Review: Fujifilm X100VI

By Tim Levy | 2 May 2024

The Fujifilm X100 series has been my go-to street camera for the past 12 years. I love this camera series – and so do many other photographers.

In fact, apart from the $10,300 Leica Q3, the $2,800 X100VI really is THE go everywhere fixed-lens rangefinder style camera that can be carried all day without hindering your normal movements or giving you a sore back.

What I've also always loved about the X100 series is while you might not need to take a shot all day, you know that if you do, you still have a ‘casual’ camera with professional capabilities on hand. In fact, mine rarely leaves my side as it fits neatly in my man/person bag.

Over the years I’ve been really surprised and impressed by the great image quality while owning the 16MP X100S and the 2017 X100F.

But now, some four years after the release of the most recent model, the X100V, it’s time to take its successor, the 40MP X100VI, out for a spin, and discuss why this beloved, quirky camera is currently the most unobtainably desirable camera on the planet.

Handling and build

First up, it's worth noting that there's few visual changes over its predecessors. The X100VI still maintains the X100 visual aesthetic, and apart from updated labelling, looks much the same as the earlier models.

It's still made of an anodised aluminum finish with sharp and crisp edges. You still get the same 3.69-million dot EVF that we saw on the X100V, and the same resolution rear LCD, and the pull-up-to-change-iso shutter speed dial combo is all still there too.

That said, this is the heaviest X100 camera yet, weighing in at 521g (43g more than the X100V). It's also 2mm (yes, 2mm), wider than the V, and the grip has been bulged a little to make it easier to handle.

A welcome feature is the rear tilt screen now goes out further and lower. This also means that the angle of downward tilting is upped to 45 degrees, a handy addition if you like to shoot with the rear LCD.

Ultimately though these are minor changes and the X100VI remains compact enough to throw in a bag or be slung over your shoulder for all day carry.

The fixed 35mm f/2.0 lens and APS-C sensor combo

Having an APS-C size sensor has its benefits. While the true focal length of the lens is 23mm, you actually get greater depth of field than a 35mm on a full frame camera. So that f2.0 aperture gives you at least f2.8 – f3.2's worth of depth of field. And in street photography, greater depth of field in low light is generally what you want.

With the combination of a leaf shutter (which makes less vibration than a traditional curtain shutter) and the new image stabilisation on the camera's sensor, it makes it easy to hand hold the camera at 1/30s or even 1/15s.

Finally, the '35mm' focal length strikes a perfect balance, comfortably positioned between 24mm and 50mm. While 24mm tends to be too wide for street photography, requiring you to get uncomfortably close to subjects; a 50mm crops too tightly, leaving little breathing room and makes it difficult to incorporate 'leading lines'. And, it's narrower depth of field can often prove too shallow for capturing complete street scenes.

Autofocus

Inside, the X100VI has gained Fujifilm's newest X-Processor 5, the same processor as in the X-T5.

With this comes noticeable improvements to speed and autofocus, along with the addition of AI-based subject detection.

A range of subjects can be selected for recognition and tracking, with the X100VI using the same combination of hybrid contrast and phase detection AF as the X100V, but bringing with it the autofocus improvements we saw with the X-T5.

The X100VI will still on occasions hunt for focus, especially in close-up subjects in super-low light, but it is still much more reliable than previous models, and is fast and accurate for most subjects.

Image quality

Probably the standout feature of the X100VI is the 40mp BSI X-Trans 5 HR sensor.

This is the same as in the X-H2, and compared to the X100V this new sensor has a lower base ISO of 125 (a little lower compared to the ISO of 160 on the old model).

By upping the sensor to 40MP, the sensor's photo sites have been reduced in size (which typically means more noise).

However, the benefit of 40MP means you don't have to enlarge your image as much as you would with a 26.MP image, therefore making visible noise lower.

In use I found images captured up to about ISO 3200 retained plenty of information and noise wasn't distracting, although as you'd expect, as you start to push higher the images begin to show noise in shadow details.

That said, if your subject is well lit, you won't have many problems.

Why so popular?

Carrying my hulking, professional looking Canon 5D Mark IV with an equally large 24-70mm lens into a gun show in Las Vegas a few years ago at the height of Trump's ‘fake media’ campaign was one of the more naive mistakes I’ve made in my life. Before I knew it, I had a few angry 'gun-enthusiasts' accusing me of being “fake media!!” and demanding that I erase all my photos (not that I did!).

So why am I bringing this up in a X100VI review? Well, the point is that whenever I’ve used my X100 in public for street photography, I’ve never been audibly, visually or physically assaulted by someone. It is a low-key camera that can be shot from the hip. And even if you are looking through the viewfinder, people don’t take the camera ‘seriously’. It's fun, retro looking aesthetic makes it appear as if it is some cute toy.

In fact, numerous times people have come up to me to admire the camera – usually asking if it’s a film camera. And this is why I’d prefer the silver version over the stealthy black one. It looks like an unpretentious old retro film camera, which also means it's unlikely you’ll be mugged for it.

It's worth noting here that the lens on the X100VI is actually the same eight elements in six groups w/ two aspherical elements design that is found in the X100V.

In addition, and for the first time, the X100VI features a six stop IBIS unit. It's remarkable really that in a body that is only a couple of millimeters thicker than its predecessor, Fujifilm managed to fit an IBIS unit that delivers six stops of image stabilisation.

Video

While you might not see many professionals using an X100VI for commercial work due to the limitation of not being able to change lenses, it does a more than competent job for any social or YouTube clips you want to share.

The X100VI now records 6K in 10-bit colour at 30p (albeit at a x1.23 crop). Or, you can also record at 4K at 24/25/30P at full frame. Audio maxes out at 24-bit 48kHz with external mics being attached through a 2.5mm audio jack.

This means you will still need an adapter to go from a 2.5mm to a 3.5mm audio jack if you want to plug in a mic.

One cool function is the ability to record with various LUTS modelled on the Fujifilm film simulations for a cinema look straight out of camera.

Additionally, the camera has internal ND filters with up to four stops compensation.

Fujifilm X100VI, 1/30s @ f3.6, ISO 4000.

Fujifilm Film Magic

Fujifilm has been making film since the 1930's and one of the aspects of Fujifilm's cameras that has helped their popularity is the ability to emulate 'real life' Fujifilm film stock with it's JPEG images (eg Provia, Velvia, Astia slide film and Classic Neg etc).

I am familiar with most of these having shot the real film versions back in the day on a regular basis, and can attest to their, errr, 'filmy-ness'.

Interestingly, and a slight side note, but not a lot of people know that you can also access these film emulations on your RAW (Fujifilm RAF file) images in Lightroom.

The way to access them is in the Develop Module > Basic > Profile > Browse > then you can choose from 20 different 'film stocks'. These all make for gorgeous results.

In fact, the majority of these images you see in this review have the 'Camera Classic Neg' filter applied to the RAW image in Lightroom. It has a nice muted contrast look, but still has a nice amount of colour that isn't dominated by any one colour. The skin tones also seem a bit warmer – which is something I prefer.

You can read more about this film emulation here.

The wrap-up

At the time of writing, the Fujifilm X100VI is already on back-order. Fujifilm had widely-reported supply issues with the X100V when the company was reportedly making 7,500 units per month in Japan.

In an attempt to resolve this issue, they've moved manufacturing for the X100VI to larger facilities in China and ramped up production to a whopping 15,000 units per month – yet obviously this is still not enough for the time being.

The X100 series is so desirable for many reasons – it creates high quality images that are better than a smartphone, in a similar form factor (it's actually smaller than an iPhone Pro in height and width, but obviously not in depth). And it's more portable than any interchangeable lens mirrorless or DSLR on the market.

Of course, there will always be a few gripes. Many have been hoping for an upgrade to the lens the X100 has relied on for the last few generations, or an upgrade to the slow UHS-I card slot, especially with the larger file sizes generated by the new sensor.

There are also still some quirks in the menu systems that need amending, refining, or even having an on screen explanation to what the function is, or why it's greyed out. At the same time, some functions are accessible via the touchscreen, while others are not.

These issues have been around on previous models, and the X100VI is no exception.

But ultimately, Fujifilm also has over a decade of refinements to build on with the X100VI, and it shows. This is a beautifully mature product that feels like every little element has been considered and well thought out.

It also feels like the four-year wait for this camera has been worth it, with more megapixels, a faster processor, and better autofocus all welcome features to have.

If you've been waiting patiently for an X100V, you won't be disappointed if you're upgraded to the newer model. And if you're an earlier user of any of the X100-series of cameras, it's safe to say this is easily the best yet.