Whatever the Weather – Fujfiilm X-H1 and Laowa 9mm Zero-D Test and Review

A few days ago, my good friend Dylan Goldby came down to Tongyeong for a few days for a bit of R & R, as well as to test some new photography gear. We had both recently purchased the new Fujifilm X-H1, so we spent a couple of days putting the camera through its paces in both still photos and videos. We braved cold, wind, and rain while doing some landscapes, then hit the streets of downtown Tongyeong when the weather got better. The weather eventually did a full 180, and we got a nice sunset, which was a good way to end our test shooting.

The X-H1’s robust weather-sealed body performed superbly in the inclement weather. The IBIS was excellent for hand-held video footage to document our shoot. Overall, here are the things that we love and don’t love so much about the camera:

Awesome
IBIS
Video Features, especially for the stills shooter who needs occasional video
Speed and performance

Not so Great
Loss of exposure compensation dial
Button placement, especially the Q button
IBIS on/off should be assignable to a button
Constant NP-W126 warning message popping up

We go into a lot more detail on the above points and more in our review video:

Dylan also brought along the yet unreleased Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens, which was on loan from Venus Optics. This 13.5mm FF equivalent lens is small, sharp, takes filters, and, most importantly, has zero distortion. This is a super fun lens. Although I don’t see myself needing something this wide most of the time, I can see it being useful for certain landscapes, very tight interiors, and astrophotography. Check out Dylan’s full review coming soon, will update link.

Here’s the list of gear we used during this test:

Fujifilm X-H1
Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D

XF 35mm f/1.4
XF 10-24mm f/4 OIS
XF 16-55mm f/2.8

Various ND filters

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Overall, it was a great couple of days shooting and testing the new gear. Here are some of our favorite photos from the shoot:

Dylan (X-H1, Laowa 9mm, XF 35mm f/1.4)

Roy (X-H1, XF 10-24, XF 16-55, Laowa 9mm)

See more of my thoughts and initial impressions on the Fujifilm X-H1 here.

Check out Dylan’s review on the Fujifilm X-H1 here.