Fujifilm are finally trying to impress videographers with the new X-H1
Unless you’ve been paying attention closely you might have missed the new addition to Fuji’s X Series line up. Unlike a lot of the hype surrounding other brand’s new releases recently (the Sony A7RIII for example) this announcement has flown under the radar somewhat.
Fans of Fuji will be well aware that you don’t buy one of their cameras for its video capabilities, at least not until now anyway.
The New X-H1 has apparently been designed to capture the attention of videographers. Sony has been dominating the market in recent years when it comes to mirrorless cameras packed full of features that get movie makers drooling all over them. S-Log 3, 120fps at 1080p, 5-axis in-body stabilisation all of that good stuff.
So this sure to get the people over at Sony to sit up and listen if nothing else.
Fuji have had great success with their top tier X Series cameras. Despite using crop sensors they have been able to convert a respectable number of photographers away from the more traditional Canon and Nikon DSLR’s and over to cameras such as the X-Pro 2 and X-T2. They are sticking with their success and putting the same X-Trans 24.3mp APS-C CMOS III sensor that is in the X-Pro 2 and X-T2 in the X-H1. I guess you can’t have too much of a good thing.
Specs
The new X-H1 will come with 5-axis in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) which will be a relief to those already using the Fuji system as, although they produce some top quality glass, a lot of their lenses come with no built-in stabilisation.
The second notable feature that is built into this camera is what Fujifilm are calling Eterna. It’s a new film simulation and this is what they say about it:
Eterna simulates cinematic film, creating understated colours and rich shadow tones, greatly enhancing creative freedom during post-processing.
Build quality is likely to be top class like every other Fuji camera out there from their entry level models right up to the top-of-the-range gear. The body itself is heavily influenced by the medium format GFX 50s. It’s chunky and comes with a similar small LCD display on the top right of the camera.
Of course for a modern camera aimed at the video market, it’s able to shoot in 4k natively. Not sure why some other brands (not naming any names) can’t seem to do that as standard nowadays since it seems to be found more and more even in entry level cameras. That’s another rant for another day though. It also comes with Fuji’s F-Log.
It’s fully weather proof so that gives you one less thing to worry about which is nice and has a tilt screen as opposed to a full flip out screen which will most likely annoy the vloggers amongst you (that may be a deal breaker if you’re that way inclined).
RRP is $1,899 (body only) and is available now for preorder from B&H. Shipping is planned to start March 1st for US buyers.
New Glass
Fuji have also announced two new lenses that are being released along with the X-H1. They are both cinema lenses designed to shoot video on the X Series cameras. The first is a 18-55mm constant T2.9 aperture lens, and the second is a 50-135mm constant T2.9 aperture lens. Both are expected to product extremely high quality shots with great depth of field but will set you back a pretty penny. $3,999.95 and $4,299.95 respectively. Ouch.
Conclusion
All-in-all I think it’s going to be a great camera and I can’t wait to get my hands on one when it’s released. I’ve always been a big fan of Fujifilm for shooting stills so I’m fairly confident that they can deliver the goods when it comes to videography as well. At least now that they are putting more emphasis on it anyway.
I’m a professional travel photographer, and I’ve been living the digital nomad lifestyle since 2016. I make money by working on client assignments, selling stock photography and helping other photographers by sharing my experiences on this website. I move around at my own pace (I hate fast-paced travel) and like to spend a few months getting to know each place I base myself in.
My writing and photos have been featured on industry leading websites such as Digital Photography School, Atlas Obscura and the world’s leading underwater photography resource The Underwater Photography Guide. I authored an eBook called “Breaking Into Travel Photography: The complete guide to carving out a career in travel photography” that has been published on Amazon. My stock images have also appeared in ads promoting destinations and companies that sometimes has been a surprise, even to me. But I guess that’s the nature of stock photography, you never know who will license them!
I’m always happy to connect, so feel free to reach out!