Fujifilm X100VI Review – Snap, crackle, and ISO-pop

There’s a certain beauty to cameras with fixed lenses, especially if that snapper is packing enough hardware heat to make it a go-to device for almost any photographic need. Enter the Fujifilm X100VI, a sequel to its wildly popular predecessor, the X100V. On the outside, it might look not too much has changed, but internally there have been some significant upgrades made to turn this camera into a versatile machine for the modern age. Well, almost. It’s a rock-solid snapper for the current generation, albeit one with a few last-gen annoyances.

Once you have it in your hands, the X100VI quickly allays any fears of sub-standard workmanship. Fujifilm has stuck to its photographic guns here as the camera has an aluminum body designed to endure wear and tear when you’re on the road. Interestingly, Fujifilm has outsourced production on this model to China, but the end result is a camera that doesn’t feel like it has lost any of its signature Japanese workmanship. All the dials and buttons feel standard by now if you’re familiar with Fujifilm cameras, and this model sports a sharp LCD display on its rear.

This isn’t a heavy camera, giving it further appeal for street photography, although the shallow handgrip does mean that the neckstrap becomes essential when you pop down to the city center for some impromptu shots.

Throw in some clever shortcuts that can be done via the touchscreen and other inputs, and you’ve got a comprehensive selection of options to help you take that perfect photo. It’s a design that could be better though, as in the drive to create a slim shell for the X100VI, a few niggles in the user experience have emerged. For example, I’m not a big fan of how the switch from photography to video is handled, as you have to hit the Drive button and scroll between options, a process that can rob you of precious seconds. Considering that my X-S20 allows me to flip between modes with its handy dial alone, the X100VI’s method feels cumbersome by comparison.

As for the fixed lens, this camera is rocking a 23mm f/2 fixed tube of precision-engineering. The 35mm equivalent field of view gives a wide and cinematic quality to photos or video, although achieving those portrait shots will require you to move in close. You can get some pretty decent macro photography done with this lens as well, and its compact shape helps keep the camera highly portable.

The big news with this release is the internal tech, as the X100VI joins its X-T5 and X-H2 siblings in sporting a new 40-megapixel sensor – as well as a price tag in the R30,600 to R31,600 bracket. The X100VI packs in double the megapixels of its predecessors, adding a ton more resolution to work with alongside improved in-body image stabilization (IBIS), and up to six stops in total. That’s a lot of power right off the bat, but annoyingly this camera still uses the same battery as the X100V. While Fujifilm has aimed to keep the X100VI as trim as possible by sticking to the old battery, it also means that you’ll quickly find yourself running out of juice during a shoot. Carrying a spare is going to be a necessity for those long days when you aren’t close to an outlet.

The camera also uses a slower UHS-1 SD card slot, although thankfully, it is equipped with the new X-Processor 5 hardware. Theoretically, that makes the X100VI almost twice as fast as the X100V, and with an incredibly quick autofocus powered by the latest in Fujifilm software, that speed makes a heck of an impact. Combined with encouraging results from low-light photography and video, the urge to start snapping away is hard to resist.

The X100VI is a ton of fun to use, especially when the photos it takes are so vibrant and fascinating right out the box. Once you start playing around with settings and filters, the potential for creating art is quickly evident. I’m a big fan of Fujifilm’s elegant series of filters, and I was chuffed to find the Reala Ace in its library. Originally reserved for Fujifilm’s priciest products, it’s a thrill to have this artistic filter available here.

And that’s the key word right here: art. Grabbing candid shots and editing them at home revealed just how detailed these images are. Thanks to the high resolution, cropping will preserve much of the information from your photos and this model shares the trademark richness that you’d expect from Fujifilm in the modern era. It’s a quality that is admittedly hard to quantify–and I don’t think my resized images (included in this article) do this train of thought much justice as we’re all slaves to the Google algorithm of website SEO–but I think there’s an air of sophistication with each picture once all the technical stars align.

This is a feeling reflected by the video capabilities of the X100VI, which in my opinion work really well for casual users and social media pundits. At the top of its spec sheet, you can shoot at up to 6.2K 30fps and with a 1.23 crop. 4K options are also available, but the camera’s older UHS-I card slot means that you’re limited to a maximum of 200Mbps. There are some trade-offs when you really dig into the nitty-gritty of the X100VI, but overall, the video mode and the options available are pretty good. Not outstanding, but good and sufficient for your regular shutterbug.

The catch here is the auto-focus, which is one of the strongest elements of the X100VI – but which also highlights a key weakness. Without a doubt, the autofocus functions show a major improvement from Fujifilm in a category it has struggled with in the past, but the fixed lens struggles to keep up. There’s a lag between the software and the hardware, an issue that led to several shots having a blurry finish when I was dead certain that I’d taken a crystal-clear snap. It’s an issue that doesn’t crop up too often with more relaxed photography sessions, but I wouldn’t want to rely on the X100VI for sports day pictures.

The Fujifilm X100VI left me with some strange feelings. It’s a device full of compromises, its fixed-lens design can be off-putting to people who want more options, and there’s a definite lack of harmony between its hardware and software. And yet, it’s a camera that feels exciting to use, especially when you nail that perfect photo. It’s a piece of hardware that places limitations on its user, but working within those invisible walls and learning to love its photography-first direction reveals a refreshing sense of purity that is unique to it.