There is a rumor that Fujifilm will announce the flagship X-series mirrorless camera, the X-H2S, at the X Summit on May 31st. The image sensor is an APS-C format, approximately 26 megapixel, back-illuminated, stacked X-Trans CMOS image sensor, and is expected to be capable of high-speed continuous shooting. It may be that the mechanical shutter will be omitted and only the electronic shutter will be used. The stacked CMOS image sensor has very little rolling shutter distortion, so it should be possible to omit the mechanical shutter. The specific continuous shooting speed is not known, but it will probably be around 40 frames per second without cropping. In addition, the video performance is certain to be 4K/60p, and perhaps 6K video will also be installed. Or it is not impossible to imagine 4K/120p. The recording media will have a dual slot for CFexpress and SD. Will the CFexpress be Type A or Type B? If it is Type A, it will follow Sony, which has an advantage in terms of space factor, but it cannot be said that there are no concerns in terms of transfer speed and capacity. Type B would be good in terms of transfer speed and capacity, but there is a concern that the camera body will become larger. One of the advantages of the X series is that it is basically small. Also, the SD card will probably be SD UHS-II, but it would be a pleasant surprise if they adopt SD Express. What kind of recording media strategy will Fujifilm adopt?

Another thing to look out for is how Fujifilm will handle its own film simulation. The X-T4 has added ETERNA bleach bypass, giving it a total of 18 film simulation modes, but what other film simulations will be added? Personally, I would like to see a solarization mode, since there was a technique in the film era of solarizing color reversal film such as Fujichrome by sub-exposing it. Also, the X-T4 allowed you to change the graininess as a grain effect, but I would like a high-contrast, grainy monochrome mode that also changes the contrast at the same time. I would also like to see improved AF tracking performance and automatic subject recognition capabilities, as befits a flagship model.

It is said that the X-H2 with a high pixel count (over 40 million pixels) may be released at the same time as the X-H2S. Will it finally be the first APS-C mirrorless camera to be equipped with 8K video? The X Summit on May 31st will be a hot topic.

PS HSG Information will release the CFexpress Type A from Delkin Device in the US on May 20th. The price is 22,999-39,999 yen (tax included) for 80 and 160GB. The 160GB model has a maximum read speed of 880MB/s and a maximum write speed of 790MB/s, but the maximum capacity remains at 160GB.

JPEG straight out of the box. No retouching at all, but the colors are vivid. It seems to go well with the lens. If I had to say something, it is slightly bluish, but the colors are close to what I remember. This was taken in May 2019, but around that time I had the energy to bring out such a super telephoto zoom lens. Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3, aperture F8, 1/500 sec, AWB, ISO Auto.