Fujifilm is well-loved for the colors coming from the X-Trans sensors and film-inspired profiles. But, the brand has lagged behind in terms of the smart autofocus and fast burst speeds coming from Canon, Sony, OM SYSTEM, and Nikon flagships. The Fujifilm X-H2s aims to fix that, finally bringing animal eye AF, vehicle detection, a 40 fps burst with continuous autofocus, and a no blackout viewfinder.

With the X-H2s, Fujifilm’s flagship once again feels like a flagship. The X-H1 was announced 2018, and going five years without an update made the X-T4 more like the top-of-the-line option with an updated processor and image stabilization. But, while the X-H2s is once more at the top of Fujifilm’s line-up, it trades Fujifilm’s classically-inspired top dials for a larger grip and a secondary LCD screen.

While I have more to shoot with the X-H2s, my first week with the camera has shown much promise from the $2,499 body.

The Fujifilm X-H2s feels a bit like the Nikon D850 and the Fujifilm X-T4 had an illegitimate love child, but that’s not bad. The camera meshes a large, DSLR-like grip and secondary LCD screen with a classically Fuji-shaped magnesium alloy body. Had I first picked up the X-H2s when switching from my D850 to mirrorless, I would have quickly fallen in love with that beefy grip. Now that I’m accustomed to my X-T4, I miss those labeled shutter speed and ISO dials. I’m still a bit torn over whether I love the X-T4’s dials or the X-H2s’ grip more, but I think the larger grip will come in handy for the big sports and wildlife lenses the X-H2s autofocus system is made for.

The large grip is a comfortable fit for my hands. But, it naturally makes the top controls a larger stretch than the smaller real estate of the X-T4. It positions my index finger within easy reach of the shutter, front dial, and ISO button. The white balance and custom Fn button are easier to reach with the thumb, which can also just grab the joystick, AF ON, and control dial at the back of the camera. But all those controls need a bit more stretching of my fingers than the X-T4’s controls.

A secondary LCD screen takes up a good chunk of the camera’s top. This displays the exposure settings, mode, file type, white balance, and color profile with a quick glance. A button on the side of the viewfinder changes that secondary display from black with white letters to white with black letters, the latter being easier to read in the dark. Hopping over the viewfinder bump and hot shoe slot, you’ll find an actual mode dial with four manual modes, seven custom slots, a filter mode, and video.

The Fujifilm X-H2s feels a bit like the Nikon D850 and the Fujifilm X-T4 had an illegitimate love child, but that’s not bad.

The drive is a button at the back instead of a dial, over on the left side of the viewfinder next to the playback button. The back also houses an AEL, quick menu, menu controls, and a back/display button. Two customizable buttons on the front around the lens mount round out the list of buttons, one of which replaces the AF mode switch with a basic button.

On the grip side, the X-H2s houses a CFExpress slot and an SD card slot. The opposite side houses mic, headphone, HDMI, and USB-C ports. The bottom has the expected battery opening, a tripod mount, and a port for a battery grip. The cover for the battery grip port comes off the body completely, so there’s a chance of losing this piece. But, the battery grip has a place to store this piece. It’s sturdy and isn’t going to come off unless you pull it off to add the battery grip.

The three-inch LCD screen flips out to the side. It has a range that allows for selfies and closes the screen into the body to conserve battery or prevent scratches.

I have mixed feelings about the design of the X-H2s. I love the larger grip, but I miss the classically styled dials of the X-T4. But, ultimately, the X-H2s is designed to handle larger telephoto lenses, making the beefy grip the right route for Fuji on this particular model.

While the X-H2s looks a bit more DSLR-like than Fujifilm’s other bodies, the build quality is classic Fujifilm mirrorless. The magnesium alloy body feels great in the hands and pairs well with Fuji’s metal lenses. The body feels like it’s going to hold up fairly well, and when it does age, it will likely have the patina of a well-loved metal body.

The body is weather-sealed. I briefly held it under the sprinkler with the 18mm WR lens attached, and it fared just fine. I’ve yet to spot sensor dust but will continue checking as I continue putting the camera through the paces for the full review.

The mode dial will make the transition from a DSLR a bit easier, though there’s no big green auto mode on the mode dial. Unlike the X-T4, photographers can put the XH2s into aperture priority or shutter priority with the mode dial rather than selecting the A from the aperture ring or shutter dial as on the X-T4. That will be more familiar for photographers switching from a DSLR, though adding a filter spot on the dial feels odd for a high-end model.

One of the big perks of the X-H2s is the viewfinder that’s made to keep up with its 40 fps shooting speed. The viewfinder doesn’t blackout with each frame; there’s a quick flash of black after the first frame, and then the viewfinder remains constant. That makes it easier to follow the action mid-burst. If you prefer the tilting three-inch screen over the 5.76m million dot viewfinder, the screen has the same no blackout.

Finally, the Fujifilm X-H2s gains in-body stabilization. And it does so with flare — the stabilization system is rated to 7 stops if you have the XF 35mm f1.4 lens, and a little less with other lenses. I was able to get sharp three-second exposures with an 18mm lens. I’m still testing to see if I can push that even further.

The battery life, however, hasn’t impressed me yet. I did a two-hour wildlife shoot, a 15-minute portrait session, and another half-hour backyard birding before the battery died. It’s rated to 580 frames, or 720 in Eco mode. That’s a bit better than the X-T4, but I was hoping that bigger grip would mean a bigger battery. It does, however, have the same battery as the X-T4 so photographers upgrading can use their old batteries. If battery life is a concern, the $399 vertical grip adds two additional batteries to the one in the body for a 1700-frame battery life.

Adding animal Eye AF and object AF is a big step forward for Fujifilm. Naturally, I spent my first shoots with the X-H2s testing out those new features, primarily with bird photography. The Animal Eye AF is a bit of a mixed bag. I was impressed when the camera found the eye of a gray bird on a jumble of gray branches. But, there were a few times with a bird against a pretty clean background where the camera wouldn’t focus on the bird, even with the joystick moving the focal point to that part of the image.

I want to reserve my final opinion on Fujifilm’s new animal eye AF until I try it out with a longer lens than the 70-300mm. As it stands right now, I’m finding the X-H2s animal eye AF competitive, but it’s not going to take the crown from Canon or Sony. It’s good enough that photographers who love Fuji colors and ergonomics shouldn’t be discouraged.

Action was similarly good but not perfect. In a single series of 40 fps burst of a child on a Slip ’N Slide heading straight towards the camera, totaling 53 images, around 15 percent were soft. Most of those were at the beginning and the end of the burst. This was a pretty good hit rate for such a high speed, though I largely preferred the 15 fps mechanical shutter simply because 40 fps is an absolute nightmare to cull.

I’m still testing out the X-H2s autofocus system — I’ve yet to give the camera a true low light test. But, so far the X-H2s sits in line with what I’ve come to expect from Fujifilm — it’s a good autofocus system, not quite the best, but more than sufficient.

The Fujifilm X-H2s uses a stacked sensor, yet it’s still an X-Trans. While the camera is fast, the images still feel every bit a Fujifilm. I was excited to find the same color science and color profiles. The only time I felt color editing was needed was in difficult lighting. For example, light reflecting off a green and blue Slip ‘N Slide needed some adjustments. Otherwise, like with my X-T4, I could select one of the Fujifilm profiles and make minor white balance adjustments if I didn’t get it right in the camera.

The X-H2s also captured a pretty solid dynamic range. I was surprisingly able to recover an overblown sky quite well on the RAW file. Shadows were also easy to brighten up in post.

Part of the speed update is the new X-Processor 5 and besides speed, the processor also influences noise at high ISOs. ISO 1600 still looked pretty clean. At ISO 6400, noise is noticeable but felt a bit smoother than images from my X-T4.

With a stacked sensor and object detection autofocus, the X-H2s brings much of what Fujifilm’s line-up was missing. While my first week with the camera isn’t enough to convince me that the X-H2s will dethrone Canon and Sony’s autofocus system, it’s enough to know that photographers won’t be making huge sacrifices to get those X-Trans colors.

Adding image stabilization once more puts the H line at the top after the X-H1 was eclipsed by the stabilization in the X-T4. It offers a much beefier grip than the X-T series, a smarter autofocus system, and more high-end video specs. It lacks the labeled shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation dials, however, and relies on more buttons. Of course, Fujifilm has already announced that a 40-megapixel X-Trans sensor is in development, so it’s unclear how long the X-H2s will remain the flagship.

I need more than a week with this camera to give it a final grade. But as a Fujifilm X-T4 shooter myself, there’s a lot to love about the X-H2s, particularly the autofocus, burst speed, stabilization, and comfortable grip.

LensRentals lists the following specifications for the Fujifilm X-H2s: