Fujifilm X-H2 - Best Hybrid Camera? - Long Term Review in 2025

Introduction:

I’ve been using the Fujifilm X-H2 for 3 months as a professional videographer and photographer. Before buying the X-H2, I sold all my other cameras with the intent of using the X-H2 as my only camera. How has the X-H2 performed? Can it be a professionals only camera? What are the pros and cons? This review discusses my experience and observations after using the camera every day for the past 3 months.

*I bought the X-H2 with my own money. I’ve never received a camera or lens from Fujifilm, and I have no professional relationship with Fujifilm.

Key Specs:

40 MP APSC sensor
660g (camera + battery)
3 inch swivel LCD screen at 1,620,000 dots
EVF, 5.76 million dots
Burst up to 15 fps (mechanical shutter)
Phase detect auto-focus
Up to 8k video at 30p
In body stabilization system (IBIS)

Fujifilm X-H2 Review - Fountain — *Fountain in Athens, Greece*

Build Quality:

For the last few years, I’ve been shooting with Olympus cameras (e-m1 mark ii and e-m10 mark ii), the Ricoh GR III, and a Sigma FP. One of the standout features of the Olympus and Sigma cameras is their build quality. Olympus cameras are a personal favorite of mine (no affiliation). They feel great to hold and are super tough. My Sigma FP was made in Japan and the build quality is superb. It feels dense and premium in the hand.

Fujifilm on the other hand is a company that has rarely impressed me with the build quality of their cameras. I’ve owned at least 4 Fuji cameras and the only one that felt premium to me was the original Fujifilm X-H1. A few years ago, I purchased an X-T4 and was shocked how “plasticy” it felt straight out of the box.

The X-H2 is a well built camera (much better than the X-T4), but I would still rate it a level below my Olympus bodies and my Sigma FP. The buttons and body feel nice, but the door flaps and the screen hinge leave something to be desired. I expected a more premium build from a flagship camera.

That said, I’ve not experienced any mechanical failures from the X-H2, so while it may not feel as well-built in the hand, it hasn’t malfunctioned in any way.

Overall, I would rate it a 7.5/10… Average for a flagship camera.

Size:

The Fujifilm X-H2 is a larger camera, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Fujifilm has many smaller offerings for those concerned about size.

At 660 grams plus lens, this isn’t a light carry-everywhere kind of camera. I recommend this body to those looking for a no-compromise professional camera. The size is justified by the true hybrid functionality of the X-H2.

The Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8 is a great companion for this body if you want to maximize its portability.

Ergonomics:

Ergonomics are highly subjective and dependent on hand size, finger length, etc… All I can do is tell you about my personal experience. I’m 5’11” with average sized hands for my height.

Ergonomically speaking, this is one of the worst cameras I’ve owned. It feels unbalanced to use with one and even two hands. The thumb rest is too close to the right edge and too small to provide a confident grip. The position of the thumb rest leaves the rest of my hand cramped. To reach the front custom button, my middle finger has to do some very uncomfortable contortion. The white balance button and top custom button are unreachable with my index finger when holding the camera properly.

Lifting the camera to my eye doesn’t feel good due to the uncomfortable grip, which takes away from the enjoyment of the shooting experience.

Perhaps it’s a better fit for smaller hands. A small camera with bad ergonomics is expected, but a big camera with bad ergonomics is a disappointment.

Fujifilm X-H2 Review - Ergonomics of the top buttons — Can’t reach the WB button or the top custom button with index finger.

Price and Value for Money in 2025:

I never buy new cameras, I feel like the used market offers much better value. The Fujifilm X-H2 is $2,000 new.

You can find a good used copy of the X-H2 for between $1,300 and $1,500. At that price I find it very competitive, especially considering this is a do-it-all camera. It’s a true hybrid, and it can very easily be a person’s only camera. No reason for a second body, unless of course, you want one.

Auto Focus:

Its no secret that Fujifilm has been experiencing some auto-focusing issues the last few years. You can find 6 dozen YouTubers explaining the problems if you’re interested in knowing the details.

I use this camera primarily in two ways, (1) single point autofocus for everyday memory capture and (2) continuous autofocus for talking head videos for my day job.

Single Point Autofocus

To be straight forward, I’ve been slightly disappointed with the single point auto focus on the X-H2. Almost every modern camera has extremely reliable single point auto focus these days, even the contrast-detect Panasonic systems from 5 years ago mastered this category, but the Fujifilm struggles.

Its not terrible, it hits 90% of the time, but the other 10% is unexplainable and irritating. That 10% isn’t just low light shooting with unclear subjects, its bright sunny day subjects with lots of contrast.

My Olympus e-m1 mark ii from 2016 has significantly better single point auto focus than the Fujifilm X-H2.

If this was a $300 camera from 2015 I would excuse it due to old tech and low price, but this is a very modern flagship camera. There is no excuse for this kind of performance on a $2,000 modern body.

Continuous Autofocus for Photography

While not my wheelhouse, I’ve use the X-H2 for a bit of wildlife photography with the Sigma 100-400 f/5.6-6.3. I’ve been generally pleased with the performance. Birds in flight aren’t hard to track, and my hit rate is adequate. It identifies subjects quickly and accurately.

Video Autofocus

My day job requires me to film hours of interview style talking head videos in all kinds of lighting conditions. I always use continuous autofocus with eye detection.

I’m happy to report the Fujifilm X-H2 has NEVER failed me. It locks on to the subjects eye and doesn’t let go.

If you need a camera for filming pieces to camera for YouTube or educational purposes, this camera is perfect.

I’ve also been pleased with the autofocus when filming short clips on vacation or for personal projects. Its fast, accurate, and confident. It does stumble occasionally with chaotic scenes or fast moving animals, but I consider the overall performance above average. It’s no Sony or Canon, but it certainly ranks towards the head of the pack.

*Note… Video auto focus appears to perform better with Fujifilm lenses… less hunting, especially when you initially press the record button.

Image Quality:

Resolution - Should You Upgrade for 40MP?

Resolution isn’t everything, but 40 megapixels sounded really nice to me after owning a Sony a7r ii a few years ago. The 42MP images from that body were gorgeous and rich in detail. I was curious to see if the APSC sensor could resolve like the Sony’s full frame.

I tested the resolution of the X-H2 using my ultra sharp Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 and the Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8, which is approved by Fujifilm to resolve the full 40mp. Images were shot at f/4.5 aperture.

In my experience, comparing the X-H2’s 40mp sensor to my Ricoh GR III’s 24mp sensor, I would say I can recognize a slight improvement in resolution, but I wouldn’t say its significant.

For comparison, I’ve included a few photos with similar crops from my Ricoh GR III.

I do think the X-H2 performs slightly better… but it’s close.

When considering a high resolution camera, file size should also be considered. An uncompressed Fujifilm RAW file from the X-H2 is about 84 megabits. If you take lots of photos and want the uncompressed quality, you’ll need a lot of storage space. In contrast, the RAW files from my Ricoh GR III are around 25 megabits.

I’d have a tough time recommending an upgrade to the X-H2 based on resolution alone. If you already have a good quality 24mp camera, an X-H2 won’t blow your mind with life changing results. Based on my experience with the Sony a7r ii, I would advise those wanting maximum resolution to look at a high megapixel full-frame body.

The X-H2 sensor looks great, but falls short of being a “must-have.”

Also, consider your lens quality. A great lens on a 24mp body may significantly outperform a bad lens on a 40mp body (trust me, I learned from experience).

Dynamic Range

The Fujifilm X-H2 is a strong performer in the dynamic range category. The first photograph below was taken at ISO 125 and was +4 stops overexposed.

The second photo was taken at ISO 125 and was -4 stops underexposed.

Keep in mind, this is an extreme test.

The X-H2 does well in both tests. My only critique is visible in the color difference between the two recovered photos. Color noise and white balance shifts are present.

There is also a noticeable dip in dynamic range when ISO is increased.

These practical tests prove that, unless a baboon is operating the camera, any half-capable photographer will have more than enough usable dynamic range to fix blown highlights or crushed shadows.

High ISO Performance

High resolution sensors generally aren’t known for their high ISO performance, but the X-H2 performs reasonably well.

Below is a comparison of the same scene shot at ISO 3200, 6400, and 12800.

I feel very good about the images at 3200 and 6400 even with a heavy crop. The cropped 12800 image doesn’t look great, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use the ISO 12800 image if I knew I wasn’t going to be cropping much.

After taking several test images, my conclusion is that the Fujifilm X-H2 performs great at ISO 3200 and below. So, for the rest of this section, I’ve only included photos taken at ISO 6400 and ISO 12800. You can evaluate these and decide if they fit into your noise tolerance.

I prefer to keep this camera at ISO 6400 and below to keep the noise down and the dynamic range up, but I wouldn’t hesitate to push it to ISO 12800, especially if I’m taking photos for enjoyment. If you need to shoot ISO12800 regularly for professional purposes, you might want to start looking at some full frame cameras.

Overall, I’m very pleased with ISO performance. ISO 6400 is more than enough, especially with good IBIS.

Overall Thoughts on Image Quality

With solid dynamic range, good high ISO performance, and resolution sufficient for cropping, the Fujifilm X-H2 is a great photographic tool. I have no problem recommending it to those concerned about image quality.

Enjoy these images, all taken on the X-H2 with a variety of lenses.

Video Quality

I shoot a lot of video, but the majority of my videography is interview style material. I don’t make wedding videos, documentaries, travel content, or high-end cinematography. When I buy a video camera, I’m looking for something that will give me a great image straight out of the camera with as little post processing work as possible.

I’m happy to report the Fujifilm X-H2 does exactly that. After shooting with micro four-thirds for years, I can confirm that the X-H2 is a noticeable step up from my previous cameras. Even when using premium m4/3 glass, I wasn’t able to achieve the sharpness and detail of the X-H2.

The colors are very nice, the skin tones are mostly accurate, and the video dynamic range is more than sufficient for my needs.

I’ve used the F-Log profile several times and I find it easy to grade and Fujifilm’s supplied LUTs make it look nice.

I don’t personally use the 8k mode. I don’t have any use for 8k and I definitely don’t want to store those huge files.

On the rare occasion I take the camera off the tripod, I love that the X-H2 has IBIS to stabilize video footage in camera. This was a feature I dearly missed on my Sigma FP. The FP’s footage looked amazing, but I hated having to stabilize everything in post.

Battery Life

The X-H2’s NP-W235 battery is satisfactory in every respect, not legendary, but perfectly acceptable. I can take nearly 1,000 photos and record in 4k video for over an hour on a single battery. I can’t complain about it in any way.

I use the K&F Concept 2400mAh NP-W235 battery. I like the fact that it has a USB-C port for direct charging.

One Downside - Expensive Accessories

Any time you buy a current model camera, one downside is that accessories are harder to find on the used market, and they are expensive to buy new.

I was considering buying the battery grip for my X-H2, but it doesn’t come cheap at $400.

One Benefit - Inexpensive Lenses

Fujifilm lenses are excellent and generally priced lower than premium lenses from other manufacturers. Its cheaper to buy a full set of Fujifilm primes or zooms than Canon or Nikon.

There are also many 3rd party manufactures creating great optic for the Fujifilm X-Mount.

Sample Photos

Conclusion and Recommendation

Would I recommend the original Fujifilm X-H2 in 2025? Yes, I feel it is one of the best hybrid cameras on the market.

The single point autofocus isn’t perfect, and the ergonomics are a bit disappointing, but those issues don’t negate the fact that it produces beautiful images and video. It is a well rounded camera. It’s IBIS, lens selection, sensor quality, and displays make it a complete package.

It very well might be the best hybrid camera of 2025… even though it came out in 2022.

3 Alternatives to the Fujifilm X-H2:

A ton of potential alternatives could be listed, but I’m going to stick to 3:

Fujifilm X-T5 - Slightly cheaper and more geared towards photographers. It shares many of the great features of the X-H2.
OM System OM-1 Mark ii - Better image stabilization, blazing fast, and more portable.
Sony A7 IV - A great hybrid camera. Sony’s lens selection is unbeatable. Unbeatable autofocus. Full-frame sensor has its advantages.

Additional Reading/Videos on the Fujifilm X-H2:

Roman Fox… here

Dustin Abbott… here

If you are interested in buying a Fujifilm X-H2 please consider buying through my affiliate link on Amazon: here

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