Thoughts on the Fujifilm X100VI. The last of the Fuji Rangefinders
I’ve been a Fujifilm shooter for quite some time now. The original X100 still sits on a shelf in my office, and I’ve had a total of 5 different Fujifilm cameras over the years. While the original X100 wasn’t my first Fuji camera, it was probably the one I used for the longest. Since then, there have been numerous iterations of this camera, each better than the previous one. I never really bothered upgrading the X100 because my other Fuji cameras pretty much did the same thing, but with the additional option of changing lenses. Now with its latest iteration, is it time to finally upgrade? And what does the X100VI release say about the rest of the Fuji Lineup?
NOTE - I wrote this the day the Fuji X100VI was announced. Obviously this isn’t meant to be a review of any kind, and is just my opinion and speculation based on what I’m reading. I’ve been using Fuji cameras since the original X-Pro1 and so it’s a topic I’m passionate about. If you’re looking for a review of the camera, this editorial isn’t it.
Ok, so obviously I don’t have the camera. I’m not internet famous enough to get a preproduction copy to review, and here in Ireland, we’re not exactly on the top of the camera press go-to list. However, there’s been a bazillion blogs and vlogs over the past 24 hours about the X100VI, so it fells like a large portion of the camera peeps population has been using it. Essentially, it is the guts of an XT-5 in an X100 body. Much of what is in the camera wasn’t exactly unexpected, with one possible exception - I think most people were surprised by the fact that Fuji gave the X100VI in body image stabilisation. I think this will be quite a valuable asset to the camera. It allows you to shoot longer exposures at lower ISOs. It also makes shooting occasional video on this much more useful.
The X100 form has evolved over each of its versions, with most people considering the X100V to be the pinnacle. It had experienced a huge growth in popularity about a year ago, making it almost impossible to get. That lack of availability, coupled with what appears to have been TikTok and Instagram induced fame, has propelled the X100 series to legendary status. Obviously, Fujifilm saw the popularity of the design and adopted an “if it ain’t’ broke, don’t fix it” approach and kept the body design almost identical. It will be interesting to see if the X100VI retains the same levels of fame, but early indications are that it has already been selling extremely well. So don’t expect to get one any time soon.
Now I could go into all the things that make this little digital rangefinder great, or speculate on how the world is crying out for an analogue experience in a digital world. I could wax lyrical on the beauty and engineering of Fuji’s film simulations or their much vaunted JPEG engine, but I’m not going to.
Mainly because it’s been discussed to death at this point.
I do want to talk about is the 40mp sensor, though. While I see some people saying this doesn’t really matter and isn’t necessary, there is one big advantage to it. Because of the X100’s fixed lens, you can use the increased resolution to crop to different effective focal lengths. I believe the Leica Q series does this, and Apple does something similar with the iPhone 15 series.
[UPDATE] When I first wrote this piece I said that I wasn’t sure if the camera had such a feature - as it had literally been just announced - but apparently this feature is included (and a similar one included on the F and V) - it’s called “digital teleconverter” although it only crops the JPEGS if shooting RAW + JPEG, or the Jpeg Preview if just shooting RAW - which could be the best of both worlds. There’s a good review of the feature here.
Which brings me to me back to my original question: would I buy one?
Well … perhaps.
My original reason for not upgrading still stands. I have other Fuji cameras that pretty much give me the same or similar results, so why would I need the X100VI?
It’s the form factor, stupid?
I’ve always had a thing for the “digital rangefinder” style of camera, and all of My Fujifilm cameras were of this style. My first Fuji was the X-Pro 1, but I returned that as it was so buggy. My second was the aforementioned mentioned original X100. After that, I got the X-E2 and then the X-Pro2. The X-Pro2 died on me, outside of warranty, and I never bothered to get it fixed because it was going to cost too much. Finally, my current camera is the X-E4.
The problem is, Fujifilm appears to have killed the X-E series and the X-Pro series, so now the only rangefinder option is the X100 series. Unless something changes in the near future, and they bring back these lines (which seems unlikely), if you want a Fujifilm rangefinder, and if you want an X-Trans 5 series rangefinder, your only option is the X100VI.
While I’m sad to see these models go, I can understand where Fujifilm is coming from. I see it as Fuji simplifying their lineup, which, to be fair, had a lot of similarly specced cameras, with just different form factors. I really liked the X-Pro2 as well (although I hated the screen design of the X-Pro3) and it is a shame to see this line go, as it was the original X Series. It makes sense to me that Fuji would focus the “pro” line on the X-T and X-H series. There probably weren’t enough customers to justify continuing the development of the X-Pro series. The same is most likely true of the X-E series. The X-S20 is a more capable camera for a similar price, so it’s likely most customers were gravitating to that line.
UPDATE: Apparently my speculation on this has offended some people - but I checked with my local supplier, and the X-Pro3 has been discontinued and is no longer available. Ditto the X-E4. There are no reliable rumours of a replacement any time soon. I would really like to be wrong on this but, based on the available information this is the conclusion I’ve come to. But again, this is just may opinion.
Interestingly enough, Fujifilm isn’t the only manufacturer to move away from the rangefinder style camera. Panasonic seems to have abandoned its GX line, having not updated in ages, with many people speculating that the line is finished (I hope not - they were great little cameras). Canon too has discontinued its rangefinder style mirrorless cameras with the end of the Eos-M range. None of the newer R series cameras are of the style of the M-6 or M100. (I know some would argue that these aren’t technically rangefinder style as they have no viewfinder, but they are similar enough that I am including them here)
The X100VI really does seem like an almost perfect evolution of this form factor, and given its popularity, I’m not surprised if they decided to focus the rangefinder efforts on the one design. I suspect it will sell extremely well. It makes a great companion camera to a larger body and makes a great street and travel photo camera too. I would very much like to try one. If it solves some of the issues I have with my X-E4 (the screen flipping when held too close, and the focus point changing if you so much as brush off the joystick) then it could be an almost perfect street camera for me.
It’s been a long road in some senses for the X100 series of cameras. They’ve always had their Ardant fans, even among those who wouldn’t consider any of Fuji’s other cameras. They make an ideal travel and walk around companion, and pack a lot of punch into a small body. Many see them as a bridge to the analogue world of film cameras without the cost or hassle of shooting film. The unique style and internet fame has propelled the cameras to superstardom, and the latest version seems to be the optimal evolution of that. There’s no such thing as the perfect camera, but for its target market, the Fujifilm X100VI comes pretty close!
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