FIRST TEST FUJIFILM X100VI
The street photography favourite turned TikTok sensation is back for anew generation. Do the upgrades make Fuji’s X100VI a superior stills shooter?
Retro tech is hot. Commuters wear wired headphones plugged into clickwheel iPods; Nokia-style brick phones are suddenly popular with more than just the elderly and the prison population. The Fujifilm X100V of 2020 should have ridden this nostalgia wave, but the company couldn’t keep up with the TikTok-fuelled demand. Its successor is arriving in much greater numbers, and adds a bunch of upgrades that are sure to please fixed-lens fans.
The 23mm f2.0 lens returns, along with the tilting touchscreen and oh-so-satisfying hybrid viewfinder. But now there’s 40MP of APS-C goodness, courtesy of the X-Trans CMOS 5HR sensor as used in the X-T5, and in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) for the first time in an X100. It also adds even more analogue film simulations, promises better battery life, and is more video-friendly to boot.
Impressively, Fuji hasn’t had to dramatically increase the size or weight to make room for the new stabilisation tech –and it remains compatible with all of the old camera’s accessories. That means it’s lighter than almost any similar-sized CSC with a lens fitted.
Direct rivals? Well, the Ricoh GR III doesn’t have the same retro appeal, and the Leica Q3 (see p32) costs oligarch money. So has the best just got better?
Tech specs
Sensor 40.2MP APS-C Lens 23mm f2.0 ISO range 125-51,200 (ext) Burst shooting 11fps (mechanical) Video 6.2K@30fps (cropped), 4K@60fps, 1080p@240fps Displays 3in tilting LCD, 3.69m-dot optical/electronic rangefinder Connectivity USB-C, HDMI, mic, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Dimensions 128x75x55mm, 521g
Avery stable genius
The limitations of a fixed lens force you to get creative, but this stabilised sensor makes it ever so versatile…
The 5-axis IBIS meant I could get away with low shutter speeds, on the move, without worrying my shots were going to come out blurry. It also helped with shooting handheld in darker places.
It works brilliantly with the built-in ND filter for longer exposures (in good light) without needing to carry a bunch of extra kit. No need to break out the tripod, or even pose the camera on a flat surface.
40MP is almost double the resolution of the X100V. It means there’s loads of detail on display when using the 1.4x and 2.0x digital teleconverter to get closer to your subjects, with little noise.
Fuji’s colour science remains faithful to reality, complimentary to skin tones and with ample contrast, if a little more muted than some rivals. Exposure was always on point in my testing.
