Last night, Stuff attended Fujifilm’s latest launch event, which unveiled some crazy camera tech. We saw the Fujifilm X-H2S mirrorless camera, joined by the Fujinon XF150-600mm lens and Instax Mini Link 2 printer. Throughout the event, visitors were given opportunities (albeit short ones) to get a feel for just how much tech is packed inside the tiny body of the X-H2S.
We also saw a demo of the Instax Mini Link 2 in action, followed by a short demonstration of the X-H2S’s brilliant burst mode. The latter was far more impressive – because, well… one is a handheld printer. Lastly, there was the behemoth Fujinon XF150-600mm lens. It’s made to capture wildlife and sports shots. Those are in short supply in Sandton after business hours, so a demo was skipped. It’s awfully attractive, though.
The X-H2S in action
We won’t bog you down with every tech spec of the X-H2S. That’s what spec sheets are for. First impressions, of how the camera looks and feels — that’s what we’ll cover today.
On picking it up, it’s obviously light and small. Not so small that it doesn’t fit comfortably in the hand, but small enough to be a shock. It’s perfect for carrying around for extended periods. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel cheap. We got the impression that this bad boy could survive some heavy use down in the trenches.
Fuji’s new shooter just begged to be used, so that’s what we did. Even stuck inside a hotel bar at night, surrounded by 70 other people, the X-H2S still performed beyond expectations. It used the little light it had to deliver some gorgeous images. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to recover the images — Fuji discourages stealing its memory cards — but they were fantastic.
Holding the camera feels very natural. The layout offers easy access. Both right- and left-hand fingers reach every knob the X-H2S has with little effort. The right thumb navigates the front easily, while the index and middle fingers sort out the dials on top of the camera. The left hand has less to do but easily reaches the few buttons it needs to hit.
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The LCD screen pops out every which way you’d like, making it easy for the X-H2S to achieve any angle. Firing off a few shots in burst mode is equally impressive. Fuji’s snapper will rack up 30-second bursts without breaking a sweat.
Overall the Fujifilm X-H2S gave a great first impression. It feels easy to use, lightweight, and ergonomic. What more could you ask for? Well, a price a little lower than R38,000 would be a start. Although, that’s on par for a camera like this. Keep an eye out for a full review, once we’ve had more than a few minutes with it.
