is X-Trans

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