X-H1 soft images

Hello,

Purchased an X-H1 a few weeks ago ending my long run owning X-T1s. I was happy with the X-H1 to begin with, until on a shoot, I was using both X-T2 (about a year old) and the X-H1. I could see on the back screen that something wasn't right with the images. I carried on regardless.

When I pulled in all the images into Lightroom, there is a very subtle difference in the image quality. I've been running tests over the past day or so using same lens, iso, aperture, shutter. Firstly, I'm not going to say that the images on the X-H1 are completely 'out of focus' and unusable, because this doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, the images seem to be soft. Maybe ever, ever slightly out of focus compared to images that are being produced by the X-T2.

Alongside ISO, shutter and aperture tests, I've also tried turning off the IBIS on the X-H1, as the lens I was using didn't have IS built in, as suggested on a Fuji group on Facebook, but this didn't solve the issue either. I've also tried JPG testing in case RAWs where dealt with differently between the two cameras but this doesn't solve the issue either. I'm also confident that this isn't a lens issue as the problem can be reproduced on a Fuji telephoto too.

I'm at that point now where I can't even look at the images I've been testing now because I've been looking at them for so long both are starting to look like there's an issue. So, here (I hope this is allowed), I've uploaded some examples to take a look at. The images where originally taken in RAW, then converted to JPG (no editing, just straight into Lightroom then exported).

https://www.dropbox.co​m …MsFQq5wZx2sOu9p​jynna?dl=0

Hope someone may be able to take a look at these images are see what they think.

100% vs 100% on my monitor, it looks sharp. I looked at areas where it would have been apparent, such as the letters on the clock face, or specific wood grain points, etc on the train. I probably couldn't have guessed which was which.



Very best,

Same here, both seem properly sharp to my eyes.

Maybe I have just spotted a bad image and then convinced myself that there was a problem. I've been looking at them for so long maybe this is the case. Thanks for replying, I think all I needed was someone to take a look.

Did you conduct your test with a tripod and IS turned to off on the lens used?

A combination of both. To make testing accurate I turned off IBIS on the X-H1 because the X-T2 doesn't have IBIS and the 16-55 lens I was using doesn't have IS either.

Interestingly enough. Now I've taken a break from viewing these images, when viewing on a computer screen, the results look near identical. When viewing the images side by side on the back of the camera there is a definite difference between the two cameras; the images on the X-H1 seem darker than the X-T2 (same settings used, handheld). When I look through the viewfinder to preview the images, they look identical in brightness and sharpness. This is odd because both screen and EVF are cranked up to +5 screen brightness.

Hope that makes sense.

Same settings are not reported in the EXIF. Do you have both cameras with the same settings for sharpness, NR, colour, DR, WB etc...?

They look shapr enough to me when I zoom in

Looking at Kim's zoomed examples, I'd almost say the X-H1 is sharper.

I appreciate you’ve looked at these. I think I might have looked excessively as the images that I just needed someone else to take a look. I may have taken one or two unsharp looking images and then convinced myself that there was a problem. I have done some tests today with identical settings and I’m now certain that there’s no issue at all, apart from some images do look dark on the back screen compared to in the EVF and on laptop screen. Thank you again.

Glad you don't have a problem camera anyway. Happy shooting.

They do not seem soft to me, but you could always shoot in Provia JPEG and apply extra in-cam sharpening.