Do Sony Colors Suck? Sony A7RV vs GFX 50s vs Fuji X-H2s

[@parmanduke]

I have virtually no af issues with the X H2s after the new firmware update (except for the continuous eye af). It's perplexing that you're having those issues. I loved the X H2s images the most. I've shot with the A7Riv and it's the sharpest I've ever used but Fuji wins for colors and overall user experience

[@bytomw]

That's good to know! I had Fujifilm confirm it was an issue, they are currently working on a firmware fix but if yours is working the way you want I'd say it's an EASY pick!

[@fridadeivizsla2729]

@@bytomwhave you solved?

[@vaylx2253]

I mean having an issue with continuous eye AF is probably the most annoying out of all the issues.

[@nativestrong7253]

They use 10 year old glass and expect modern non linear motor AF results.

[@RBullCZ]

Thank you for this video I find it very interesting! I have discovered your channel at end of last year when I totally spontaneously switched from Canon R6 to Fujifilm X-H2s and had serious doubts about my decision. I loved the X-H2s more than any other camera I have been using so far (Nikon DSLRs, Canons DSLRs, Sony A7 II, III, Canon R and R6). But after 4 months of using the Fuji when the controls felt like second nature I was forced by circumstances to switch "back" to Sony because I felt the X-H2s is letting me down in low light scenarios when clients who know nothing about cameras pointed to me that the images are not as nice as they were during some previous occasion (which I took with Canon R6 with almighty RF 50/1.2 lens). It was few months before Adobe released the new improved de-noise. Anyway, I love the A7IV I am using now and I love the GM lenses, BUT the colours are the main subject I am spending my time on educating myself and experimenting with. It is easy to get spoiled by the Fujifilm X-H2s in this regard! Sony does not offer such pleasing colours straight out of camera but there is whole new alley of colour profiles and presets I am discovering now to get even further than with Fujifilm colours straight out of camera. Not better - different. I never really loved the Canon R and R6 colours although they were miles ahead of Sony A7III I had before, but after my short romance with Fujifilm I could not accept the weight of Canon RF lenses and the whole kit in my bag anymore, hence the move "back" to Sony. That is why I find this topic so interesting :) Thank you for inspiration!

[@DigiDriftZone]

Interesting, was the Fuji really that much worse in low light vs the A7 IV? - does the new denoise change anything at all?

[@bytomw]

You're not alone at all @RBullCZ. It's sadly something I'm seeing more and more. I still love fuji but I need a tool I can use that's not gonna flake. In short @RGaufman, it's much worse than the A7IV and the R6, R6II in low light but the de-noise function is a GAME changer for fuji files. Video on that coming soon.

[@RBullCZ]

@@DigiDriftZone I confess - with Fuji I have been shooting almost exclusively JPEGs because I felt I prefer the colours as Fuji makes them and not how Adobe thinks Fujifilm would make them. But so I did with Canon R6 and when photographing opening of an exhibition in art gallery I often shoot ISO over 12500 (with 50/1.2 lens) and the resulting image looks pretty clean in general without any extensive noise reduction required. With X-H2s I felt the threshold is ISO 1250 and anything above just looks noisy and not crisp and clean (smudged details). Unfortunately lot of my work is in conditions like that. In any other conditions Fuji was just stellar including AF and Eye focus which I felt at the time (December 2022 - April 2023) is at least on par with Canon R6! And the viewfinder, and the silent mechanical shutter and the superb controls... Now with Sony I returned to using RAWs and still think that the Canon R6 with 50/1.2 lens produced subjectively crisper and cleaner high ISO images. But that is not apples to apples comparison and I learned to spend more effort in post production now getting overall more satisfactory results.

[@lumberjack3008]

LR isn't the best choice to compare RAW files. Capture One is handling Fujifilm RAWs better. Never had any AF issues with the XH2s, as long it's not tracking of a single person when others are in the frame. That sucks.

[@bytomw]

Lightroom is the industry standard for portrait, wedding and many kinds of documentary work and it’s my primary system. I have C1 but would only use it for tethered shooting and even then my archive happens in Lightroom.

[@tomapaunovic]

You are using vastly different WB on Sony (6166K temp, +1 tint) and both of Fuji's (5600K or 5438K and +3 tint), and as a result Sony looks warmer and greener, which is kind of expected. Also, there is a question of profile calibration to a specific camera since H2S looks warmer than GFX despite having a slightly cooler WB.

[@bytomw]

Yep. WB isn’t an absolute scale. Every sensor needs different values to get the “right” look.

[@AlexMedvick]

This was super helpful! I love how you break everything down. My dream is that Fuji would make a full frame XH2S with all usability of a Sony. Lol I know it’ll never happen, but that’s my fantasy. Maybe that’s sort of what the A1 MKii will end up being. Dr400 and denoise definitely deserve their own videos!

[@bytomw]

Can't wait to share those! The Denosie video alone is gonna be super useful for fuji owners!

[@jpr-tech]

@3:40 I'm officially an authentic FUJIFILM user (owner of an a7s)... I could tell which shot was shot with which camera! 3/3! Great comparison and points. Doesn't matter what you shoot with. With some editing effort, you can make any camera look good. Still, gotta love those FUJI colors. Straight out of the camera, they are amazing.

[@bytomw]

Couldn’t agree more! They all have a look of their own out of the box. It’s just about what you prefer and how well you understand the edit 👌🏻

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

Love the video thanks a ton!! I have an xt5 and absolutely love it!!!! The images are sooo pleasing… BUT BUT I am in need more of a work horse as in would love max autofocus so I can focus on other things. Some of my gigs coming up are weddings and running events. Have you ever tried the company Cobalt Imaging they are suppose to be able to color match camera systems!!!!?

[@bytomw]

I have and honestly It’s not something I’ll use, I tend to use profiles to edit my work and If I use that “slot” in Lightroom I can’t use my preferred editing process.

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

@@bytomw nice will keep that in mind

[@joelferguson4089]

If you’re shooting 97 out of 100 in focus and only a third in focus on the Fuji. Then you’re getting a beautiful looking depth of field with insane detail. I love shooting at 100 iso as much as possible, if I have to edit a little more to ding out the dynamic range and possibly adjust the colors some that’s okay with me! I love how effortless taking a good picture is with the a7rv and being able to shift my attention to my subject and lighting

[@bytomw]

I'm with you on that Joel, my argument is usually that extra effort can be worth it if the results are a cut above, that said I don't think the XH2s is worth considering purely because of how bad the AF tracking is now. If I was going to go with fuji I'd take the GFX and know i'd have to be ok focusing manually or with slow single point AF in trade for the change in image quality. From a flexibility point of view the Sony just wins.

[@hotpotgang]

Did you shoot the xh2s with default provia film simulation? thanks for the comparison

[@bytomw]

I shoot in RAW with DR400 activated but I normally have my in camera preview set to standard.

[@_trismegistus]

What is that m6 profile you are applying? What camera/color profile is it based on? I have an xh2s and an looking for a rich but neutral baseline profile to work from with my xh2s. Adobe Color/Standard dont always give nice results, and I've been using Provia usually with some tweaks to try to balance it, but I haven't been able to get it exactly where I want it.

[@bytomw]

It’s made by a company I beta test for called Goodlight Presets. They developed amazing custom profiles for Lightroom.

[@rdthifi]

Great content,can you a comparison between the xh2s and nikon zf or z8

[@bytomw]

If I can get hold of the Nikons I’ll try and do that 👍🏻 I can say the Z6ii has stunning colours and the Zf shares that sensor.

[@cward2986]

Longtime Fuji user with a stable of XF lenses. Considering purchase of X-H2s largely for video - can anyone weigh in on the current status of AF-C eye focus in video? I know there have been firmware updates, so wondering if the camera is now solid? The only purpose of a purchase is for performance far exceeding that of my X-T4.

[@bytomw]

The issues still persist although I found my typical video use case to be workable, just not if you’re using subject tracking AF.

[@cward2986]

@@bytomw Thank you for taking the time to respond!

[@fotogmike5887]

Tom, just so you're aware, not everyone is having the same experience with the X-H2S. In my last shoot I made 731 images of dancers, and only 1 was out of focus. I was running FW Body Version 4.00, and FW Lens Version 1.01. I used the 18-55/2.8-4 lens, and the excellent 56/1.4 Sigma lens. I was back button focusing with Single AF (AF-S), and had EC AF on. AF + MF was OFF (and that can be important). Most of the shots were static. For the ones that were leaps I zone focused. I've been using that method successfully since the early 1980s, so I'm sticking with it! As I've commented before, I'm more than happy to help you trouble shoot if you're interested. I hope that things get better with your cameras!

[@bytomw]

I’m really glad you’re not having issues 👍🏻

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

Yeah that back button zone focus is what saved me on the last running race I shot with my XT5

[@mhand7]

Hey Tom - new firmware update, any changes for you? My X-T5’s has some of the tracking issues yours do but there’s been an update this week so wondered if you had any luck with it getting any better?

[@bytomw]

I tested the firmware on the X100VI. It’s much the same. If there is an improvement it’s ultra minor.

[@mhand7]

@@bytomw yeah after testing the X-T5s there isn’t much improvement, a lot of false positives with the focus which is such a shame

[@adamhlavin2463]

Can't wait to see more of your videos. Hopefully it will be soon!

[@bytomw]

More to come!

[@amermeleitor]

It would be great if you try latest Nikon and Panasonic photo output. The Z8 is incredible, and the S5IIX is great for the price.

[@bytomw]

I always love testing new kit. Getting my hands on Nikon pro bodies and especially Panasonic is tough though because so few professionals I know use them.

[@el_cabroncito]

I have a a7iv, z8, xh2 and xh2s. For me they are at the same level on focus.

[@amermeleitor]

@@el_cabroncito which brand do you recommend for a hobbyist? I have a Z50 now, but Nikon seems stagnated in entry level and midrange, I haven't $4000usd for a Z8. Now Fujifilm and Canon seems to have the best entry level and midrange, sub $1500 ~ $2000usd

[@el_cabroncito]

@@amermeleitor the problem with canon are the lenses, the prices are very very expensive and Canon R7 has too much flaws. For me Fuji has the best package. It's not perfect but we don't have a perfect camera and for 2.000 USD you can take an excellent package.

[@NickErickson]

I just can't work with a Sony. I tried switching from the Fuji X-S10 to the A7CII. Same great sensor as the A7IV, "new Sony color science", and incredible AF as you have mentioned. But I just cannot get that weird yellow-green-orange color cast to separate out how I like them. Returned it and traded in the X-S10 for the X-S20. Now, I have worked with Fuji raw files much more than Sony, so there is a learning curve there, but damn the Fuji colors just look pleasing and balanced with almost no modifications.

[@bytomw]

It’s not just you I teach post production and Sony files are by far my least favorite to work on

[@petereprice]

Have you tested the new firmware v. 5.02 that just released this morning? Any improvements in AF performance?

[@bytomw]

I’m in contact with Fujifilm Japan about the fix for this product and they haven’t let me know it’s been addressed yet. The firmware notes don’t talk about any adjustments to AF at all though. That said I’ll report back when I have had a chance to arrange a shoot that’s not directly for a client.

[@sammy_sam_leonardo]

4:36 yey, I nailed the camera guess. I wonder what that says about me 😂. Sony still green tone, medium format still wow, X-trans V still my favourite. Oh, and did you see there’s a new firmware update released for X-H2S yesterday? Hopefully it fixes your issues!!

[@sammy_sam_leonardo]

And just to note, I haven’t had any of these focus issues with my X-H2…

[@fotogmike5887]

@@sammy_sam_leonardo I'm thrilled with the AF performance of my X-H2S!

[@bytomw]

I’m really glad your both enjoying your cameras. Fujifilm have confirmed this is an issue and they are working on it. I still love the XH2s. Not going anywhere. ✌🏻

[@sammy_sam_leonardo]

@@bytomw I totally take your word that they have Tom! (I know you would never make anything up). I just checked the firmware update launched today but it doesn’t mention anything about autofocus - hopefully X-H2S users won’t have to wait too long for the fix!

[@corbinwesler3985]

With the first series of images, I was quickly able to pick out what images came from which cameras. The green undertones in the skin gave away the Sony. It's one of the things that made me switch back to Canon after a month, and that was even when I didn't have images from other cameras to compare against. It just stood out to me... especially on darker skin tones. The GFX had more depth and 3d pop to it, and I thought it had the most pleasing look out of all three due to the mix of color and character. The X-H2s had the most accurate skin tones, but in my opinion, lacked some character when compared to the GFX.

[@bytomw]

Pretty spot on assessment. I’m not gonna run out and buy a song over a GFX anytime soon. That said this colour is way nicer than what I see from most other Sony cameras.

[@sovu9399]

Hi! Does color science matter when you shoot in JPEG only, or both JPEG and RAW? i'm new to this stuff, just curious. Thank you for this comparison, very useful.

[@bytomw]

It matters for both and it generally mattersmore when shooting JPEG only. The camera is “baking in” the colour when you shoot JPEG so you can’t adjust it as much after capture.

[@sovu9399]

@@bytomw Thank you!

[@27hdyx6b3ym3w]

Would you consider the new Fujifilm X-S20 in place of the X-H2S? Autofocus seems to be great on that newer camera. What do you think?

[@bytomw]

I wouldn’t trust any camera using the current AF tracking system and that new chip. It’s just not worth the risk of it being unusable. I’d rather have slow autofocus that this.

[@27hdyx6b3ym3w]

@@bytomw Thanks for the reply. How about downgrading the camera's software to a more usable version? Perhaps to a version before the problematic v3.xx?

[@bytomw]

Fuji don’t allow a firmware downgrade.

[@garethcallan8335]

Hi Tom... Did the July firmware resolve your XH2s AF issues? Wouldn't surprise me if Fujifilm snuck it in as a bug fix..... Otherwise they'd have to publicly acknowledge that they cocked it up.

[@bytomw]

I have tested every update all the way to 5.02. The 5.03 firmware dropped Thursday but I haven’t been able to shoot with it yet. Fuji have been in touch and haven’t let me know it’s fixed yet so I’m not holding my breath.

[@Jgheiler]

I never had any focus issues with my XH2s AF, until this morning when I took pictures of my dark skinned model...I was shocked that the focusing was having a hard time with the eye AF...very unsure. I wonder if it's a color thing and it's having a hard time with darker skin tones.

[@bytomw]

It's might be, and honestly that's problematic to say the least if true but personally I have had issues with basically every completion and every lighting condition. Super frustrating.

[@harry54ck]

I heard that Sony FX30 has inaccurate green color rendition which is noticeable on trees. Since a6700 shares the same sensor, it may be visible here. Can someone approve or deny this experience?

[@bytomw]

I honestly don’t have any experience with any crop sensor Sony cameras. I have extensive experience with the full frame offerings though and honestly no two Sony cameras seem to match when it comes to white balance.

[@mistergiovanni7183]

@@bytomw woow, terrible!

[@Ph-uw2il]

Hey tom why there is no new videos gear comparison

[@bytomw]

There are more coming but I’m a working photographer and make these videos in my free time. I’m sitting on footage for 2-3 more videos but haven’t had time to edit anything yet.

[@jharrelphoto]

have you tried cobalt profiles? I tried some with my z7ii and they worked great. I have heard this is a fix for the bad colors of Sony. which I think the colors are great for landscapes out of the box

[@bytomw]

I haven’t, I do use other profiles in my editing though and honestly as much as the sensors can get close with work it’s nice to see how each one renders a little differently.

[@alexrobson3662]

Awesome video, did the problems ever get resolved? I have always used sony Alpha series cameras but you've made me want to give the Fuji X-H2s a try. I mostly shoot portrait but a lot of it candid so AF is pretty vital to work at least a good amount of the time. Keep up the vids!

[@bytomw]

They haven’t fixed anything as of the 15/11/2023 and honestly by this point it’s too late for me. I made the jump to canon again because frankly I had to put my cameras back to work and I can’t justify keeping an entire camera system for fun.

[@JasonLawrenceNoel]

@@bytomwfeel that

[@AllCarsUnited]

So hard to judge as each composition is so drastically different that it affects the mood even without the color factor. With that said, I actually like the Sony better. Was going to sell my a7s3 for a GFX 100s and keep my old A7r3 sticky for landscape

[@bytomw]

Honestly I get that, the main reason I did this was to understand how each camera is in use. The GFX was by far the most fun to use but also forced me to be way more static in my shooting style. I'd avoid making the jump to the GFX unless you really need the colour depth increase or extra resolution and you know you can slow things down. Ultimately I landed on canon, I have plans to make an explainer video on that soon.

[@MICHELE_et_LANCE]

I love the focus reliability of my Sony A7RII but I hate the colours and the time needed to get the skin tones pleasing. I have older Fuji APSC camera's and prefer their colours which saves me time. I'm looking at purchasing one of their future models with faster processor and 26MP (hopefully they'll make an X-T5 with 26MP or an X-E5)

[@zovil5154]

i have the a7Rii and fuji xt30 . The sonys sensor is incredibly but the colors not, as you said i have hard time to make the skin tones pleasant. With the fuji most of the time the colors are great (thats why i shoot with this camera JPG) but not the AF . I want to upgrade to a camera with better AF and SOOC colors that's why am thinking Canon

[@bytomw]

Honestly a modern Fuji camera with this bug fixed is light years ahead of the focus in the A7Rii. You’ll be very happy with the upgrade once this issue is fixed but I can’t stress enough you need to wait until the focus issue is fixed. I literally manually focus more accurately than the tracking system on the XH2s can.

[@MICHELE_et_LANCE]

@@bytomw Thanks for your advice. I wanted the X-T5 but now that the X-S20 is out, it sounds appealing to me if it has reliable autofocus. Would you happen to know if the X-S20 has that much better autofocus than the X-T5?

[@algirdasmikalauskas3373]

There is no accounting for taste. I didn't understand the point of the question about the color of a photo from a modern camera - after all, it can be adjusted in a photo editor, just like contrast or white balance, etc. In the end, you can make a special press for yourself and calm down. But if they miss the focus, the photo is trash.

[@bytomw]

You’d think so. But even with modern editing tools getting the look you want quickly and without spending more time that a clients budget allows can be a challenge. You CAN make any camera look the way you want. In the end it’s about efficiency for me. Also more and more clients are setting briefs based on a mood more than a specific set of technical requirements, it kind of means that critical focus matters much less than it used to (although personally I prefer having a solid AF performer for most of my work).

[@Windsurfingaddict]

Just asking, so August 2024 have they sorted out the focussing issue with Fuji as I do like the colours on both camera and video, I’m still debating all my options, Sony does have great AF on most of there camera 🥳

[@bytomw]

I’d want them to prove they could do it. They have claimed it’s fixed every release since the original issue got found. It’s still not up the standard of any of the other cameras.

[@aaaahahahahahah4300]

Such a refreshing perspective. Keep it up.

[@bytomw]

Thanks!

[@Jgheiler]

What lenses do you like in GFX?

[@bytomw]

We used the Voigtlander 58mm 1.4 here but if you have the budget get the 55mm 1.7 from fujifilm, it’s incredible and really maximises this sensor’s performance.

[@michialharris1850]

My xh2s doesn’t have any problems with AF

[@bytomw]

If that’s the case it’s likely they you are either on an earlier firmware version (problems began at 3.0) or not using the subject tracking in AF-C. Fuji have confirmed it’s a problem and the engineering team are working to fix it as we speak.

[@captaincook6283]

Here comes some constructive critics. I don’t agree that the focus of the Sony is on the iris and is rather on the eyebrows. I used to have the same problem with Sony and that’s why I sold it especially when you have very fast lenses I had the same problem with the Sony GF lenses, and with the sigma ones. Second a like the colours of the gfx way better the apsc picture is very yellow and doesn’t look good to me. Also the whole rendering of the gfx looks just more 3d and pleasing to me. Thanks for the comparison cheers

[@bytomw]

No problem, if you saw the results and came to a different conclusion that's still a win in my book! Always want to show my working out.

[@The_Dapper_Millennial]

Very good comparison. Before you even said which was which, I too picked the XH2S as the overall best looking photo. Question for you: Given the focus issues, etc with it, is the XH2S a good or bad choice for beginner wedding photography? Or, do you think it will hold me back from progressing and landing bigger and higher paying clients? I'm genuinely nearly sold on it, as there is just something special about that color nearly straight outta the box. Thanks.

[@bytomw]

I wouldn’t use the XH2s for anything you can’t directly control unless you’re happy to shoot without using tracking AF. The camera is honestly lovely but the focus issues are a deal breaker for me. You can work on colour in post but you can’t re-focus after the fact. That said if you don’t need AF tracking it’s all totally fine :)

[@dadasese69]

Camera B for me and my second choice was the one on the far right. I am very sorry for Sony hete!

[@bytomw]

No need for apologies. Better to know what you like.

[@eliaspap8708]

Fujis AF is still crap in January 2025. Several Firmware updates since new haven’t fixed much.

[@oldDan-l1c]

good lord how are the sony skin tones still so bad

[@bytomw]

Honestly compared to other Sony files these start in a pretty good place!

[@babycute2214]

For me fujifilm is the best

[@bytomw]

I agree. It’s close enough that I’d be totally happy with any of them though!

[@RPP403]

You advise people that Sony colors are as good, but film yourself with Fujifilm. I am not looking for advise or reasurance. Sony colors are still very bad when compared to Fuji, Canon and Nikon and no amount of reasoning can’t change that.

[@bytomw]

You're advocating for not using reasoning?

[@brugj03]

I still think the A7R5 has that old greenish look and ugly skin tones. However the new A7Cii has new color science and the best colors i`ve ever seen not only from Sony but of every camera i owned.

[@bytomw]

That’s good to know, much as it’s frustrating that Sony keeps changing its colour pallet it’s nice to see a constant improvement and a push to something really pleasing! More good cameras from more companies is a win for all of us!

[@philippehelleboid8013]

​@@bytomw And what about the A7cr ?

[@ElementaryWatson-123]

Yeah, I can confirm, Sony colors do suck, all A1-7 models are terrible, except Sony A9 series, which has quite different colors. Looks like Sony A1-7 are developed by color blind people. There is no real fix for that.

[@bytomw]

It can’t be a sensor issue though because everyone but Canon is using them. Even Fujis have Sony made sensors. (Like the GFX 50s)

[@ElementaryWatson-123]

@@bytomw two things to remember, Sony offers fab for custom designs as well, so not all Sony sensors are the same. Secondly, every company has it's own CFA designs and processing of sensor data -- all raw files are cooked to some degree. Even if you take Fuji cameras their Bayer sensors show distinctly different colors than their X-trans, even when the sensor chips are the same. CFA plays an important role in color separation, especially in a very narrow orange/yellow spectrum, where red-green channels have large overlap and separation is tricky. Many types of color blindness in people are due to cones missing, or having sensitivity issues, or having slightly off color profile. People don't even know they are color blind until tested.

[@lonniesfilmmaking333]

Lol you can autofocus preset 7 different people's faces on the a7r5 and it won't lose them So you tell me what would you rather for weddings or crowd photography and video? Keep your inferior autofocus lol Also there's another colour trick that most of y'all don't know about a d it's got to do with my Samsung Galaxy S23 😊❤

[@bytomw]

I said in the video the Fuji’s both suck for AF… so much so that I only have manual focus lenses for the GFX and after this video I had to sell the XH2s. I still prefer the colour from both Fuji’s to the Sony but again as I said in the video it’s totally workable.

[@AviatorVideographer]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@bytomw]

🙌🏻

[@arturaszaleskis8907]

Dude you are talking nonsense really, colours are everything , not everyone wants to sit and spend lots of time editing

[@bytomw]

That’s exactly what I said in the video. Just because you can get good colour from a camera with extra work doesn’t make it right for you… but people are overstating how “bad” Sonys colour is in the real world.

[@mex5341]

Sony looks brighter cuz Fuji's Iso is not the same as Sony even Iso numbers are the same

[@bytomw]

No two sensors handle sensitivity the same way. ISO 200 standardised between digital cameras in many cases. I also shop the fujis in DR400 which changes the gamma curve to maximise detail retained. I had no problems with exposing the Fuji VS the Sony or any other camera in practice although the Sony was more flexible.

[@mex5341]

@@bytomw iso 200 on Sony will be like 500 on Fuji. I have both system. And Fuji measure it on its own way, differently . You can find a lot of threads in google about that

[@ScoopsTroopsRugby]

Too much is made of out-of-focus areas (bokeh) - it's not very important at all.

[@bytomw]

I’d say your opinion is that of the majority but I still disagree. It takes all sorts right?