Previously I had an Olympus OM 1 MK 2 camera along with a set of lenses that covered all my needs, this is a very capable camera with its unique compensational features, and it being very well protected against the weather.
Why Change?
The OM1 never let me down, it was a very compact size, fully weather sealed, and was easy to use, so why change you may ask!
The main reason for changing was that the sensor of the OM1 was a 20 million pixel size, this produced very good quality images, but on a couple of occasions I printed some A2 sized prints, where I found some quality issues.
I am not so naive as to blame these quality issues only on the sensor size, many other parameters could be responsible for these.
The bottom line is that I made the decision to change system, but what camera to switch too.
What camera system did I change too?
After many hours researching what camera’s were available in the Micro 4/3rds or a A-PS-C sensor size.
I decided that my options would be the Fujifilm X-T5 and the Fujifilm X-H2, the basic difference being that the H2 had controls similar to what I was use to, and the T5 had a more historic layout with dials to control most of the camera settings.
Using the new Fuji X-H2 Camera
I went with the X-H2 camera, and also set of lenses which would cover my needs, the camera is well made, compact and is weather sealed, but no to the same degree of the OM1.
I have had the camera for 5 months now and used it extensively, I even used it on a week’s photography on the Isle of Harris and Lewis in very challenging conditions (more on this later)
The positives of the camera are that it is easy to use, with all the controls falling easy to hand, and the camera produces great quality images, and it has a 40 million pixel sensor.
The four lenses that I purchased easily cover all my needs, these being, the Fuji XF 10 to 24mm f4 zoom,
Fuji XF 16 – 55 f2.5 zoom,
Fuji 50 – 140 f2.8 zoom,
and the
Fuji 100 – 400 f4.5 5.6 zoom,
I also purchased a
Fuji 1.4 teleconverter.
Some issues have arisen when using the X-H2 camera, mainly due to my muscle memory from my previous camera’s, these being that the lens focus zoom turns the opposite direction, and the lens release button is on the opposite side of the camera.
I also found the Fujifilm camera menu system a tad long-winded and not as easy to use as the OM-1, however this has been negated by me setting up the “My Menu” and the “Quick Access” menus, to such an extent that I rarely need to dig into the menu section of the software.
The camera has a 40 mega pixel sensor which is a significant step up from the OM-1 and also has seven custom settings which I have found to be a brilliant option.
I use my camera for a wide selection of different genres, landscapes, family portraiture, bird and wildlife photography. The custom functions have been a godsend for this variety of photography, I have simply aligned a custom function to each of the different subjects.
The X-H2 focusing is not as quick as the OM-1 with regards to shooting birds and wildlife, but it is not so poor as to cause me to miss loads of shots in these genres.
For all other situations, I have found the Fuji autofocus system to be perfectly adequate.
Concerns.
As I eluded too earlier, I took the X-H2 camera to the Isle of Harris and Lewis for a week’s photography, where the weather conditions were very challenging.
One day we were on the coast taking images of the huge breaking waves and the intricate detail that could be found on the beach, it was raining heavily all of the time.
I was shooting with my back to the wind and rain to reduce the weather hitting the camera head on, and to help reduce the number of times that I had to clean the lenses.
To start with everything was fine, but after an hour or so the rear screen went off, it just went blank, so I had to use the viewfinder for the remainder of the session.
Once we had a break, I spoke to the other photographers in our group, where one suggested that water may have collected on the eye sensor on the eyepiece, thus switching of the rear screen.
After checking and finding a large droplet of water on the sensor, I thought that the problem was sorted.
So, back to some more photography, in the wet, and windy conditions, where again after a period of time, the rear screen went off, I checked the sensor only to find it was dry, getting frustrated with this problem, I carried on doing the best I could.
Shortly after this the viewfinder went off, and the rear screen becoming temperamental, with it dropping off, then coming back online.
A while later, whilst trying to work with this situation, I noticed condensation inside the viewfinder, this set my mind into overdrive, what if the camera is knackered, what will I use for the rest of the week, why did I change the camera etc.
Upon returning to the mini-bus I spoke to Dean who was running the course, and who has used Fuji gear for a while, he said that sometimes he encounters similar issues, but that the camera always comes goo in the end.
As you can imagine, this did not fill me with confidence, why, oh why did I not stick with the OM-1 which had never let me down!
The camera worked fine for the rest of the day, but in my mind, I wanted to get back to our base and take a good luck at the camera.
It was only when we got back to base at Otter Cottage and Corncrake Cottage, and I opened my camera bag, until this time, I did not realise how wet my equipment was, my bag was sodden, and my drying cloths soaking wet.
I was very keen to look at the camera viewfinder to see how bad the condensation was, and surprise, surprise, it was not there.
I dried out my camera bag and all my equipment and cleaned everywhere I could, and left everything laid out to dry overnight.
The next day the camera performed flawlessly, even in the light rain that we encountered, this helped lower my anxiety levels, but that doubt was always at the back of my mind, would the camera fail again?
During the remainder of the trip, we encountered very wet and windy conditions, but these issues never returned.
Conclusion.
I have experienced this problem, but it has not returned (touch wood) but I still have this nagging doubt in my mind that the camera might fail again.
I would be interesting to here if anyone else has encountered similar issues with the Fuji X-H2 camera?
I still have 8 months of the manufacturers guarantee remaining on the camera, this provides some piece if mind to me.
Having said that, the camera has produced many high-quality images, which have been taken in all weather conditions, without any issues, this is slowly returning my confidence in the camera.
Maybe the conditions we encountered on the beach at Harris were more severe than I realised at the time?
Something to keep my eye on, and hope it does not reoccur, thank you for finding the time to read this article, new gear is not always a bed of roses!!
