Fujifilm XH2S: A Wedding Videographer's Perspective

[@glenis83]

So appreciate the lack of music in this video. Very helpful overview of this camera.

[@itsaaronmiller]

I’m so glad it was helpful!

[@RAMtrails]

around 16:45 you stated that the Sigma 18-35 is a better focusing lens than your previous Fuji zooms. Even the 16-55 F2.8? I'm just curious because I JUST got my XH2s today. I have a few of the new primes but I need a quality and reliable zoom. The Sigma's seem nice because I heard they're good to pull focus on in a predictable manner.

[@francissosing]

Thanks for this review sir. I hear ya on the heat. This 106° weather in Dallas is no joke. I've been waiting on my local camera shop to call me about my xh2s! Good to see it's doing well for you

[@itsaaronmiller]

It’s great so far! I’ll have some overheating tests soon to see what this camera can really take haha

[@JaymesMedia]

Happy to hear some perspective from another Wedding Videographer

[@VonHughesStanton]

Enjoy viewing creators in Texas. I purchased one I wanted to see how it performs in the heat. I own 6 cameras myself thinking about selling the Panasonic GH4. A Nikon Photographer but I wanted a camera that feels more cinematic. Thanks for introducing me to Fujifilm.

[@itsaaronmiller]

It should perform incredibly well. I’ll have a test posted in the next couple days! Thanks for watching!

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

Oh yes the 7 custom settings are my absolute favorite feature. Love it!

[@eliaspap8708]

Thanks for sharing, From what I heard the reason the dials don’t push in is because of weather proofing and reliability. On my xt 4 I use the rear dial to push in for back button focus as it’s in a more natural position for my thumb, but looks like now on the XH2s they have moved the back button focus were the dial wheel was or maybe you can clarify that, which in actual fact it makes more sense and were it should have been on the XT4. Looks like they have put a lot of thought process into the design and have listened to photographers/ Videographers.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah, ergonomically, the XH2s wins in every way. And I could understand that pushing in the dial could reduce reliability. The Back Button Focus is in a MUCH better position. I used to assign the focus button to AE-L because the AF-L was in such an awkward position. My main gripe is that I would like to assign the rear dial to ISO since I am changing that way more than aperture and I can adjust F-stop on my lenses.

[@eliaspap8708]

@@itsaaronmiller ok, yeah that sounds weird they don’t allow you to make that rear dial iso. What about when pressing the iso button on top does that allow you then to use rear dial wheel to change iso? Cause I could live with that if that is still possible.

[@werem369]

have a look on OM-1 Ibis. i dont understand why photographers and videographers receiving same settings in FUJI we should be able to set ibis to our own needs!

[@edi18912]

Hi I really need help with choosing a lens for weddings for my fuji xt3 but planning on getting the xh2s I was just going to buy the tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 but im now seeing allot of people saying to get the canon sigma 18 35. I would much prefer the 1.8 aperature for low light and better depth but does that mean I need to buy a second lens for the longer local length? And have to always be switching between the 2 lenses? I have never done a wedding before. Thank you!

[@JaymesMedia]

I got mine a week earlier than the release date and I love it

[@BryanElliott_]

I’d love to see the braw test and downloadable files would be super sweet ! I’ve been thinking about switching from my fx3

[@itsaaronmiller]

I’m hoping to get my hands on a BM Video Assist soon and will do a video once I receive one!

[@BryanElliott_]

@@itsaaronmiller that’s gonna be cool as hell! Like I said I’m seriously thinking about getting rid of my Sony gear for this camera . That Fuji look I’ve always like it! The autofocus is what held me back . But thanks for the video bus

[@nigerian-nightmare]

I'm with you on auto-focus, but xh2s seems to be doing much better than xt4. I never cared about autofocus since I learned how to pull focus myself. Can't wait to get my xh2s. What sold me on the camera is the ability to shoot BRAW. I may never use my Black magic 6kpro. Also, I'm glad to hear that the fringer adapter works on Xh2s.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah, AF is definitely improved over the XT4 for video and probably photo, I just didn’t really want to make too many claims since I didn’t really test it much. The BRAW capabilities are huge. I’m so stoked for that. And yeah, all of my adaptors worked perfectly. Should be a seamless transition for you. Thanks for watching!

[@pierrelaviolette670]

Great video, good suggestions for Fuji. Hope they’re listening

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks Pierre! Me too 🤞🏼

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

Great initial review! Thank you

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks for watching!

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

@@itsaaronmiller my pleasure.

[@JaymesMedia]

F-Log 2 does cleans up really nice, it did for me.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Good to know! I’m excited to use it a little more

[@Framesbyfrisby]

Nice! I just sold all my Sony gear to get Xh2s! Can’t wait to shoot more with this!

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks for watching! Enjoy Fuji 😌

[@brettgo1]

I appreciate your perspective. Thank you for this video!

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks for watching!!

[@brianw6645]

Thanks for confirming that the Anglebird cfexpress cards work with the X-H2S.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yes seems in video all modes work with these!

[@CMVFactory]

Viltrox EF-FX2 and Fringer EF-FX PRO II, which one do you recomend?

[@itsaaronmiller]

depends. One is a focal reducer and one isn't. If you want FF field of view, get the viltrox. If you want reliable autofocus, get the fringer

[@akyerit]

Except for the ibis on most of the more recent Olympus cameras bodies. Easily smooth enough to walk with. And also the gyro stabe seems to to a good job on the Sonys? Although I don't prefer that method. And surprisingly alot of the newer canons have really good ibis as well. Especially when you combine ibis and digital stabilization

[@akyerit]

And how could I forget Panasonic! They've probably got the best in the biz at this point

[@angryrabbitproductions1690]

Good review. I was going to mention that the blacks looked crushed, but then I noticed just how noisy the image is. Skin tones look good. But that noise is a big detractor imo.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah it’s noisy. But I also have -4 on the noise reduction and did zero post NR. I might consider working that into the process but I didn’t actually find it that distracting. I usually add film grain as a finishing layer anyway. I know it’s not film grain but it’s kind of pleasing like grain to me. It’s all monochromatic which is nice.

[@goldein7777]

Thanks for the review and addressing the braw, may I ask what formats you shot the samples with?? Many of the videos online samples from the fuji have that video syntetic texture to them. Would love to see review that shows and addresses all formats like the pro res and the braw side by side.. Still debating myself which one to get, the bmpc 6k pro or the xth2 one which of course both have their ups and downs

[@itsaaronmiller]

Every shot you saw here was h.265 4:2:2 at 320Mbps or 200Mbps. I'd love to do some more tests down the road, but I saw little difference with the years ago when I tested ProRes vs h.265 with a Ninja. Could be different internally now though. It depends on what you do but yes, both certainly have their pros and cons. The battery life and file sizes have kept me from going all in on BM cameras.

[@ghostapi874]

I find it interesting when people say they prefer fujifilm because it looks more organic. Fuji has organic colors yes but that is easy to replicate on any 10bit log camera. However fuji has least organic textures of sony/canon/panasonic/blackmagic. If zoom in on a fuji image you see a form of pixelation that is far more prevalent than on other cameras. Maybe it is due to the xtrans sensor. The same goes for its noise pattern. Instead of a dotted pattern it creates a wormlike stripped pattern. That looks very digital to me. I can immediately spot fujifilm fotage, especially if i’m looking at someones eyes, due how digital the texture looks. The textures always bothers me when I film with my fuji and you cant fix it to match with other company cameras.

[@itsaaronmiller]

There is no worm-like pattern with video footage at all. Doesn’t matter how much you zoom in. That’s only from the RAF files in Lightroom specifically and that’s adobe’s fault. The noise pattern is almost 100% monochromatic no matter how much you crank the ISO whereas most other cameras increase a ton of color noise. The grain on Fuji is usually much more pleasing than all of the other cameras. I think all cameras are capable of creating amazing images no matter what, but to my eye, for video, Fuji has the ability to look the most filmic out of the hybrid mirrorless line. That is, if you know what you are doing in camera and in post. Any camera can look bad in the right hands

[@Strange_Logik]

Quick question for you, hope you can help me out, but you talk about how the IBIS shouldn't be a replacement for a gimbal, and you should be doing walking shots with it. I'm just getting into filmmaking, and I recently have been trying really hard to figure out how to get shots where you don't see the up and down of me walking while holding the camera. I tried a DJI RS2 and discovered that gimbals like that ALSO don't fix the up and down problem. The way you worded your video, it would seem a gimbal can actually solve this somehow, can you enlighten me?

[@itsaaronmiller]

Sure, a gimbal doesn't fully isolate the up and down axis, however, it often does a very good job if the camera op has good technique. It's commonly called the "ninja walk" where you very gently walk to reduce your bouncing up and down. I have had great experiences with my DJI Ronin S and feel I'm able to get convincing results. IBIS on the other hand still has jerkiness to it and doesn't have as organic of a look as a gimbal or steadicam will. Give the ninja walk a try and let me know if you have better luck

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

I think I should officially retire my trusty old 17-50 Sigma. Nearly everyone I've seen online appreciates the 18-35+Fringer combo. I've had the 18-35 during my Canon days and have one on my Sigma sdQuattro too. My only concern is not having weather sealing gaskets on either he adapter or the lens. I but of an issue sometimes for me during desert work, but I don't do much of that anyway. That 1.8 is really great for low light though.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah it would definitely be an upgrade! I’ve never ran into the lack of weather sealed being an issue but I’m usually operating in mild weather

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

@@itsaaronmiller that's great to hear! Thank you.😊

[@АндрейКисляк-е6ю]

Hello, Aaron, it's great review, I'm thinking of buying this camera instead of Fujifilm x-t4, and I need a better autofocus, I'm using it now just in the same combination as you :) Fujifilm + fringer adapter Pro II, and sigma 18-35mm f1.8 from canon, but I noticed that autofocus in canon lenses with adapter is not just good enough like it would be on canon rf even with viltrox adapter, it's much worse than Fuji native 16-55mm f2.8, but I love sigma 1.8 so much, so I wanted it to work better on new Fuji camera, would you mind if I ask if it lens have the same issue when af is hunting quick on not contrast object - like contrast af only, and is it hunting like it goes mad when you focused on something in as mode and then zoom in or zoom out at some speed (may be to fast to let the lens follow object)? Is that combo working at least not bad in such a scenarios?

[@itsaaronmiller]

I only use manual focus on all of my cameras unless I’m in front of it. I can’t really speak from much experience here but it’s decent enough for talking head for me. I’d suggest if you really rely on AF to only stick with the new native glass. And possibly not Fuji. While it seems to be significantly improved, it isn’t quite there with Sony and Canon

[@ifeanyiisitor7929]

Thanks lots for this. You mentioned that you have the metabones speed booster. Can you comment on the autofocus performance when using it on the xh2s? Did the performance improve due to the new algorithm and stacked sensor?

[@itsaaronmiller]

The AF is unusable with the speedbooster. No improvement at all. I don’t anticipate that will change too because the extra elements in the adapter

[@ifeanyiisitor7929]

@@itsaaronmiller Thanks for replying 🙏🏽. By the way, do you use specific luts? The footage you showcased throughout the video looked quite nice.

[@mbstudioabaitauganda72]

Great work how is the xt3 auto focus with 24-70 ?

[@itsaaronmiller]

It’s good with fringer and useless with the speedbooster

[@jordansarkisian]

May finally give into Fuji, my tiny ass hands are sick of trying to grip Canon cameras anymore lol. AF is looking decent now for when I need it, would love to use those film sims for certain stuff, and the noise seems to just look nicer in Fuji. Seems to be more luminance than chroma noise (chroma is brutal on Canon at high ISO) and seems to clean up nicely from what I saw in Gerald Undone's review. I dig that it doesn't color shift much the higher you go either, my Canon's always started redding out around 8-12k. Also i'm not sure but I heard the Fuji 1080p is downsampled from a higher resolution in camera, but that coulda been someone BSing not sure. Edit: Also as someone who mixes I appreciate the vinyl setup, and I have that same magnificent coffee machine lol

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah, I have experienced the same with Canon and their red colors and noise. The noise on fuji really seems to be completely monochromatic which I haven't seen too much from other cameras. I rarely clean it up. I think it's worth a try if you are up for some of the sacrifices (mostly just a smaller sensor which can be a pro for some) I can't really speak much about the 1080p on the fuji as I've mostly exclusively shot 4k, but I have shot it once or twice and it looked very sharp for 1080p. So you are likely right there! Ha nice catch on the coffee machine and vinyl setup. We had one ninja coffee bar for 5 years and it broke, yet we loved it so much we bought another.

[@BuddyG]

great video! I was wondering if the fringer pro II adapter worked with the XH2s, now I have my answer.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yep it works perfectly!

[@mahakaal9977]

5:20 u say Ibis is not Panasonic level. Which Panasonic camera r u meaning S5 or gh5 ??

[@itsaaronmiller]

Honestly, from what I’ve seen, all of the Panasonic cameras. But it’s very close to the full frame ones

[@mbstudioabaitauganda72]

Hi it's possible to record via USB to an external ssd

[@JoaquimGonsalves]

Not yet.

[@TimMcbaj]

i thought i was bad with the 4 cameras i have till i heard you say you got 7 cameras... what!!

[@itsaaronmiller]

Haha I sold 3 of them so down to 4 now lol. Just part of the transition period. Didn't want to buy brand new cameras and then they weren't reliable

[@robertolanga]

I've had issues with my X-T4 overheating. What are you tips?

[@itsaaronmiller]

I'm going to make a short on this really soon!

[@mbstudioabaitauganda72]

How reliable is the matabo adopter on your xt3 with you 24-70

[@itsaaronmiller]

It’s been reliable on the xt3!

[@janzelhill7234]

can you pls create a comparison with xh2s(internally and externally recorded using BRAW) vs blackmagic. i really wanna know the difference in image quality if there's a really significant difference between the two. I know you've said that blackmagic's IQ is more filmic but love to see the comparison! Thank you!

[@itsaaronmiller]

I’d love to! I just need to get my hands on a blackmagic video assist. Haha hopefully I’ll have a video soon on that!

[@janzelhill7234]

@@itsaaronmiller thank you🙏

[@robmcd]

Fuji has said you can’t push the dials in to increase its weathersealing

[@itsaaronmiller]

Yeah that makes sense

[@muanngaihte]

Good Review

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@robmcd]

FUJIFILM X5 is what it should have been called or XS1 the pro version of the XS10

[@werem369]

there is possible to turn off ibis and use just OS in lens... but they force us to use ibis

[@itsaaronmiller]

Very strange

[@6042833]

Lady boy you make me laugh. God bless you and your family.

[@itsaaronmiller]

Thanks for watching!

[@werem369]

xt4 ibis was realy bad this is why i sold my xt4... and was thinking about xt3... expect better baterrys xt4 its not better camera

[@werem369]

hmm if you not use autofocus s1 or s5 will be a better cameras with amazing IBIS...

[@itsaaronmiller]

I’m already in the fujifilm ecosystem and really like fujifilm. Additionally, with flog2 we are getting a lot more DR. Just a couple reasons

[@tobywong1566]

You lost me by the ibis is better than the canon R6..

[@itsaaronmiller]

Have you used both?

[@CO8848_2]

I see black magic as filmic, don't see Fuji filmic. It is too warm or magenta all the time, true. All Fuji channels look that way.

[@itsaaronmiller]

I definitely mention how BM is filmic and said I believe it to be more filmic. I’m not sure that warm or magenta inherently makes something look less filmic though

[@Yupthereitism]

your colors are not great