Camera test 33
Photography News | Issue 54 | photographynews.co.uk
Performance: exposure latitude
Our sunlit scene was exposed in aperture-priority mode with settings of 1/320sec at f/8 and ISO 800. The scene was bracketed using the exposure compensation feature, and the Raws were processed in Lightroom using the Exposure slider to correct the under/ overexposure. No other corrections were applied. Get it wrong by +4EV over and you are going to struggle to get clean highlights and accurate colours, but that is no surprise. You stand more chance with +3EV – you get decent results except with the strongest highlights. The picture looks
better at +2EV (the sky picked up a slight cyan look but that can be resolved in editing) but the quality of that image and of the +1EV shot looked very similar to the correctly exposed image. Underexposure fared better and even the recovered -4EV shot looked pretty good, even if there was some noise in the shadows and colour saturation needed a boost. Some noise remained in the +3EV shot and colours lacked punch, so would need attention in processing. All in all, Raws had good exposure latitude, certainly up to the level of current cameras and better than many.
Original image
Film Simulation modes that come with it. The X-H1 shares the same 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor as all other current X-Series models, but here it heralds the arrival of a new film simulation option in the form of ETERNA. It is available for both stills and video, but is targeted more at the video user. ETERNA’s key characteristics are to create a more cinematic look with a flatter colour profile and greater shadow detail. In reality it makes the previously muted Classic Chrome option look punchy. Naturally, there’smore to theX-H1 than a series of video enhancements. The high performance moniker applies just as readily to stills capture and one of the key changes here is to be found in the camera’s upgraded autofocusing capabilities. Phase-detection AF (PDAF) pixels cover 50% of the width and 75% of the height within the frame, an area that’s easily identifiable when you press the focus lever on the back of the camera to select an AF point. The total focusing area is wider than that covered by the phase-detection pixels, with up to 325 individual points selectable – and the possibility to assign spot metering to the focusing point – but move outside the PDAF area and the systemmoves to contrast AF.
Low-light capability is much improved, and I didn’t find any situation where the camera hunted around for focus
indoor sports at fast frame rates and eliminates exposure errors caused by the variation in light levels from fluorescent tubes. Although undetectable by the human eye, shooting a sequence of images in these lighting conditions without flicker reduction active shows underexposure every few frames. Switch the mode on, however, and the camera will only fire when the light level is the same, minimising errors. Understandably, using this mode does reduce the maximum frame rate to 5.5fps from 8fps when using the mechanical shutter, or 7fps with the electronic front curtain shutter. Until the X-H1 came along, Fujifilm mirrorless cameras had avoided hefty handgrips, but the new model most certainly doesn’t, with a grip that is very DSLR-esque. This styling cue is likely to be quite divisive among mirrorless purists who may see the X-H1 as stepping away from what makes mirrorless so appealing: size and weight. The newmodel is undeniably a stepup in terms of weight and bulk compared to the X-T2, but it’s still lighter and smaller than a Canon EOS 5DMk IV or a Nikon D850. The grip houses the aforementioned featherlight shutter release and while this is the gateway to a simply beautiful shutter mechanism, for my money, at least, the release is too light. There isn’t enough resistance between focusing and picture-taking. As a result, I did absent-mindedly end up taking lots of pictures of my feet during testing. This is no big deal in the digital age, but it could be an issue if you run a multiple-body Fujifilm set-up – use an X-H1 alongside an
None of this is new, but what is new is the sensitivity of the phase-detection pixels, which has been lowered to -1EV; the X-Series’ previous best was 0.5EV on the X-T2. Low-light capability, then, is much improved, and I didn’t find any situation where the camera hunted around for focus. Similarly, PDAF is now sensitive down to f/11, compared to f/8 on the X-T2, which is useful if you like to shoot with the XF100-400mm at 400mm with a 2x teleconverter attached. There’s further autofocusing good news for general picture taking, which is more assured when shooting complex subjects or those with low levels of contrast, thanks to a modification of how the phase- detection focusing points work. The upshot of all this is an excellent all- round AF performance. Another first for Fujifilm is the flicker reduction mode. This feature is primarily aimed at those shooting
-4EV
-3EV
-2EV
-1EV
0
+1EV
+2EV
+3EV
Images Raw files from the FujifilmX-H1 have good tolerance to exposure abuse or when you need to pull or push them to control contrast. It is typical that tolerance to underexposure is better than to overexposure.
+4EV
Above The X-H1’s sensor and metering system do a great job with contrasty scenes and this is a straight out of the camera JPEG.
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