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The Fujifilm X100VI is an excellent camera. It’s small, light, and produces great results, but it’s not the camera for me, nor am I sure it deserves the hype. However, I can see the appeal—it has lots of great things going for it. If you’re looking for a camera that goes in your pocket and takes great pictures, it could be the one for you.
Fujifilm X100VI Review
The Fujifilm X100 range has gained quite a following over the years. You might even say it’s become a cult icon. According to Lens Rentals, TikTok was the catalyst that shot the X100VI predecessor (the X100V) to fame when TikTok star Kylie Katich proclaimed how the X100V would ‘change your life’.
I’d say saying one person is responsible for rocketing this camera to stardom is probably a bit of an overstatement. The X100 range has been around since 2010, when the Fujifilm FinePix X100 was released, and it’s gained popularity ever since. From the X100, there have been the S, T, F, V, and now the VI in 2024.
It’s easy to see why the X100VI is a desirable camera. It looks great, is small and light, and produces terrific results. For the right user, it could be the ideal camera solution. As with any camera, there is always a compromise. You’ll find that compromise under the Why It’s Not for Me heading.
But before that, here are some pros and cons and the bulk of the Fujifilm X100VI review.
Pros
- Design
- Size & weight
- Great quality optics
- Leaf shutter
- Image quality
- In-Body Image Stabilisation
- Built-in ND filters
Cons
- 2-way tilt screen
- Single SD card slot
Design & Handling
There’s much to love about the X100VI’s design. It’s small, light (a mere 521g), and looks fantastic. I’m also a huge fan of the rangefinder-style body. Unlike an SLR-style camera where my nose rests on the screen, I like that my nose sits down the side of the body. The X100VI can provide professional results in what is essentially a pocket camera.
There isn’t much I don’t like about the body, but one thing is the 2-way tilting screen, which I’m not too keen on. It’s missing the third way that lets you pop the screen out to see it clearly when you shoot in portrait at oblique angles. However, I think it’s possible Fuji did this to maintain the body’s form, keeping it minimalistic and as small as possible.
Another thing I’m not keen on is the single SD card slot. Here’s the problem. Recording raw files doesn’t allow adding a crop if JPEG is turned off. For example, if I’m shooting portrait orientation, I add a 5×4 crop in the Quick menu to know what the frame will look like in the EVF, and the crop will be automatically added to the raw files in Camera Raw.
This means I record the JPEG and raw files, with the JPEGs going to card 2 on my X-T5, which gets forgotten about and occasionally formatted. It also means I don’t have to delete the JPEGS when downloading the files. If JPEG is turned off, so is the option to crop in the camera. It’s not a big problem, but it helps improve the efficiency of my workflow, and I’m sure it could be solved with a firmware update.
The OVF & EVF
I didn’t find the optical viewfinder (OVF) much use. I feel the OVF is a bit of a gimmick and defeats the benefits of the EVF, which is a defining feature of a mirrorless camera over a DSLR.
If you were to use the camera without the EVF, the OVF shows a guide to indicate the area of the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and, therefore, the frame you would take. The OVF might appeal to you if you want to feel old school, cool, or connected to the camera and subject more than an EVF.
Leaf Shutter
Fujifilm built a leaf shutter into the X100VI to help keep the size down. If you aren’t familiar with a leaf shutter, it consists of overlapping blades that open and close to expose the photograph. It’s similar to the one in my Bronica ETRSI medium-format film camera. A leaf shutter usually sits in the lens; in this case, it’s right before the aperture, unlike a standard curtain shutter in front of the sensor.
Leaf shutters have benefits. They are compact, reducing camera size, but the most noticeable benefit of this type of shutter in the X100VI is the reduced noise. The shutter produces a delicate and soothing click when it’s released. Leaf shutters sometimes have drawbacks, such as slower shutter speeds, but they don’t exist in the X100VI.
In the days old, leaf shutters had reduced shutter speeds, but in this case, the X100VI can shoot up to 1/4000 sec, which is impressive. Beyond that, it can shoot up to 1/180000 sec using the electronic shutter. And on top of that, there’s a built-in 4-stop ND filter, enabling you to maintain that f2 aperture even in the brightest situations. I shoot almost exclusively wide-open, so this ND filter is very much welcome.
Weather Sealing
The X100VI isn’t weather-sealed out of the box. Is this an issue? Not really. You will consider your camera too precious to use in the rain, so you will do all you can to protect your baby before getting it wet.
However, if you fancy using the X100VI in the rain, you can buy the weather-resistant kit, which consists of two parts: an adapter ring AR-X100 and the filter PRF-49/PRF49S (where the S means silver).
X100 VI Lens & Optics
The lens is the only compromise for me in this camera. It’s not because it’s not great—it is—but because it’s too limiting. However, I realise this is the trade-off for the X100VI. Because the lens is designed with a leaf shutter, creating a camera that’s this small and this good in a traditional camera body is impossible.
The 23mm lens is excellent, though—there’s no denying that. And that’s all there is to say about it. You won’t be disappointed by its quality. It’s better than the Fujifilm 23mm f2.
Optical Accessories
Two accessories, the TCL-X100 II and WCL-X100 II are available to make the X100VI slightly more adaptable.
The Fujifilm TCL-X100 II Tele Conversion Lens increases the focal length 1.4x to roughly 33mm. It’s better than nothing, but I still like something longer, which this camera can’t do.
The Wide conversion lens WCL-X100 II is a dedicated wide conversion lens that multiplies the fixed focal length by approximately 0.8x, converting it to roughly 18.5mm.
I didn’t use these, so I can’t comment, but having them might prove helpful should you want more than just the 23mm.
Autofocus
I won’t dwell too much on the autofocus. It’s hard to define what you might consider poor autofocus, and I know AF is a problem for some people who use the X-Series cameras. In most circumstances, I don’t think the AF will present an issue for you.
If the focus mode selector is set to ‘Single’ and you half-press the shutter release and the autofocus engages, it will focus accurately. In most cases, this is the mode I use because I’m not shooting subjects that require continuous AF.
Why It’s Not for Me
There is only one compromise in the X100VI, which is a dealbreaker for me: the lens. This is the reason the X100VI isn’t for me. I own an X-T5 and a 23mm f2 lens. The X-T5 offers the one thing the X100VI doesn’t – the flexibility of an interchangeable lens system. That said, the lens is better than the Fujifilm 23mm f2. It’s sharper and has less chromatic aberration than the 23mm f2 lens.
I like the rangefinder-style camera, but I can’t get over the lens’s restrictions. The argument for a fixed-lens camera is that it makes you work a little harder to get the shots you want. I get it, but I don’t necessarily agree. Sometimes, one lens can’t capture what you want it to.
And generally, I prefer longer lenses, and this fixed 23mm is too wide for me. My two most used lenses are the Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 and the Fujifilm 50-140mm f2.8, not my Fujifilm 23mm. If there were one lens I had to pick and shoot on forever, it would be the 33mm f1.4 or 35mm f1.4 because I feel the focal length is a little more versatile than the 23mm. Carrying a separate camera for the odd shot only adds to the burden of extra weight. I will try to keep a minimalist travel photography kit if possible.
However, I can see the camera’s appeal—it looks great, functions and performs well, and is light and a pleasure to use. But so are the rest of the Fujifilm cameras because one of the great things about the X system is that the cameras share many of the same features, setups, and styles. Even with the teleconversion lens, it’s not enough to convince me I need this camera.
Final Words
It’s hard to recommend buying the X100VI when I shoot too much content to use only a fixed 23mm lens or carry around a separate body. It just doesn’t make sense to me because it cannot compete with the flexibility of an interchangeable lens camera.
So, buy this camera if you are a kit pest who wants the latest kit, is super trendy, wants to carry another body around, or only ever wants to shoot with a fixed lens. If not, go for something with a little more flexibility.
For full details about the Fuji X100VI, visit Fujifilm-x.com.
Example Imagery
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