Here are my thoughts and experiences while shooting sports photography using Fujifilm XH2S camera and Fujifilm 150mm-600mm lens shooting sports.
Along my commercial photography business, I’ve been chasing Indian sports for over a decade now. Largely competitive cycling and a wee bit of swimming and tennis has been my focus areas so far. One of my goal is to shoot Indian sports narratives at the Paris Olympics in 2024. I am a total noob shooting wildlife though 
I’ve been shooting sports with Fujifilm X systems since the days of XT1 and I’ve seen the system evolve forward in leaps and bounds over the years. Unlike my commercial pursuits like wedding photography, I used to crave for speed while shooting sports. From the days of early rumours about what is now the Fujifilm XH2S system, I’ve been badgering the Fujifilm X India team over six months to get my itchy paws on the new machine.
Earlier this June, thanks to the good folks at Fujifilm India, I finally got the opportunity to use the Fujifilm XHS2 camera for a few weeks to shoot the Asian Track Cycling Championships hosted by Cycling Federation of India under the aegis of Asian Cycling Confederation. Along with the camera I got to use the 150-600mm lens.
Track Cycling is usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose- designed track bicycles. The indoor velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Sports Stadium in New Delhi played host to this prestigious international event this year. The lighting setup in this indoor velodrome was far from ideal. Extremely dark spots followed by bright ones with varied light intensity across the velodrome. The flicker rates was insanely high. Arguably one of the toughest light conditions I’ve shot sports in.
Post the cycling event, I briefly took the camera out into the nearby National Park to try my hand at some wildlife images as well.
I am no technical expert. My understanding of camera equipment is from a functional stand point and not from my technical knowledge or lack thereof. Having said that here are my thoughts on the camera and lens.
My thoughts on the Fujifilm XH2S Camera
Let me start with the form factor of this body. Fits my palm to near perfection. While I had the vertical grip on paired with 200mm and the new 150-600mm lens the body felt a lot more balanced.
Everything felt much faster on this body. From basic responsiveness to the insane blackout free frames, it does it all. My only complaint on the speed was that I was filling up my cards faster. And maybe one more SD Card Slot ?
The intelligent auto focus system now can differentiate between a bird a car or a bicycle perhaps. Having this new auto focus tracking system paired with super slo-mo (4K 120fps) made my Instagram reels way more slick.
With all the stabilisation in built, I could get away by shooting off my hand even in some shitty lighting scenarios.
My thoughts on the Fujifilm 150mm-600mm Lens
Initially while this lens was announced, I was not too thrilled about it considering it was a f8 lens. From the buttery bokeh world of f2.8, f8 sounded very slow. For the brief bits I got to use this lens, it changed my opinion.
For this super telephoto range, this was an extremely light lens. Internal zoom design and no extension tubes was a welcome relief. This lens has a dedicated / programmable autofocus buttons upfront which is convenient for this range. Surprisingly fast even in some questionable light. Even on a dark muggy day post rains when I shot this image of Tiger coming down the jungle and lens managed quite well. Along with the XH2S, it held its own.
Overall the 150-600mm lens is an affordable super telephoto zoom lens that’s purpose built for sports and wildlife photography and after having used the XH2S camera now for a few weeks, on retrospect, I am not sure how I managed all these years without this camera. I so desire this one in my camera bag soon.
