Fujifilm X-H1

24 MP APS-C 11/14 FPS, DCI 4K

Ultra Quiet & Fabulous Flesh Tones!

Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 (23.8 oz./674g with battery and card, $999 new or about $850 used if you know How to Win at eBay) and Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8. bigger. I'd get mine new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay.

As of September 2019, oddly you can get the X-H1 with the VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip as a kit (camera & grip weigh 34.3 oz./972g with card and one battery) at a deep package discount for less than just the camera alone!

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

 

September 2019   Better Pictures   Fuji   Fuji Lenses   Sony   LEICA   Zeiss   Nikon   Canon   All Reviews

All Fujifilm Cameras Compared

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

 

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

Please help KenRockwell.com

Sample Images

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(more at High ISOs and throughout the review)

These are all shot hand-held as NORMAL JPGs; no RAW files or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed.

Ryan at the Farmer's Market

Ryan at the Farmer's Market, 14 April 2019, 11:28 AM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/5.6 at 1/600 at Auto ISO 400 at Auto Dynamic Range 200%, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

Fujifilm's hallmark is glowing, natural skin tones under any light. In this case Ryan was sitting under an umbrella on the shade lit by random reflections, and as always his skin looks great.

 

Paella at the Farmer's Market

Paella at the Farmer's Market, 14 April 2019, 11:26 AM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/16 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 500, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Fujifilm X-H1 16mm f/2.8 Sample Image

Backlit Grass, 17 April 2019, 9:03 AM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/11 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 1,600, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Introduction

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New   Good   Bad   Missing

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

The X-H1 has the biggest, brightest and sharpest electronic viewfinder I've ever seen. Unlike most mirrorless cameras, the X-H1 has superior eyepiece optics so the entire image is super sharp; there's none of the swimmy astigmatism common in most other mirrorless cameras' dinky plastic adjustable eyepieces.

The X-H1 is a work of art that makes you want to pick it up and shoot with its big grip and ideally placed shutter button. It feels great, sounds great and its finder gives a big, bright beautiful window into what you're doing even in the brightest daylight. The X-H1 body is very similar to Fujifilm's professional medium-format GFX cameras, at a small fraction of the price.

The Fujifilm X-H1 is unique among Fujifilm's APS-C X-mount cameras as it's the only one with an angled shutter release atop its grip (rather than on on a camera top plate), and unique that it has a top LCD.

The X-H1, in addition to a silent electronic shutter, also has the quietest mechanical shutter I've ever heard. It sounds wonderful, like a much quieter version of the great-sounding shutters of the Nikon F6 and Contax G2.

For those of us familiar with Fujifilm's APS-C X-mount cameras, the X-H1 is the "Jumbo Shrimp" as it's a little camera trying to be a big camera. Add its grip, and you sort of wonder why you're carrying such a big camera for a crop-sensor system:

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1, VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip and 16mm f/2.8. bigger.

While the X-H1's pictures are the same as every other Fujifilm camera, you get the X-H1 because of its finder and how great it sounds and feels. You get the X-H1 mostly out of pure love. That's a good thing, as the X-H1 is much less expensive than a Canon 1DX Mk II or Nikon D5, so go for it!

I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

 

New

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fujifilm's first camera with in-body sensor-shift image stabilization, rated 5 axes and 5 to 5.5 stops improvement (measured 3 stops).

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com F-log gamma video.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 4K DCI

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 1,080 at 120 FPS overcrank.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Bizarre double-jointed rear LCD flips up and down, and also flips 60º right — but doesn't flip left:

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 crazy biradial flipping LCD. bigger.

 

Good

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Two SD card slots.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Precise, mostly metal construction. Feels like a real camera, not a plastic toy.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Dedicated, clearly engraved dials.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Quietest focal plane shutter ever made.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Biggest and brightest electronic finder ever: 0.75× magnification w/33mm lens (50mm equivalent), 38º diagonal (30º horizontal) apparent angle, 3,690,000 dot 0.5" OLED.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Live color RGB histograms displayed before you press the shutter (something neither Sony nor Nikon can do except on playback when it's too late), but you have to activate this in the menu system (see my User's Guide).

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com 16:9 and square crops.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Feels great in-hand.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Free included EF-X8 folding shoe mount flash is powered directly from the camera's own battery.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Flicker reduction.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Big and very legible top LCD.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Flipping touch rear LCD.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Made domestically in Japan.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com 1/250 flash sync speed.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Real hinged connector door, not just a crappy plastic flap like Nikon, Sony and Canon use.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com No need for a low-pass filter.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com 17:9 DCI 4K movies.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Silent electronic shutter goes to 1/32,768.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com WiFi.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Bluetooth Low Energy.

 

Bad

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com No Exposure Compensation dial; replaced by a compensation button because a big LCD is where the dial would be.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Slow scrolling across zoomed playback images.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fuzzy zoomed Live View images make precise manual focus ambiguous. It doesn't magnify to the pixel level; it's just a magnified crop of the Live View video image.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Defective ISO dial design has only one L and one H setting so you have to fiddle in menus to select either 25,600 or 51,200 for H and and 160, 125 or 100 for L. You can't use the dial to select among these values, even though it has every third stop in the rest of the range where you don't need it. Sadly this has always been a flaw in Fujifilm's cameras.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fujifilm's menu system has been awful and confusing for years with no signs of major improvement. They aren't paying attention here. The MENU button always opens at the top item, not where you last left off — even if it's only been a half second since you were in the menus!

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Cryptically reads FRAME NUMBER FULL and stops shooting if you get to file IMG_9999.jpg. Not smart enough to make a new folder and carry on by itself like every other brand of camera, instead it makes you have to stop your shoot and figure out how to work around this without having to erase what you've already shot.

 

Missing

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No Exposure Compensation dial; the top LCD is there instead.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No built-in flash.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No battery percentage readout, just a multi-segment icon.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No automatic brightness control for rear LCD.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No threaded cable release socket.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fully adjustable Auto ISO with three presets (good), except that one cannot shift the AUTO value for minimum shutter speed away from its default.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com DCI, 4K and 1,080 HD video, but no 720 or 480 video.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No GPS or NFC.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Very oddly it ignores down-clicks on playback to swap to different kinds of page views (picture only, picture with data, detailed data, etc.). Clicking the nubbin down is simply ignored and you have to click up multiple times just to go back to the previous kind of view. (selecting which picture by clicking left-right works normally.)

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No 4:3 "Ideal Format" crop.

 

VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip

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I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

The VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip comes with and holds two NP-W126S batteries, which work along with a third NP-W126S in the camera for triple the power. This gives you three times as many shots, and lets you shoot video takes as long as 30 minutes.

The grip is plastic and made in China, and feels like it. It's not as tough as the camera itself — but it doesn't weigh a ton, either.

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1, VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip and 16mm f/2.8. bigger.

 

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 and VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip. bigger.

 

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip. bigger.

It's dust-resistant and water-resistant and operates at temperatures of down to -10°C.

Controls include the shutter-release button, focus lever, AE-L button, AF-ON button, command dial, Q button, and Fn button, providing the same easy operation when using the camera in both the vertical and horizontal positions.

The VPB-XH1 is equipped with a headphone socket.

The grip includes an AC-9VS AC Adapter to recharge its two batteries simultaneously in about 2 hours.

Camera & grip weigh 34.295 oz./972.2g with card and one battery.

 

Specifications

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I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

 

Lens Compatibility

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

Uses Fujifilm's Fujinon X-Mount lenses.

 

Image Sensor

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

24 MP.

15.6 × 23.5 mm CMOS.

3:2 aspect ratio.

1.5× crop factor.

Ultrasonic cleaner.

 

ISO

ISO 200 ~ 12,800.

Pull to 100, 125 and 160.

Push to 25,600 and 51,200.

 

Auto ISO

Fully adjustable, except that one cannot shift the AUTO value for minimum shutter speed away from its default.

Details about Auto ISO.

 

Dynamic Ranges

100% (from ISO 200), 200% (from ISO 400), 400% (from ISO 800) or AUTO (100% or 200%).

 

Image Sizes

Large: 6,000 × 4,000 pixels native (24.00 MP).

Medium: 4,240 × 2,832 (12.0 MP).

Small: 3,008 × 2,000 (6.0 MP).

 

Swept Stitched Panoramas

Large: 9,600 × 1,440 (vertical: 2,160 × 9,600).

Medium: 6,400 × 1,440 (vertical: 2,160 × 6,400).

(no Small setting).

 

Cropped Aspect Ratios

1:1 Square

L: 4,000 × 4,000.

M: 2,832 × 2,832.

S: 2,000 × 2,000.

 

16:9

L: 6,000 × 3,376.

M: 4,240 × 2,384.

S: 3,008 × 1,688.

 

Still Formats

JPG and/or raw.

sRGB and Adobe RGB.

 

Electronic Finder

0.5" OLED.

3,690,000 dots.

0.75× magnification w/33mm lens (50mm equivalent).

38º diagonal (30º horizontal) apparent angle.

23mm eye relief.

-4 ~ +2 diopters.

 

Autofocus

Up to 325 selectable points.

 

Light Meter

256 zones, multi, spot, average or center weighted.

 

Shutters

Mechanical Shutter

1/8,000 to 4 seconds (P mode), to 30 seconds (A mode), to 15 minutes (S or M modes) or to one hour in Bulb mode.

Flash sync speed: 1/250.

 

Silent Electronic Shutter

1/32,768 to 4 seconds (P mode), to 30 seconds (A mode), to 15 minutes (S or M modes) or only 1 second in Bulb mode.

 

Remote Releases

App or 2.5mm wired remote.

 

Flash

1/250 sync speed.

 

Built-in Flash

NONE.

 

EF-X8 folding shoe mount flash

Included free.

Powered directly from the camera's own battery.

GN 8 meters, 26 feet, at ISO 100. (11 meters, 37 feet, at ISO 200).

1.7 oz (41g).

 

External Flash

Dedicated hot shoe.

Prontor-Compur (PC) sync terminal for corded sync.

 

Still Frame Rates & Buffer (Burst) Sizes

Mechanical Shutter

11 FPS only w/grip: JPG: 90 frames, Lossless compression RAW: 18 frames, Uncompressed RAW: 24 frames.

8 FPS: JPG: 80 frames, Lossless compression RAW: 31 frames Uncompressed RAW: 26 frames.

5 FPS: JPG: unlimited frames, Lossless compression RAW: 37 frames Uncompressed RAW: 29 frames.

 

Electronic Front Curtain

6 FPS: JPG: unlimited frames, Lossless compression RAW: 35 frames Uncompressed RAW: 28 frames.

 

Electronic Shutter

14 FPS: JPG: 40 frames, Lossless compression RAW: 27 frames, Uncompressed RAW: 23 frames.

 

Video

File Format

.MOV holding MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video and 24 bits at 48 ksps PCM stereo audio.

 

Data Rates

50, 100 or 200 MBPS.

 

Video Frame Sizes and Rates

DCI 4K (4,096 × 2,160): 29.97p/25p/24p/23.98p 200/100/50Mbps, up to 15 minutes take length.

4K (3,840 × 2,160): 29.97p/25p/24p/23.98p 200/100/50Mbps, up to 15 minutes take length.

2,048 × 1,080: 59.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/24p/23.98p at 100/50Mbps up to 20 minutes take length.

1,920 × 1,080: 59.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/24p/23.98p at 100/50Mbps up to 20 minutes take length.

1,280 × 720: 59.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/24p/23.98p at 100/50Mbps up to 30 minutes take length.

1,920 × 1,080 overcrank: 120p/100p at 50Mbps (recording) up to 6 minutes take length.

4GB maximum file size; keeps making sequential files once a file hits 4GB for you to stitch together later.

Use the grip and run takes as long as 30 minutes.

 

Audio

Recorded only along with video.

Stereo microphones built in.

Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.

 

Top LCD

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

1.28" (32.5mm) diagonal B&W.

128 x 128 pixels.

 

Rear LCD Monitor

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 crazy biradial flipping LCD. bigger.

3" (76mm) diagonal touch screen.

1,040,000 dots.

3:2 aspect ratio.

Swivels up 93,º down 45,º 60º right but does not swing left.

Anti-smudge coating.

No anti-reflection coating.

 

Connectors

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 Connectors. bigger.

There's a nice little hinged door, and in order from the top the connections are:

3.5mm Mic input.

USB 3.0/micro USB. (The Fujifilm Remote Release RR-90 also plugs in here).

HDMI Micro-D.

2.5mm 3-pole Remote input.

 

WiFi

IEEE802.11b/g/n infrastructure.

WEP / WPA / WPA2 mixed mode.

2.412 ~ 2.462 GHz (11 channels).

(2.412 ~ 2.472 GHz (13 channels) in Japan and China, only.)

 

Bluetooth Low Energy

v4.0.

2.402 ~ 2.480 GHz.

 

Storage

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 Card Door. bigger.

Two slots.

SD (up to 2GB), SDHC (up to 32GB) and SDXC (up to 512GB) cards.

 

Quality

Made in Japan (marked on sticker on back of LCD, pull out the LCD to read it).

 

Power & Battery

Rated 300 shots per charge or 40 minutes of video shooting using the finder.

With the LCD it's rated 310 shots, and in BOOST PERFORMANCE Mode it's rated 180 shots with the EVF and 220 with the LCD.

 

Fuji NP-126S

Fuji NP-W126S. bigger.

New NP-W126S Li-Ion battery. Same as used in the X-T3, X-100F and X-T2; it's a newer version of the NP-W126 used in the X-Pro1 and X-E1.

7.2V, 1,260 mAh.

1.4 × 1.9 × 0.6 inches.

36.4 × 47.1 × 15.7 millimeters.

1.660 oz. (47.05g).

 

Charging

It charges via USB using any random 99¢ micro-USB cable and regular 5V USB source.

There's an included BC-126 external charger you don't need unless you need to charge a second battery externally while the first charges in-camera.

 

Size

3.83 × 5.50 × 3.37 inches HWD.

97.3 × 139.8 × 85.5 millimeters HWD.

 

Weights

Camera

23.762 oz. (673.7 g) with battery and card, actual measured weight.

Rated 23.7 oz. (673 g) with battery and card, 22.0 oz. (623 g) stripped.

 

EF-X8 folding shoe mount flash

1.4 oz (41g).

 

Battery

1.660 oz. (47.05 g), actual measured.

Rated 1.7 oz (47g).

 

Grip

Empty grip: 10.530 oz. (298.5g).

Grip and one battery: 12.190 oz. (345.5g).

Camera, card, grip and one battery: 34.295 oz. (972.2g).

 

Environment

Operating

-10º ~ 40 º C (14 ~ 104º F).

10 to 80 % RH, non-condensing.

 

Included

X-H1 body and cap.

NP-W126S rechargeable Li-ion battery.

Battery charger BC-W126.

EF-X8 folding shoe-mount flash

Shoulder strap.

Strap clip.

Protective cover.

Clip attaching tool.

Hot shoe cover.

Vertical Power Booster Grip connector cover.

Sync terminal cover.

Cable protector.

Owner's manual.

 

and if you get the grip as part of a kit:

VPB-XH1 Vertical Power Grip

AC-9VS AC power adapter.

 

Announced

15 February 2018.

 

Shipping Since

2018.

 

Fuji's Internal Product Numbers

Body only: 16568731.

Kit with grip: 16568755.

 

Packaging

Fujifilm X-H1

Box, Fujifilm X-H1 and Fujifilm VPB-XH1 kit. bigger.

Microcorrugated cardboard box with formed pulp (holds camera body) and white microcorrugated box ((holds all the accessories) innards.

 

Price, USA

September 2019

Kit with grip: $999 at Adorama, at Amazon and at B&H.

Body only: $1,300 at Crutchfield.

About $850 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

April 2019

Body only: $1,299.

Kit with grip: $1,299.

 

Performance

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

Overall    Autofocus    Manual Focus

Color Rendition    Finder    Ergonomics

Exposure    Frame Rates    High ISOs

Auto ISO    Auto White Balance

Lens Corrections    Mechanics

Sharpness     Stabilization

Top LCD    Rear LCD    Playback

Data     Power & Battery

 

I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

 

Overall

Performance          top

The X-H1 feels better in-hand than any of Fujifilm's other APS-C X-mount cameras because it has a big grip with its shutter button where it belongs on the grip. It also has the quietest focal plane shutter ever made and the biggest and brightest OLED finder ever, so it's a joy to shoot.

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

The autofocus zones don't quite make it all the way to the edges of the picture.

Autofocus is fast for still subjects and always seems to find the right AF sensor automatically. For still subject the AF works much better than the far more expensive Nikon Z cameras which can't find the correct AF areas automatically as the X-H1 can.

Autofocus tracks too slowly to be useful for sports or action. I've never found anything other than Sony's better mirrorless cameras or DSLRs smart and fast enough to track moving action well.

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

Manual focus is entirely electronic; manual focus rings aren't connected to anything other than a digital encoder.

A big negative is that the focus magnifier is low resolution, so you can't see fine details for precise focus.

 

Color Rendition

Performance          top

Color rendition is an artistic preference and is completely unrelated to scientific accuracy.

Every artist has his own preferences and your own sensibilities must guide you. I LOVE crazy, wild, hit-you-in-the-head colors while Fujifilm cameras are for people who appreciate realistic colors.

My work demands vivid colors right out of my camera as JPGs, which Fujifilm's cameras don't do. Fuji cameras are for people pictures, not places and things, unless of course you're sane and prefer natural colors.

Fujifilm's cameras are strongly optimized for skin tones. People photos look great in any light, much better than any other camera.

This also means that Fujifilm cameras are relatively low contrast, and not well suited for photos of places and things for which I demand bold, vibrant colors straight out of the camera as JPGs. Unlike Nikon and Canon and even Sony which let me amp-up the saturation in-camera, even set to COLOR +4 as in all the photos shown here, I find the color rendition too bland for my style of photography.

For people it's the best, and for everything else I can't get the colors I want unless I increase the saturation afterwards.

For example in the three images below shot at COLOR +4, the colors are still natural, sane and muted. When I shoot these either on real Fuji Velvia 50 or with other brands of digital cameras cranked to their maximum saturations these colors would be so loud you'd need hearing protection, while they remain sedate here. Yes, there are film and even Velvia simulation modes in this camera, but I've never liked them either.

Fabric at the Farmer's Market

Fabrics at the Farmer's Market, 14 April 2019, 12:00 Noon. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/5.6 at 1/900 at Auto ISO 200 at Auto Dynamic Range 100%, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file. The teal cloth on the right isn't flat and thus isn't in focus and not not supposed to be sharp.

 

Orange Camaro SS Side Mirror

Inferno Orange Metallic Camaro Side Mirror, 14 April 2019, 12:00 Noon. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/13 at 1/240 at Auto ISO 400 at Auto Dynamic Range 200%, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Fujifilm X-H1 16mm f/2.8 Sample Image

Parking Lot, 15 April 2019, 3:53 PM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/5.6 at 1/1,300 at Auto ISO 200 at Auto Dynamic Range 100%, as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Electronic Viewfinder

Performance          top

As I've said at the top, the X-H1 has the biggest, brightest finder I've ever seen. Bravo, Fujifilm!

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

Good

Rated turn-on time: 400 mS.

The camera's own grip feels great, with the shutter button where it should be.

This jewel of a little camera is loaded with clearly engraved dials for many functions like advance mode and shutter speed. It also has a switch for AF mode and levers for other single functions, making these items much easier to set than on other brands of camera which more often force these settings into unnamed dials and function buttons.

The full-function touch screen lets us enter text, although it's not as responsive as an iPhone and requires a little more concentration to hit each letter just right.

The X-H1 has a nice little connector door that flips open or closes easily that's a huge advantage over the crappy plastic flaps that fall off of Nikon, Sony and Canon's mirrorless cameras.

The big eyepiece pokes far out which is great for those of us with noses so we don't mess up our screens, and the eyepiece has a wide and deep rubber eyecup cup to block out light and give a beautiful, bright finder images without light leakage, but…

 

Bad

The big eyecup can poke my ribs as I carry the X-H1 around my neck.

The Exposure Compensation dial was sacrificed to make room for the top LCD. I never use the top LCD, but I do use exposure compensation, and having to press a button with one finger while I use another finger to wiggle a dial somewhere while I have to take my attention away from my picture is much worse than just having a compensation dial I can move by feeling for clicks without every taking my attention away from my subject.

The PLAY and TRASH buttons are on the wrong (left) side, so they take a second hand to use them — unless you program another button to be the PLAY button at MENU > Wrench > BUTTTON/DIAL SETTING > FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING > (choose a button) > PLAYBACK. Now you can press another button on the right to be playback.

The menu system is atrocious (very bad!). All Fuji cameras take longer than they should to find and set menu items, and even if you find the right item, you might not recognize it.

For instance, Card Format is buried at MENU > Wrench > User Setting > Format, and it took me years on other Fujifilm cameras to discover that to get live color RGB histograms before you take a picture you have to do it by assigning one of the custom keys to Histogram and then press it —  and no one at Fujifilm knew that (see my User's Guide). If you have the camera set in one of many ways in which flash won't fire (like Silent Shutter), the flash option simply disappears and makes you have to guess what to do to get flash going — and this goes on and on. Geesh!

The menu system always opens at the top item, not where you last left off — even if it's only been a half second since you were in the menus!

Once you get your menus and camera set as you want it it shoots fast due to all the dials, but unless you use your camera often you'll forget where to find things.

This is a frustrating camera to set up unless you're both patient and talented. Most users will never figure out how to use most of the glitzier features, and heaven help you if you only use it once a month.

The touch screen is less responsive than an iPhone for entering text.

The card door wins no prizes; you have to use a careful fingernail to unlatch the delicate catch. You can't just grab the big door with a fat finger as you can on other brands.

There is a slight delay between moving the aperture ring and the updated value being displayed in the finder. While it seems negligible as you play with the camera at your desk, it's quite a drag while you're out shooting and need the data to update instantly as you're making settings. You have to wait a slight moment every time you change the setting to read what you set, and a "slight moment" is too long when you're trying to shoot.

The meter-mode switch really should be the AF mode. Who changes meter modes often, other than amateurs?

The big eyecup pokes far out, which is great for those of us with noses so we don't mess up our screens, but it also pokes my ribs as I carry the X-H1 around my neck.

 

Exposure

Performance          top

Like most mirrorless cameras, exposure is almost always perfect.

 

Frame Rates

Performance          top

While there are frame rates up to 14 FPS, none of these rates track exposure, and autofocus tracks only very slowly, so these are not good for shooting sports or action.

Use this camera for shooting things that hold still, or get one of the newest Sony mirrorless or a DSLR for sports or action.

 

High ISO Performance

Performance          top

High ISO performance is superb.

Images are quite usable even at the insanely high ISO of 51,200!

 

High ISO Image Sample Files: Complete Images

When printed or displayed at reasonable size as I'm showing below, images from the X-H1 look the same at any ISO from ISO 100 up to ISO 51,200.

Use whatever ISO you need if you need it to get a sharp photo.

Click any for the camera-original © file:

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Click any for the camera-original © files.

 

High ISO Image Sample Files: 600 × 450 Pixel Crops from above

The real differences between the various ISOs is most visible when enlarged greatly as I show below.

If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same high magnification would be about 21 × 31" (1.7 × 2.6 feet or 50 × 80 cm).

If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 42 × 62" (3.5 × 5.2 feet or 1.05 × 1.6 meters).

If these 600 × 450 pixel crops are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same insane magnification would be about 83 × 125" (6.9 × 10.4 feet or 2.1 × 3.2 meters).

As you'll see, they are sharpest at ISO 100 and become progressively softer at higher ISOs. All digital cameras do this due to their noise reduction; this is normal.

The images seem just about unchanged up to ISO 800, which is excellent, and get a little softer starting at ISO 1,600 or ISO 3,200. Above this they get softer and softer.

ISO 12,800 gets just a little noisier, and ISO 25,600 and 51,200 are noisier still and get rattier, but still quite usable if you aren't enlarging to 30 feet across.

Click any for the camera-original © file:

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Fujifilm X-H1 High ISO Sample Image

Click any for the camera-original © files.

 

Auto ISO

Performance          top

Auto ISO works well and is very flexible, with high and low ISO limits programmable, as well as minimum shutter speed.

Base (default or minimum ISO) is set from ISO 200 to 12,800 in third stops.

Max ISO is set in full stops from ISO 400 to ISO 12,800.

Minimum shutter speed is set in full stops from 1/4 to 1/30 and in third stops from 1/30 to 1/500.

There is an AUTO setting for minimum shutter speed, but sadly you can't shift this value from its default.

 

Auto White Balance

Performance          top

Auto White Balance is great, even shot in nasty mixed light it always seems to do the best job possible.

It's helped by Fujifilm's low contrast which tend to downplay any color nastiness.

 

Lens Corrections

Performance          top

Lens corrections are all put in a "LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER" option set at MENU > I.Q. > LENS MODULATION OPTIMIZER.

I see no separate options for falloff, distortion, diffraction etc.; they're either all ON or all OFF.

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

The X-H1 is made better than most mirrorless cameras, with lots of metal:

 

Metal

Strap lugs, top cover, ISO dial, shutter speed dial, power switch, front control dial, rear control dial, lens mount, rear cover, LCD panel flip linkage, camera bottom cover and tripod socket.

 

Plastic

Advance mode control, metering mode control, shutter release button, top LCD cover, all buttons & rear nubbin, LCD frame and cover, front focus mode lever and battery door.

 

Rubber

Textured grip covers.

 

Markings

Mostly just painted except for top dials and top cover which are engraved and filled with paint.

 

Identity

Painted on rear of top cover.

Printed on sticker on back of LCD frame.

 

Serial Number

Printed on a sticker glued on the back of LCD frame.

 

Made in

Japan.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

All Fujifilm APS-C cameras use sensors with novel color filter arrays that prevent aliasing and eliminates the need for an anti-alias filter, leading to significantly sharper pictures pixel-to-pixel than from other cameras.

Here are some samples with camera-original JPG files:

Fujifilm X-H1 16mm f/2.8 Sample Image

Black Wrap, 14 April 2019, 11:50 AM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/5.6 at 1/600 at Auto ISO 400 at Auto Dynamic Range 200%, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Canary Palm

Canary Palm, 13 April 2019, 10:37 AM. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/11 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 400 at Auto Dynamic Range 200%, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Fabric at the Farmer's Market

Fabrics at the Farmer's Market, 14 April 2019, 12:00 Noon. Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm XF 16mm f/2.8, f/5.6 at 1/900 at Auto ISO 200 at Auto Dynamic Range 100%, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file. The teal cloth on the right isn't flat and thus isn't in focus and not not supposed to be sharp.

 

Image Stabilization

Performance          top

The Fujifilm X-H1 has built-in sensor-shift Image Stabilization (IS) that works with any lens.

"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness I get when I'm shooting hand-held while standing with no support. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp while others will be in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates what percentage of shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are:

 

With Fujinon XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
X-H1 Stabilization ON
0
40
83
100
100
100
100
100
X-H1 Stabilization OFF
0
0
0
17
50
75
100
100

As you can see the Fujifilm X-H1 adds about three stops of real-world stabilization to an unstabilized Fujinon lens.

 

With LEICA SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE on a random Chinese adapter

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
X-H1 Stabilization ON
5
5
30
75
100
100
100
100
X-H1 Stabilization OFF
0
0
0
5
17
67
100
100

As you can see the Fujifilm X-H1 adds about two stops of real-world stabilization with a random non-Fujifilm lens.

 

Top LCD

Performance          top

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1. bigger.

The top LCD is unusually legible in any light. Tap the little light bulb button and it reverses to black on white with a dim gray backlight.

If even displays the compensation value when off, and if there's a card in it, how many frames are left.

Sadly the numbers get smaller when the camera is actually on, so it's not that easy to read compensation, and the numbers don't grow and fill the screen as they ought when you adjust one.

The worst part about this LCD that I don't use is that it replaces the Exposure Compensation dial that I would use. It's more cumbersome to have to hold a button and spin a dial while looking at the compensation value on a screen compared to just moving a dial a couple of clicks by feel without taking my eye off my subject.

 

Rear LCD Monitor

Performance          top

Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 crazy biradial flipping LCD. bigger.

The rear LCD has no automatic brightness control, so it's dim in daylight unless you turn it up manually.

It swivels up and down and a little to the right, but can't swivel to the left and can't twist 180º for self-portraits.

 

Playback   

Performance          top

While images swap from one to another instantly, they first display as a slightly fuzzy preview for a half a second before popping-in sharp a moment later.

It also always takes a half second as you swap images for the exposure data to pop in.

Very oddly one can only click up to change to a different kind of page view (picture only, picture with data, detailed data, etc.), clicking down is simply ignored.

"Autorotate Playback" (MENU > WRENCH > SCREEN SET-UP (page 2/3) > AUTOROTATE PB) isn't; it just rotates vertical shots that then take up only half of the screen. The X-H1 isn't as smart as an iPhone and won't rotate playback images as you rotate the camera.

It takes too long for my taste scrolling around a zoomed image.

 

Data

Performance          top

Sadly cards are not properly titled. Both cards are titled as "Untitled,” making them easy to confuse in your computer's finder when trying to figure out what is what. They should be titled "FUJI-XH1," but they aren't.

There is no Basic JPG option as I'd prefer; only NORMAL and FINE. NORMAL LARGE JPGS are about 9MB, and FINE LARGE JPGs are about 15 MB, all varying with subject detail.

 

Power & Battery

Performance          top

It's easy to charge with any generic micro-USB 2 cable (I get mine at the 99¢ store) from any regular 5V USB socket. I don't bother with the included external charger.

It draws 845mA while charging over USB from 5V with a cheap cable. It continues to draw 25mA even after it's done charging.

 

Compared

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

 

Versus Fujifilm

See All Fujifilm Cameras Compared.

 

Versus Sony

Sony cameras have better color rendition for most subjects other than people when shot as JPG, but for people pictures Fujifilm cameras are unbeaten.

Sony's cameras have much better and faster tracking autofocus. I can use many of Sony's cameras for sports and action, but the X-H1 just can't track fast enough.

The X-H1 handles much better than Sony's cameras. While both have equally awful menu systems, the X-H1 excels with real dials while most Sony cameras leave you fiddling with unmarked general-purpose command dials and buttons to do the same thing.

 

User's Guide

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

 

See also Fujifilm's X-H1 user's manual.

 

Strap and Clips

Forget Fujifilm's cockamamie split rings and oddball tools you need to attach them.

I use LEICA's brilliant original 14312 strap (the same one included with their immortal $8,000 cameras) which attaches immediately without needing any tools and doesn't need any guards or fiddling to avoid damaging your finish.

LEICA's strap is also ultra-comfortable and just the right weight for this lightweight camera.

 

Charging

Just plug it into any USB port with any random micro USB cable. It plugs into the larger of two halves of the camera's USB 3 jack. Feel free to use a USB-3 cable, just that micro USB cables are more common and work just as well.

A green LED on the back means it's charging. It goes out when done.

 

Menus

It's a bear trudging through all the menus, sorry.

You can't hit MENU again to get out of the menus to shoot, tap the shutter or hit the BACK (not MENU) button.

 

Lock Buttons

The lock buttons in the centers of the ISO and Shutter Speed dials are weird: you push them once to lock the dial, and then push them again to unlock the dial. You have to press them at least two different times to unlock, change a setting, and relock.

You can't just press and hold them to move the dial. Sorry.

 

Exposure Modes

Fujifilm does this much better than other cameras. There is no need for an exposure mode switch or button; all you do is set either of the lens aperture ring and/or shutter speed dial to A and then the camera sets that automatically (set shutter to A for aperture-priority or aperture ring to A for shutter-priority).

If you want Program mode, set both to A. Easy!

 

Autofocus

The MF/AF-C/AF-S switch, marked "M C S," is on the front of the camera; it's not on your lens or in the menus, Hallelujah!

You have to enable face detection manually by selecting "S" on the front AF mode switch and then press MENU > AF/MF (page 2 of 3) > FACE/EYE DETECTION SETTING > FACE ON/EYE AUTO. The default is off.

EYE AUTO only works in AF-S. Eye detection doesn't work with continuous autofocus (AF-C), so your only menu option becomes FACE ON/EYE OFF. Set the camera to AF-S to set FACE ON/EYE AUTO, and it will revert to FACE ON/EYE OFF when in AF-C.

Autofocus tracking is slow; while it has fast frame rates for subjects that hold still, this is not a good camera for sports or action.

 

Focus Magnifier

The focus magnifier doesn't magnify to the pixel level; it's just a magnified crop of the Live View video image so it's not that helpful for precise manual focus.

Try turning on video peaking and try the Red Low option. 

 

Flash

If you have flicker reduction, continuous frame advance or the silent electronic shutter activated (or possibly in other modes as well), the flash simply won't turn on — its menu and icon simply stays gray and doesn't warn why.

The camera won't tell you what's wrong when this happens; it simply expects you to guess what you need to change so any kind of flash can work.

Sorry.

The included EF-X8 folding shoe mount flash is magic: no power switch and no batteries! It's self-powered form the camera, and turns on and off simply by lifting it or folding it back down. Brilliant!

 

Live Color RGB Histograms as you shoot

You can see live color RGB histograms before you press the shutter (something neither Sony nor Nikon can do except in playback when it's too late), but you have to activate this in the menu system (MENU > WRENCH > BUTTON/DIAL SETTING > FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING > Fn 6 (or your choice) > HISTOGRAM) and then press the Fn 6 button to see it.

 

2-Axis Level Display

To get a great 2-axis level display you first assign this to your choice of button (MENU > WRENCH > BUTTON/DIAL SETTING > FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING > Fn 4 (or your choice) > ELECTRONIC LEVEL) and then pressing that button to see it.

 

Move the PLAY Button

The PLAY button is on the wrong (left) side, so it takes a second hand to use it — unless you program another button to be the PLAY button at MENU > Wrench > BUTTTON/DIAL SETTING > FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING > (choose a button) > PLAYBACK. Now you can press another button on the right to be playback while you shoot with one hand.

 

Recommendations

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

You want this camera because you love it. You love its feel in your hands, its brilliant electronic finder and its mellifluous mechanical shutter. This is a camera best appreciated from the heart; you have to own it to appreciate it. Simply reading about it won't convey the X-H1's best aspects.

The X-H1 is also unique among Fujifilm's APS-C cameras for its big built-in grip and optional battery grip.

Other than these it's not a camera bought on features; the X-T30, X-T20 and even the original X-T10 all add a built-in flash and dedicated exposure compensation dial lacking in this X-H1.

The X-H1 is a superior camera for people and group photos due to its magnificent flesh tones, however this doesn't play as well for nature and landscape photos where we want vivid colors. This and most of Fujifilm's cameras are bad for shooting sports because, while they have very high frame rates for things that hold still, they can't track moving objects well while the camera is shooting.

Use LEICA's brilliant original 14312 strap, which attaches and works much better than the crazy system Fujifilm includes.

I'd get my Fuji X-H1 new at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

This 100% all-content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Fujifilm does not seal its boxes, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used camera. Fujifilm puts a seal on the bag inside the box, but it's easy to get the camera out, play with it, and then restick the sticker so no one knows it's a used camera. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

 

More Information

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Grip   Specs

Performance   Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

Fujifilm's X-H1 product page.

Fujifilm's X-H1 user's manual.

Fujifilm's X-H1 press release.

 

© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

 

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16 Sep 2019, 18-25 April 2019