Fujifilm X100VI Review | Photography Blog

Ease of Use

I first used (and bought) the original X100 camera way back in 2011, just as smartphones were getting into their all-conquering stride. Fast forward 13 years, and seemingly very little has changed with the release of the sixth-generation X100VI, at least externally.

It’s fair to say that if you’re a long-time user of the X100-series than you won’t notice too many major differences between all of the models as regards to their in size, weight or control layouts.

This new model still shares the very similar svelte, stylish retro DNA of the X100, just continuously refined by Fujifilm as they’ve worked their way through the X100, X100S, X100T, X100F, X100V and now the X100VI.

Each one has shared the same core characteristics of a large APS-C sensor and a 23mm f/2 fixed lens, and the new 2024 version is no different in either of these respects.

The roughly two-year life-span of each new X100 release was interrupted by Covid, so the X100VI is effectively replacing a 4-year-old camera.

Outwardly Fujifilm have played things very safe, as you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the VI and V when looking at them side-by-side from any angle.

This new version is ever so slightly deeper (by 2mm!) and it’s heavier by 43g than its predecessor, a necessary increase due to the inclusion of in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) for the very first time on an X100-series camera.

IBIS makes it easier to hand-hold the camera and still get sharp results, providing around 6 stops of compensation for both stills and video (5.5 stops when using the optical viewfinder), greatly increasing its versatility in low-light situations where its predecessor may have struggled.

The new X100VI concentrates on delivering sheer resolution and high levels of detail by utilising exactly the same 40-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor that first made its debut in the Fuji X-series camera range with the X-H2.

This is a BSI (back-side illuminated) sensor design that has much more of a focus on detail and resolution than out-and-out speed.

It offers a big increase in resolution compared to the X100V, allowing you to crop much more aggressively than before, or to make bigger prints at similar resolutions.

The X100VI offers exactly the same burst shooting rates as the X-T5 mirrorless model. They can both shoot at 20fps when using the electronic shutter with a 1.29x crop applied, and both offer the same 15fps continuous shooting speed when using the mechanical shutter.

The buffer size is 117 JPEGs or 52 compressed RAW files before the continuous shooting rate starts to slow down.

To help with capturing the precise moment, the X100VI has a clever Pre-shot burst shooting mode, with the camera constantly filling the buffer while you half-press the shutter button, and then keeping the most recent 20 frames taken 0.5-1 seconds before a full press of the shutter button, eliminating any camera and human-added delay. Note that this feature only works with the electronic shutter.

The X100VI actually has two kinds of shutter, mechanical and electronic. When using its mechanical leaf shutter, it has a top shutter-speed limit of 1/4000th second in all shooting modes.

It considerably improves the fastest shutter speed for the electronic shutter by 2.5 stops, from 1/32,000 sec on the previous generation X100V to a remarkable 1/180,000 sec on the X100VI.

This allows you to leave the aperture wide open in very bright conditions such as a sunny beach or a ski slope, or to capture a split-second motion. You can continue shooting wide-open with fast aperture lenses in the brightest of conditions without having to resort to fitting a glass ND filter or using an external flash and lights.

It’s all very well being able to record at 20fps, but unless the camera can quickly, accurately and reliably focus on whatever fast-moving subject you’re trying to capture, it’s all for nothing.

Thankfully, although the new X-T5 has the same hybrid autofocus system with up to 117 selectable phase detection and and contrast detections points as its predecessor, Fujifilm have made a couple of significant improvements to make it the best X100-series AF system yet.

Chief amongst these is the inclusion of subject-based computational AI, with the X100VI being able to automatically detect animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes, trains, insects, and drones.

You do have to specifically choose which of those you want to track from the Subject Detection Setting menu, but you can easily register different settings to the camera’s various custom modes.

Turning this feature on resulted in a super-high hit rate in terms of auto-focusing, with the camera often able to focus on the subject before we’d even spotted it ourselves.

The improved autofocus prediction algorithm and particularly the subject detection modes help to ensure that the vast majority of your images are sharp.

The 40 megapixel sensor also allows the X100VI to record 6.2K/30p video with a modest 1.23x crop recorded in 4:2:2 10-bit internally.

It supports DCI 4K/60p recording at up to 30p from the sensor’s full with or at up to 60p with a 1.14x crop, and can shoot 1080/240p slow-motion footage. It also offers the F-Log 2 profile with up to 14+ stops of dynamic range.

Combined with a compatible HDMI recording device from Atomos or Blackmagic Design, 12-bit RAW video output can be recorded as Apple ProRes RAW or Blackmagic RAW.

There’s also a digital zoom function that uses the camera’s 40.2MP sensor to deliver up to 2x of digital zoom with little to no loss in resolution when recording video in 4K.

Sadly, the the X100VI doesn’t have a Still/ Movie switch for changing between these modes, as on the X-T5 and other X-series models. Instead the Movie mode is still rather buried away at the end of the Drive menu, which has always been rather incongruous.

The camera does at least swap between dedicated in-camera menu systems when you change modes, so you don’t have to scroll through excessive video options when all you want to do is photography, and vice versa, and the menu system for both disciplines is really well laid out.

A nice touch is that the front and rear control wheels can be used quietly in movie mode to make changes to exposure settings, even during capture. In conjunction with the touchscreen menu, most other key video controls such as white balance and image stabilisation can be adjusted too.

The camera is now equipped with a tracking AF function during movie recording – just tap the subject on the LCD screen and the camera will automatically keep it in focus.

Note that although its more well-appointed for video, there is still no full size HDMI port or 3.5mm headphone socket on the X100VI.

The X100VI has exactly the same 1.62M dot LCD touchscreen as its predecessor, a 2-way tilting unit that makes it easier to shoot at both waist-level and whilst holding the camera above your head.

It can now be tilted slightly further down to 45˚ and pulled slightly further away when turned upwards, but you still can’t tilt it out to the side, which would have been ideal for video use.

In order to smooth over any objections to the tilting screen, Fujifilm have gone to great lengths to effectively hide it by making an incredibly thin screen (just 4.4mm) that sits flush against the rear of the camera. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the slight indent and tab in the bottom left corner that’s used for pulling it outwards, you’d probably think that the screen was fixed in place.

Another key feature of the X100 series that has been retained is the hybrid viewfinder. This long-standing feature offers a frame coverage of 95% and 0.52x magnification.

Similarly, the electronic viewfinder is the same too, being 0.5-inch in size whilst offering 3.69M dot resolution, 0.66x magnification and a refresh rate of 100fps.

Just like the model before it, the Fuji X100VI is weather-sealed, something that further adds to its versatility as a go-anywhere street camera.

There is still quite a big catch, though – whilst the camera body is fully weather-sealed out of the box, the lens isn’t, requiring the purchase and fitting of the optional PRF-49 protective filter with the AR-X100 adapter ring to fully protect it from the elements.

Fujifilm have said that they didn’t want to make the camera bigger and more expensive by making the lens weatherproof out-of-the-box. While this is commendable, having to purchase expensive accessories that make the camera bigger and heavier isn’t exactly an ideal solution for anyone who want to shoot in the rain or dusty environments.

The X100VI offers a total of 20 Film Simulation modes, including the brand new ‘REALA ACE’ mode, which makes its X-series debut on the X100VI and provides more faithful colour reproduction coupled with high-contrast tonality.

This camera features both built-in wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The latter option creates a constant, low-power connection between the camera and a smartphone/tablet to transfer images and video using the Fujifilm Camera Remote smartphone app.

The former allows you to remotely control the camera via either a 2.4Ghz or 5GHz wi-fi connection using a smartphone or tablet and the Fujifilm app, and transfer images and video from one device to the other.

Battery life has been marginally improved despite using exactly the same NP-W126S battery as the X100V and the X100F, up from 350/420 frames when using the EVF/OVF to 360/450 frames on the X100VI.

The X100VI can also be powered and charged via a USB-C connection, which is useful if you’re out and about and have a compatible power-bank to plug the camera into. It uses the newer Type C standard which also allows it to be used as a port for a external headphones, using an adapter.

Rather infuriatingly, the single SD memory card slot that’s housed in the battery compartment on the bottom of the camera still only supports the slower UHS-I standard, rather than UHS-II, a surprising omission on a 2024 camera.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 40.2 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 18Mb.

The Fujifilm X100VI produced images of outstanding quality. It records noise-free JPEG images from ISO 64 up to ISO 3200, with a little noise at ISO 6400 and more visible noise at the faster settings of ISO 12800 and 25600 (ISO 51200 is best avoided), an amazing performance for a camera with a 40 megapixel APS-C sensor. The RAW files were also excellent, exhibiting more noise than their JPEG counterparts but still producing very usable images from ISO 64-6400.

The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots, and the Bulb mode allowing much longer exposures if required. The Dynamic Range and HDR settings subtly improve detail in the shadows and highlights, while the extensive range of Film Simulation modes hark back to a bygone era, and the Advanced Filters allow you to have a little fun with your images in-camera.

Noise

There are 11 full ISO settings available on the Fujifilm X100VI for JPEGs and RAW files. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

JPEG	RAW
ISO 64	ISO 64
ISO 125	ISO 125
ISO 200	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 800
ISO 1600	ISO 1600
ISO 3200	ISO 3200
ISO 6400	ISO 6400
ISO 12800	ISO 12800
ISO 25600	ISO 25600
ISO 51200	ISO 51200

File Quality

The Fujifilm X100VI has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Fine (18Mb) (100% Crop)	Normal (9.1Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (85.5Mb) (100% Crop)

Dynamic Range

The Fujifilm X100VI has three dynamic range settings – 100% (on by default), 200%, and 400% – and an Auto setting if you want to let the camera take control.

These settings gradually increase the amount of detail visible in the shadow and highlight areas, with the side-effect of more noise appearing in the image. Note that you can’t actually turn this feature off. All three settings are available from ISO 500 upwards.

100%

200%

400%

HDR

The Fujifilm X100VI has a High Dynamic Range mode with five different settings – AUTO, 200%, 400%, 800%, 800%+. The camera takes three shots with different exposures, changing the shutter speed for each one, and then combining them in-camera.

Off

Auto

200%

400%

800%

800+%

Film Simulations

The Fujifilm X100VI offers 20 different film simulation modes to help replicate the look of your favourite film stock from the past, including the brand new Reala Ace.

Provia / Standard

Velvia / Vivid

Astia / Soft

Classic Chrome

Reala Ace

Pro Neg. Hi

Pro Neg. Standard

Classic Neg.

Nostalgic Neg.

Eterna / Cinema

Eterna Bleach Bypass

Acros

Monochrome

Sepia

Advanced Filters

The Fujifilm X100VI offers 13 different creative filter effects which are found in the Drive menu.

Toy Camera

Miniature

Pop Color

High-Key

Low-Key

Dynamic Tone

Soft Focus

Partial Color (Red)

Partial Color (Orange)

Partial Color (Yellow)

Partial Color (Green)

Partial Color (Blue)

Partial Color (Purple)

Multiple Exposure

The Fujifilm X100VI’s Multiple Exposure mode combines up to 9 different images together in-camera to create one composite image, with four different ways of combining them – Additive, Average, Bright, Dark.

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm X100VI camera, which were all taken using the 40 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Fujifilm X100VI enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We’ve provided some Fujifilm RAW (RAF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

Thirteen years have passed since the debut of the original X100, and here we are with the launch of the 6th generation, which looks remarkably similar to all of its predecessors.

Fujifilm have certainly stuck with the tried and tested formula that has served the series so well, and who can blame them when the X100V has been one of, if not the, best selling camera of of the last two years?

To be fair to Fujifilm, they could have chosen to just sell as many X100Vs as they could produce in order to satisfy the seemingly insatiable demand that’s been fanned by social media influencers.

Instead, they’ve launched an entirely new version that is a definite improvement on the old one, whilst not rocking the boat too much so as to put off all those would-be buyers who couldn’t get hold of the X100V for love nor money.

By far the best new feature on the Mark VI model is in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), which makes the camera much more versatile in low light than its predecessor. The fact that Fujifilm’s engineers have managed to incorporate it with only a very slight increase in size and weight is the proverbial icing on the cake.

The other significant change is the incorporation of Fujifilm’s latest image sensor and processor combo, no doubt made to help keep manufacturing costs down across the camera range.

The 40 megapixel sensor offers the twin benefits of much greater resolution and 6K video, whilst the processor significantly introduces subject-recognition AF, all features previously seen on other X-series models but never featured before on the X100.

Whether you actually need bird-detection AF on a camera with a 35mm fixed focal length lens is perhaps another matter entirely, as is the fact that the video mode continues to seem like an after-thought on what is very much a stills-focused camera, and we can’t really forgive the UHS-I SD card slot on what is after all a new 2024 camera.

With a reported 1/2 million pre-orders in China alone, it’s clear that the new VI is certainly set to continue the recent enormous success of the X100-series. It may represent an evolution of the blueprint rather than a revolution, but that hardly seems to matter when just producing enough X100s of any kind seems to be the order of the day…

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Fujifilm X100VI.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Fujifilm X100VI from around the web.

Specifications

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