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The Best Fujifilm Cameras Under $2,500

Chris Gampat
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08/31/2023
7 Mins read
Hillary Grigonis The Phoblographer Fujifilm X-H2s review DSCF9356

Photographers often know that cameras are getting more and more expensive. But with Fujifilm, we’ve all known that we’re overall getting a pretty great deal packed into a camera. With features like scene detection and film simulations that you can’t get anywhere else, we’ve got pretty unique cameras. Let alone there are tons of great lenses to choose from. So we dove into our Reviews Index to help find the best Fujifilm cameras under $2,500. Here are our favorites.

A Special Discount for Phoblographer’s Readers

This piece is presented in partnership with FUJIFILM. We’ve independently and ethically reviewed all the products in this post already without sponsorship. And we worked with them to recommend a few key gems to you.

Visit the FUJIFILM webstore to make your purchase. Enter the coupon code phoblographer to receive FREE ground shipping. Offer expires October 31st 2023.

Fujifilm X-H2: Buy Now
Fujifilm X-H2S: Buy Now

How We Test and Choose the Best FUJIFILM Cameras Under $2,500

  • The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed in these roundups.
  • If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • When we test lenses, we’ve got various things in mind. First off, we consider who might want to buy the lens and what they might do with it. With that in mind, we try to tackle at least three genres of photography with that lens in a variety of situations. If the lens has weather resistance, then we’ll test it accordingly with a weather-resistant camera. We also test the autofocus of the lens in continuous mode, single mode, with exposure preview effects, without those effects, and then with all the major image quality parameters. These days, no one really makes a bad lens — but some are far better than others.
  • In this specific roundup, we’re basing our findings on the reviews that we’ve done. We’re choosing a favorite, but we’re also giving photographers a bunch of others that they might like depending on how they shoot.

Best FUJIFILM Camera Under $2,500: FUJIFILM X-H2S

The Fujifilm X-H2S is our choice for the best Fujifilm camera under $2,500 for a few reasons. First off, it’s got the fastest autofocus of any Fujifilm camera currently on the market. It also boasts all the film simulations and is versatile enough for the working professional photographer. Some of us might want more megapixels, and there’s an option for that. But most of us are shooting for the web, so we don’t need it.

What to Like

  • Lovely colors
  • Great image quality straight from the camera
  • Fast bursts at 15 fps mechanical and 40 fps electronic, with autofocus
  • Finally, Fujifilm has animal eye AF
  • No blackout viewfinder
  • Excellent low light autofocus
  • Durable build quality
  • Comfortable grip

In our review, we said:

Low light autofocus is a key feature of the X-H2s. In a room lit by a tiny opening in darkening curtains and a few glow sticks, only about 15 percent of images were out of focus. And this was photographing a toddler who rarely sits still. As long as there was a small sliver of light giving his face a little bit of contrast, the X-H2S quickly locked on a majority of the time. The low light performance feels like a slight step up from the X-T4. This feature is going to be awesome for photographing wedding receptions and events in limited lighting.

Buy Now

FUJIFILM X-Pro 3

Why IT’s Great

  • Superia is beautiful (Classic neg-film sim. It is based on the film stock Superia)
  • We love the hidden screen
  • Autofocus can be fine-tuned for different situations
  • Everyone loves the look of Classic neg
  • You can push the shadows for forever and get details – the highlights not as much, but they’re still there
  • The screen helps you stay focused and aware.
  • For street and documentary shooting, the hidden screen will keep you in the zone when shooting.
  • USB C charging ensures that you can keep using the camera
  • Arguably, you don’t need to edit the RAW files because the JPEGs let you do so much
  • Face detection is fantastic when not trying to track erratic movements
  • Acros and clarity enhancements are going to make you fall in love with Fujifilm all over again
  • The Chrome effect for skies is subtle and very nice
  • Autofocus is fantastic for events and most professional work
  • Fujifilm’s collection of small primes pair wonderfully with this camera
  • The best camera to embrace high ISO noise on the market
  • Using the OVF will prolong battery life at the expense of slower autofocus
  • This is less of a street camera than a documentary and event shooter’s camera
  • The wider lenses make zone focusing easy. This is imperative for street photography
  • Multiple exposure mode is a very welcome addition
  • Very good battery life

In our review, we said:

“Though the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 isn’t necessarily meant for fashion shoots, the autofocusing algorithms straight out of the box spoke volumes to me. When we shared these images on Facebook, many were quick to point out that the autofocus wasn’t keeping Casey’s face locked. In theory, that will mean street photographers will have a tough time if they’re trying to use the autofocus. This problem occurs in both low light and good light.”

Buy Now

FUJIFILM X-H2

Why It’s Great

  • Very quiet
  • Fantastic image quality
  • High ISO images are fairly clean, or you can embrace the noise.
  • The best color from an APS-C sensor in a while
  • Subject detection is great in sufficient lighting.
  • Weather resistant
  • Good for street photography
  • Alright battery life
  • Still works well with older lenses
  • Cropped shooting mode in continuous drive mode is brilliant. (Let me get it right in camera and frame it perfectly there rather than fixing it later.)
  • Continuous AF is great in good lighting.
  • Very good at 10pm for tracking birds. Subject detection is great in sufficient lighting.

In our review, we said:

The Fujifilm XH2 feels like the first Fuji camera in a while that I really want to shoot RAWs with because of how much extra depth you can pull from the sensor. Desite that, the JPEG output is still pretty fantastic. However, shooting raws makes more sense because of how the camera works as explained in the autofocus section around exposure preview.

Buy Now

What to Know About The Best Lenses for Street Photography with Fujifilm Cameras

  • Fujifilm X Mount (which we’re focusing on here) has many lenses available. And so, we’re choosing the best lenses for street photography with Fujifilm Cameras: from the ones that we’ve reviewed. Luckily, we’ve reviewed the vast majority of lenses for Fujifilm X Mount. You can find them in this guide here.
  • So what makes a camera worthy of our list of the Best Fujifilm cameras under $2,500? A few things: at the top of it all is portability. I mean, what’s the point of using a lens if you never want to handhold it or carry it for a long time? Then there’s image quality. Fujifilm’s newer lenses are a bit cleaner than the previous ones were. However, a lot of the image quality is also based on whatever film simulation you’re using. We also value weather resistance because it helps prolong the shelf-life of your product.
  • With Fujifilm, we typically just use single autofocus and have it select from the entire area. Otherwise, we use Continuous autofocus and choose the widest zone right in the center. It typically nails the exposure.
  • This round up of the Best Fujifilm cameras under $2,500 has only cameras that can deliver what street photographers need. Sure, you can use some of the lenses in zone focus mode and just shoot. But for the most part, you’re best off using the cameras in the Pre-Shot electronic shutter mode and AF-C. Otherwise, AF-S and face detection also work.
  • All of the Best Fujifilm cameras under $2,500 are weather resistant. Our torture tests are often some of the most renowned in the photo industry.
  • We’re recommending the X series cameras. The GFX series of cameras are surely great. And we’ve used them for photojournalism, but they’re not as lightweight packages as X series.
  • The product images and sample images in this round up of the Best Fujifilm cameras for street photography were all shot by our staff of photographers.
  • We’ve reviewed nearly all of Fujifilm’s X series lenses. You can take a look at this guide.

Picking the Right One For You

If you’re still a bit confused as to the right lens for you, here are some questions to ask yourself

  • What’s your budget?
  • How will you use the product?
  • What lighting situations are you in, and how will that affect what you’re doing? Our reviews hyperlinked in this article can help with that.
  • Are you traveling a lot with it?
  • Will you be using it in a situation that’s a bit rougher?
  • Can you live without the best quality?
  • Who else uses this product? How are they using it?
  • What’s so appealing about this product that I can’t get from what I have already or something else?
  • When will I really have time to use this product?
  • Where will I bring this product?
  • How will this product help bring me joy and joy in my photography?

These are just a few of the questions that we ask ourselves, but we think that you should ask yourself these for sure.

fujifilm Fujifilm Cameras x pro 3 xh2 xh2s
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.