A one-of-a-kind camera for street photography and travel

Fujifilm’s X100 V became a surprising viral hit thanks to influencers who loved not only its functionality but also its retro-chic cool element. Now, the enterprise has launched its successor, the comparable-hunting but far more-capable X100 VI. It is only been on sale a quick time, but retailers are currently reporting months-extended waiting lists.

It options some important improvements more than the prior model, like a a great deal greater-resolution 40-megapixel sensor, in-physique stabilization and superior video. At the exact same time, it retains the appears and compact size folks loved about the X100 V.

I couldn’t wait to get a hold of a single to verify out the functionality for myself and see if it is worth a buy or upgrade. To test, I hopped on the Eurostar more than to London with my French photographer mates to see if it is worth the higher cost and considerable wait.

Physique and handling

The X100 series is beloved in significant element since of the vintage rangefinder camera styling, and Fujifilm didn’t mess with that. In addition to the close to-identical appears, the X100 VI’s button and dial layout is unchanged. Fujifilm also kept the prior model’s 23mm f/two lens.

To accommodate the in-physique stabilization, the X100 VI is slightly chunkier and weighs 18.four ounces, about 1.four ounces far more than just before. That is not a great deal, but each bit counts for a camera developed to be carried about all day.

The manage style with committed dials for ISO, shutter, aperture and exposure compensation is a bit old-fashioned compared to contemporary cameras. But it does serve a goal, displaying settings at a glance. That is a have to for shooting on the fly.

The X100 VI is not just cosplaying as a rangefinder, either. On major of the three.69-million dot electronic viewfinder (exact same as the final model), it provides a rangefinder-style optical finder and a hybrid of the two with a image-in-image EVF. The final setting is for folks who nonetheless want a digital safety blanket, and it functions incredibly effectively.

Also unchanged is the rear show, enabling simple up and down tilting for higher or low angle shooting. That is not fantastic for selfies or vlogging, but excellent for shooting from the hip.

The menu technique is mainly the exact same, which is a great issue as it is fairly effortless to locate important settings. To stay away from diving in, even though, you can use the speedy menu and several buttons and dials for much easier adjustments. It is also customizable and I’d advise purchasers to set it up to their preferences to stay away from any shooting errors.

The X100 VI has a single slot that only supports slower UHS-I cards, however, along with a USB-C port for charging and information. The MicroHDMI port also lets you use external recorders, even though the tiny camera appears awkward with a single attached. Ultimately, the battery is the exact same smallish a single as just before, however — far more on that in a bit.

Efficiency

Regardless of the greater resolution, the X100 VI nonetheless shoots at a decent 11 fps, with buffer space for about 17 uncompressed RAW frames. JPEG bursts are a bit more quickly at 13 fps in electronic shutter mode and the buffer size jumps to 37 frames in that case.

Unless you seriously will need total silence, the mechanical shutter is your ideal bet. It is incredibly quiet, and you will see considerable rolling shutter in electronic mode.

Autofocus is a great deal-enhanced compared to the V. It is far more trustworthy for topic tracking and adds new autofocus modes for animals, birds, automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes and trains. Fuji’s eye- and topic-detection are in separate modes even though, forcing you to alter settings.

Fujifilm’s AF technique was currently middling, lagging behind Sony and Canon. The X100 VI is even much less helpful than Fujifilm’s bigger X-H2 and X-T5, due to the slowish motors on the fixed lens. That indicates focusing on moving subjects is a bit hit or miss. That stated, burst shooting is not what this camera is for and the truth that it is decent at all is a bonus.

In-physique stabilization could possibly be the largest improvement to come to the X100 lineup. With six stops of shake reduction, you can get sharp images down to about a quarter second. That lets you blur motion to make fascinating, inventive shots.

The optical finder requires some obtaining made use of to, as it is not a direct view via the lens like with DSLRs. It is off to the side of the lens, so this parallax indicates subjects that are close to the camera may perhaps not be framed the way you count on. That is why the EVF insert mode is so handy as it supplies a second correct view of the scene.

One particular problem is battery life, with only 450 shots on a charge or 310 if you use the EVF. I discovered that a single battery wasn’t adequate for a complete day’s shooting, so element added ones into your purchasing selection. You may perhaps also want an external charger, as Fujifilm does not provide a single in the box.

Image top quality

The 40MP sensor clearly delivers a massive enhance in resolution more than the X100 V’s 26MP. The added pixels are also handy if you will need to crop in, which is a typical requirement with a fixed wide-angle lens camera. And even though the lens is the exact same as just before, it is sharp adequate to resolve the added detail.

If this sensor appears familiar, that is since it is the exact same as the a single on the X-T5 and X-H2, so the image top quality right here is comparable to these. In-camera therapy of JPEG and ten-bit HEIF files is handled effectively, with pleasant, correct colors and a good balance of noise reduction and detail. You can generally share images straight out of the camera, as well, some thing that is significant to street photographers who do small to no post-processing.

The 14-bit RAW images present a lot of space for fine-tuning, even in vibrant or dark locations. Having said that, if you underexpose shots and attempt to enhance levels, noise can get out of hand compared to a complete-frame camera.

The greater resolution does not hurt image top quality a great deal at greater ISOs. Noise is effectively controlled up to ISO 6400, and you can go up to 12800 if exposure is set appropriately. I was impressed with the top quality when shooting in bars and other dark environments.

And of course, the X100 VI provides Fujifilm’s complete array of film simulation modes. You can experiment with well-liked appears like Velvia, Eterna or Acros black and white, and nonetheless have a complete-colour RAW backup. As the only key camera enterprise also promoting 35mm film, Fuji’s simulations are the most pleasing and realistic.

Video

The X100 VI’s exceptional video specs are an additional bonus. It has almost the exact same function set as the X-T5, so you can shoot six.2K at 30 fps with a 1.23x crop, or 4K at up to 60 fps with line-skipping and a 1.14x crop. The camera also provides sub-sampled 4K at up to 30p making use of the complete sensor width, or higher-top quality 4K 30p with a 1.23x crop. Fujifilm also introduced ten-bit and F-Log2.

It took me a even though to get made use of to the various modes and cropping levels. At six.2K and 4K HQ, rolling shutter is pronounced so you will will need to be conscious of that. At the exact same time, complete-sensor sub-sampled 4K is noticeably far more low-res than the HQ mode.

Video autofocus matches what I saw with images, which means it was decent but not super trustworthy for moving subjects. The AI-powered AF did lock onto subjects, but once more, couldn’t generally maintain up to flying birds, animals or autos.

Handheld video is now a realistic solution with in-physique stabilization. It worked effectively as extended as I didn’t move about a great deal, and provides a “boost” mode that smooths out jiggles additional. Digital stabilization is also an solution, but is not supported with the 6K or HQ modes, and does not seriously lower jolts for walking or rapidly movements.

Video top quality is strong for a modest compact camera, supplying the exact same correct colors you see in JPEG photo modes. Shooting in ten-bit F-Log tends to make it feasible to adjust footage significantly in post or get inventive. You can also shoot video making use of the film simulation modes if you want a precise appear straight out of the camera.

Wrap-up

Fujifilm has produced all the appropriate moves to maintain the X100 VI’s reputation higher by tucking a incredibly competent street and travel camera into a wonderful retro-cute physique. The added resolution, in-physique stabilization and new video options ought to be far more than adequate to tempt owners to upgrade.

At $1,600, the X100 VI does not have a lot of competitors — which is odd, offered its good results. Leica springs to thoughts with the Q3, even though that charges a whopping $six,000. A different solution is the $1,000 Ricoh GR IIIx, which also provides in-physique stabilization and an ND filter. Having said that, resolution is reduced at 24MP and it lacks the X100 VI’s higher-finish video options.

Sony’s ZV-1 II is also in this compact category, but it is mainly developed for video. Maintain an eye on Panasonic, as it may perhaps release a new compact camera, according to current rumors. In any case, if you are in the marketplace for a higher-finish compact and can afford the X100 VI, I wouldn’t hesitate — there’s a lot of camera inside that wonderful physique.