Historically, it’s always been a bit of a battle to convince working photographers to adopt a smaller image format. 35mm film was dismissed as the miniature format for a very long time and it wasn’t until the 1960s that any pro-level cameras started to appear. None of the subsequently smaller film formats – such as the 24mm Advanced Photo System – made the grade with professionals.
Today, there’s still a certain dismissiveness about the so-called cropped sensor formats compared to full frame despite the fact that both APS-C and Four Thirds (now Micro Four Thirds in mirrorless cameras) were around long beforehand. Indeed, digital capture’s progress has been from small sensors to larger ones – the earliest digital backs were actually scanning devices – compared with film’s steady downsizing from the full plate camera onward. The physical benefits of a smaller sensor size and those derived from the associated magnification factor of lens focal lengths have been well documented, but with so many pros using full-frame DSLRs, there’s an understandable reluctance to go smaller when making the switch to mirrorless. It’s a challenge that Fujifilm is now tackling head on with its pair of X-mount flagships… both the most accomplished APS-C mirrorless cameras currently available and both very clearly targeted at professional users. The 40fps X-H2S is a sports and action camera while the 40.2MP X-H2 is the ‘studio’ camera (as it would have once been called) with, obviously, a greater emphasis on image quality. The pair are identical externally, but the different sensors enable Fujifilm to more precisely target its professional offerings.
The high-res sensor is designated X-Trans CMOS 5 HR as opposed to the X-Trans CMOS 5 HS imager that’s at work in the X-H2S. It’s a BSI-type design (but not stacked) and obviously has smaller pixels than the X-H2S’s 26MP sensor, but Fujifilm says it has devised a new image-processing algorithm that enhances image resolution without compromising the signal-to-noise ratio. This sensor also has an improved pixel structure to enhance the light-collecting efficiency, enabling a new native base ISO of 125 (compared to ISO 160 for the X-H2S). The full native sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 125 to 12,800 with extensions to ISO 64 and 51,200.
The 40.2MP effective resolution is currently the highest available in an APS-C format camera, but the X-H2 is still capable of 15fps continuous shooting with its mechanical shutter and up to 13fps with the sensor-based electronic shutter. Up to 20fps shooting is possible with the sensor shutter, but with a further 1.29x crop. However, it’s not such a big sacrifice here in terms of resolution – it’s still a healthy 31MP – but obviously there’s another increase in the effect focal length of a lens. The 15fps shooting speed using the mechanical shutter comes with theoretical bursts lengths of over 1,000 frames with both JPEG and RAW capture (either compressed or lossless compressed). Even with uncompressed RAW capture, the maximum burst length is still 400 frames. Using the electronic shutter at 13fps, it’s 1000+ frames all the way. However, a super-fast CFexpress memory card is required to achieve all these numbers and the X-H2 has dual slots – one for Type B CFexpress and the other for SD cards with UHS-II and Video Speed Class V90 speed support.
The electronic shutter also enables a Pre-Shot function that starts buffering immediately after the shutter button is depressed to its halfway position. It captures a rolling one second of frames – which at 13fps is obviously 13 – and then, once the shutter is fully pressed, the full burst lengths are available.
Tuned Up
As in the X-H2S, Fujifilm’s latest-generation X Processor 5 engine is doing all the number crunching, but presumably tuned to handle the extra data coming off the X-H2’s sensor. Onthe video side, it allows for internal recording of 8K video at 30fps in the Apple ProRes codec and using the full width of the sensor. The X-H2 supports ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, and ProRes 422 LT. Additionally, when recording ProRes, it also supports proxy recording such as ProRes 422 Proxy. Thanks to the same passive heat management arrangement as the X-H2S, Fujifilm says the H2 can record at 8K/30p for up to 160 minutes, but can also be fitted with the same optional FAN-001 cooling fan to extend recording times when shooting in hot conditions (see the Making Movies panel for the full rundown of the H2’s extensive video capabilities).
