Fuji X-H2S

[Andrew Reid]

10 minutes ago, Eric Calabros said:

What's up with this dance trend in promotional videos? It should give me information, not entertainment. I can evaluate the noise and DR in a single frame from a simple shot.. just show me a dark room with a bright window.

The male model dancing was clearly an attempt to break the usual mould of attractive woman and shallow DOF. However given that maybe 80-90% of the customers for this camera are men, it has probably backfired as a marketing tool failing to be attractive eye candy and failing to demonstrate the capabilities of the camera. So a double win there by Fuji. I have an idea for their marketing work-from-home chinless wonders. Why not shoot a SHORT FILM WITH ACTORS if you want to demo a new filmmaking tool!

[MrSMW]

46 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

OM-1 I am really impressed with. The image is SUPERB. The IBIS is really natural. AF is Sony/Canon level bullet proof. It is currently one of the best all-round shooting experiences for the money!

I’m looking forward to your review!

I am NOT looking to change anything anytime soon, as in this year and even then may not for some time as I’d rather see what the L Mount Alliance…sorry, L2 come up with next.

But an OM-1 system intrigued me due it’s compact nature, great AF and video spec that is perfect for me.

GH6 and XH2 also in the mix, but would be great to see/hear your more detailed insight Andrew.

[Oliver Daniel]

I really like APS-C / S35 and I do miss it having been 100% full frame now for about 2 years. 

The lenses are more compact, more affordable and it's generally an easier format to work worth e.g you can keep focus quite easily while wide open. 

Fuji XH2S looks awesome to be honest, but as @Andrew Reid has let on - all cameras in this price range are now great. Still, nothing quite beats an A7S3 which excels at it's advertised specs with barely any shortcomings. Pretty much all Sony shooters will wait for the next one instead of jumping ship. 

I feel the major differentiator now should be in body design features. Something like a slimmed down C70 with a big screen (like a Pocket 6k) that is actually an external monitor / recorder that is cleverly designed to put anywhere on the camera with a customisable mount. Might get round RED's patent. More room on the body for heat dissipation. Removable EVF etc. 

Additionally, there's certainly more work to do on the "image feel". Maybe 2 modes where the setting / parameters or more digital video motion / sharpness, and the other for "cine motion" - more Digital Bolex cadence like. Not even sure if that's possible! 

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

Why not shoot a SHORT FILM WITH ACTORS if you want to demo a new filmmaking tool!

That would just encourage this type of thumbnail.

 

[Django]

I've posted the trailer & BTS here earlier, here is the official page: Short film "AION" Trailer by Giulio Meliani

Shot in ProRes HQ F-Log2 with the MK 18-55mm & Fujinon 19-90mm Cabrio Cinema Zoom.

 

1 hour ago, Oliver Daniel said:

Still, nothing quite beats an A7S3 which excels at it's advertised specs with barely any shortcomings.

A7S3/FX3 are solid all-rounders but the shooting experience still lacks. 

R5C has it all except IBIS with internal RAW, 8K and full video assist tools, shutter angle, LUT import etc.

XH2S is interesting as for $2500 you get 6K/4K120p, ProRes, Open Gate. Great DR & minimal RS.

I do wish the video mode would have proper exposure tools, shutter angle, LUT support.

That's still what a lot of these hybrids are missing. Only Panasonic & R5C seem to get it.

[Oliver Daniel]

22 minutes ago, Django said:

A7S3/FX3 are solid all-rounders but the shooting experience still lacks. 

I do wish the video mode would have proper exposure tools, shutter angle, LUT support.

That's still what a lot of these hybrids are missing. Only Panasonic & R5C seem to get it.

I use mine with the Ninja V so I don't really notice this. I understand some people don't use additional monitors. 

The shooting experience is a lot of fun with the Sony's, but it would be better with a much larger rear screen instead of having a Ninja stuck on top. All these cameras need to make a baby together! 

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, BTM_Pix said:

That would just encourage this type of thumbnail.

 

Scene... nothing

Take... nothing

Roll... nada

Director nobody

Sound blank

Cameraman missing.

Just about sums up modern filmmaking world!!

[Andrew Reid]

27 minutes ago, Django said:

I've posted the trailer & BTS here earlier, here is the official page: Short film "AION" Trailer by Giulio Meliani

Shot in ProRes HQ F-Log2 with the MK 18-55mm & Fujinon 19-90mm Cabrio Cinema Zoom.

 

A7S3/FX3 are solid all-rounders but the shooting experience still lacks. 

R5C has it all except IBIS with internal RAW, 8K and full video assist tools, shutter angle, LUT import etc.

XH2S is interesting as for $2500 you get 6K/4K120p, ProRes, Open Gate. Great DR & minimal RS.

I do wish the video mode would have proper exposure tools, shutter angle, LUT support.

That's still what a lot of these hybrids are missing. Only Panasonic & R5C seem to get it.

They need to make the next step:

They can keep the same small hybrid bodies, but just make the LCD larger. Why is it still only 3 inch, for example.

Would be great to have total confidence in focus.

The issue of 180 deg. look to motion and fine tuning exposure has to be brought into 2022. No more dicking about with ND filter glass. If they can't add an ND filter due to physical size constraints, patents or cost, then they need to find a way to get the look of 1/50 in bright light without NDs.

A lot of good progress with things like codecs, but compressed RAW is obviously still a big thing missing. Stills photographers wouldn't accept only shooting JPEG! So perhaps they need to get more serious about getting round the table with RED and sorting something out for the future?

IBIS is a nice-to-have but they can make it work more creatively and make the look more natural. OM-1 is the benchmark in this regard!

Also let's see manual focus take the next step. A ring on the lens barrel is hopeless for video. It should be a smooth dial on the camera all under one hand driving the lens elements semi-intelligently with subject snap on.

[Django]

Great points/suggestions. The ND situation is really first on the list imo. Still zero in-cam solutions on a hybrid in 2022.

And yeah a 5" display changes everything. The BM6K Pro does address that, and has NDs, and has compressed RAW.

If only it wasn't EF mount, I'd be all over it. 

[Oliver Daniel]

55 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Also let's see manual focus take the next step. A ring on the lens barrel is hopeless for video. It should be a smooth dial on the camera all under one hand driving the lens elements semi-intelligently with subject snap on.

This. 

A lot of stills glass looks ace, however most have awful MF. Build in a rock solid follow focus dial onto the camera, with options to adjust sensitivity, speed, tension, program A/B points etc. Stills lenses reborn! (wait, doesn't the Ronin 4D have this?)

I quite like follow focuses with proper cine gears, but they are a bit annoying for handheld work. Can be a bit heavy when all combined. Great on the shoulder though, but i barely work from the shoulder these days. 

+1  for internal ND's. So fed up of screw on VND's that tint the image! I remember the RX100 having a digital ND. It worked well but there was only like 2 settings or something. Needs to be stepless like the FX6 but digital instead. 

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, Django said:

And yeah a 5" display changes everything. The BM6K Pro does address that, and has NDs, and has compressed RAW.

It sort of gives with one hand and takes with the other though!

It is a tempting piece of kit.

It does show it is possible to keep the size of the camera right down, while still having a filter wheel behind the mount.

Blackmagic probably kept it EF as it is an open mount whereas the newer mirrorless mounts are a closed and recently patented system. Maybe also they couldn't fit the filter into a mirrorless mount but FS5 manages it doesn't it?

[webrunner5]

Sony FS5 was and is an amazing camera size and specs wise to this day. Sure, it has warts, and so does every other camera. No such thing as a perfect camera. Never will be.

[Django]

31 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Blackmagic probably kept it EF as it is an open mount whereas the newer mirrorless mounts are a closed and recently patented system.

That's what I thought but then Komodo came out with RF mount.. Surely there is a licensing fee that maybe BMD doesn't wanna pay to keep the price tag low but EF closes so many lens options, especially the new wave of anamorphic.

I'm anxious to see what they got coming next, they were rumoured to drop a camera last month but maybe parts supply shortage made that impossible?

32 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Maybe also they couldn't fit the filter into a mirrorless mount but FS5 manages it doesn't it?

FS5/FS7/FX6/FX9.. C70. It's doable !

[Trek of Joy]

Had high hopes for this one as I would like to move back to Fuji, but I guess I'll be sticking with Sony for the foreseeable future. AF and jerky IBIS continues to be a letdown despite all the strides with a stacked sensor, framerates, prores internal and so on. They've had years to get it sorted and still can't. Same with the exposure changing when zooming. My XT2 did that 6 years ago. SMH. They weren't able to make meaningful improvements through updates with video AF on previous cameras, it just seems like Fuji just can't crack the code. Even Nikon got it sorted on the Z9 after only a couple years in the mirrorless game. 

The PASM dial is welcome for me since I've never use the top dials, but movie mode is on the other side of the dial from M. Its odd they didn't just use the stills/movie switch from their other cameras since its supposed to be their ultimate hybrid, or simply put movie next to M to make it easy to switch between them. From what I've seen hitting record in a stills mode forces automatic settings when recording. FW should be able to make it default to your last recording settings, but that's just dumb. The whole package feels half baked with the infamous Fuji lockups too.

So close, but not quite there yet. You almost had me Fuji....

Chris

[webrunner5]

I just really don't see any advantage to APSC cameras anymore. MFT I can see for birding, sports stuff. FF cameras have gotten so cheap I see no use for the sensor size now.  A Sony A7 body is just as small, and their mirrorless lenses are amazingly small and light for FF. 

[Oliver Daniel]

1 hour ago, webrunner5 said:

I just really don't see any advantage to APSC cameras anymore. MFT I can see for birding, sports stuff. FF cameras have gotten so cheap I see no use for the sensor size now.  A Sony A7 body is just as small, and their mirrorless lenses are amazingly small and light for FF. 

There’s definitely an advantage. 

The bodies are usually more compact. 

Lenses are smaller and more affordable. Also more choice. (Sigma 18-35!) 

Get closer to the subject for less money (crop factor). 

Easier to manual focus, not always crazy shallow. Probably more useable shots.

Not everyone likes the “gigantic” frame / shallow depth look. Easier to achieve deep focus look. 

More traditional shooting format. Still the standard. 

 

[webrunner5]

I am not talking Cine cameras I am talking about consumer ones. Sure Super 35 is here to stay forever I would think.

[Brian Williams]

4 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

I just really don't see any advantage to APSC cameras anymore. MFT I can see for birding, sports stuff. FF cameras have gotten so cheap I see no use for the sensor size now.  A Sony A7 body is just as small, and their mirrorless lenses are amazingly small and light for FF. 

Well it seems the bigger the sensor gets, the shittier the IBIS gets. Panasonic and OM have the best, while Sony has probably the worst (for video). I understand that for some people, for the things they do with their cameras, that doesn't matter, but to someone like myself, its a big advantage.

[TomTheDP]

5 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

I just really don't see any advantage to APSC cameras anymore. MFT I can see for birding, sports stuff. FF cameras have gotten so cheap I see no use for the sensor size now.  A Sony A7 body is just as small, and their mirrorless lenses are amazingly small and light for FF. 

I actually like Sony IBIS. It isn't rocky steady like the Panasonic but it looks natural. Makes the footage look like you are holding a heavier camera.

[newfoundmass]

4 hours ago, TomTheDP said:

I actually like Sony IBIS. It isn't rocky steady like the Panasonic but it looks natural. Makes the footage look like you are holding a heavier camera.

Everyone has their preferences, but to me Sony IBIS is almost pointless to have. It's one thing if you're just standing still since it'll eliminate most micro jitters but any actual movement looks pretty bad. I do wonder though if that's due to the size of the mount?