Fujifilm X100VI - First Impressions 

I sold my X100V a time ago, but the silent leaf shutter was actually a positive for me, I actually would like it on my X-T3. Most people use also a lens hood to make it aesthetically even more pleasant, so the weather sealing is an easy fix. A great positive also is using the in build flash with high shutter speed because of the leaf shutter. I miss my X100V after using it for 2 years, it’s amazing for travel photography. I could not justify the money and having also the X-T3.

I've owned every version of the X100 up to the V and eventually sold each one of them. This time, I bought an X-T5 instead. Very happy with my decision.

A really nicely balanced review with a well thought out conclusion. Amazing photos. Your composition skills are impressive.

Great video! Couldn’t agree more. Mine finally arrived last month and it’s definitely a nice luxury to have for play outside of work.

I own this camera. I love this camera. It definitely fits in with the vibe where you want to take great photos of casual time you spend with your friends and family. Definitely like taking it when I don’t want multiple lenses. That’s not to say that I do have cameras that have more of that purpose when I want really great photos. It’s just not the camera would use when I’m just hanging out with friends and family. I like handing it off to other people because it’s pretty to look at and they use it.

Thanks for the honest review man, Much love

Very well rounded honest first impression/review Roman.

This was probably the best review of the VI I’ve seen. You get right to the point. I totally agree with all of your pros, cons, and neutrals. I think this should be required viewing for anyone considering this camera. I own one, as I had the T and V before and I absolutely love the VI. The first few times I used it, that dead silent MS had me looking at my photos to make sure it snapped. I also hit the Q menu to see if I was in ES. I am simply amazed by its silence. The IBIS is what made this a worthy upgrade. I’m like you, I love the built in ND and use it frequently. Great review.

Still rocking my X100F and with a recent XT5 feel no reason to upgrade. Thanks for the balanced review; some great points.

Hi Roman, I am recently new to fujifilm cameras having had nikon and canon dslr cameras. I wanted to venture into the mirrorless world and for a good while after doing my research I thought the X100VI was the answer. However I could not buy one due to the shortage of demand. I decided to look at an alternative and ended up buying an XT5 instead for all the reasons you have stated in your video. I opted for the 16-80 kit lens and a couple of weeks later bought the 23mm F2. The XT5 with the 23mm prime on it is a far superior version of the X100VI. That was my thinking. Of course it is bigger and heavier but still a small camera compared what I was used to in the past. It took me a long time to make my decision to purchase what I did but you're video has just conformed I made exactly the correct choice for me personally. I enjoy your videos a lot. Thank you for helping me understand photography from your perspective and also your help with the fuji systems in particular. Michael

Always enjoy your videos! Re grip, I added a Smallrig L shape grip, it’s made all the difference and also protects the camera base.

The shutter sound can be raised in the menu. Remember is a leaf shutter but it has a fake sound you can control

Cheers Roman, it’s Sean in Atlanta! So you took the plunge and purchased an X100VI? Good on you! I had a T but that was several years ago. Don’t you wish Fuji would put their thinking caps on and offer one in graphite, like my X-Pro2? I like the silver, but the graphite was very special. I have to admit that I really want one, also! It’s just that fixed lens that makes me hesitant. That, and the fact that I am still waiting on Fuji to announce the X-Pro4, then I may pull the trigger on another Fuji. Currently, I shoot a Nikon Z5. But Fuji will always be a favourite! I actually follow both James and Mike, so I’m happy to see you out and about with the rest of the gang that I discovered over in your part of the world! I am a huge London fan and am happy when one of my favourite photographers is showcasing my heart city! Thanks Roman, it’s a great video and a great camera and I almost now am leaning towards theX-T 50! Good advice! Sean

If you love the 23mm/35mm focal length and want something to document your life and take quick video clips, then it's a great camera. I rarely use my x100v because I really don't like that focal length. Nice video Roman.

Pleasure shooting with you dude! Looking forward to the next

Great video, thanks.

Great video as always Roman. I pre-ordered one, I am into Nikon Z for serious photography but this one looks super pocketable and still delivers great images with high IQ. Keep up the good work!

XH1 has same shutter mechanism and I luv it. It's one of the many reasons I keep it

Roman, Your reviews and opinions are always the most trusted. Brutally honest and have a practical mindset. Anyone interested in this line would be better off buying a fuji Xpro with a pancake lens. Also you are dead on with the whole adding a grop to this camera being a waste, I so many people loading these tiny cameras with accessories and just shake my head

“If your into stalking or upskirting” was bants 😂 yeah I much prefer a sound with the shutter too, great points in the review and always enjoy your work, your grasp of lighting and shadows is excellent

I’m enjoying mine so far. Like the new film simulation. Looking forward to it going to the other cameras.

The Lensmate thumbgrip and Garix leather half case makes holding my x100V much more comfortable and secure. Ibis on the x100vi was tempting, but have that on the xt4. Love the built-in ND filter, as you noted. Very handy for quick short video but not a dedicated video camera, as you noted. Leaf shutter plus built-in flash is amazing as fill flash on bright days. I think you are spot on...this is a nice small second camera as partner for a bigger camera. Also good for vacations, etc. Not for everyone, but good in its niche(s). For me, walking around with xt4 (love the ibis, still/video switch, flippy screen, bigger battery, battery grip), with 70-300mm bcs prefer telephotos plus the pseudo-macro on this lens is so handy plus it takes the 1.4x teleconverter. Combine that with the x100v and it gives me a lightweight combo covering most things I might want to capture, without having to carry extra lenses (ok, the teleconverter, but it is so small). edited for typos

Love James Parsons! I wished I loved a 35mm field of view. I had a x100V which I gave to my son and almost got sucked up into the x100VI - but I really would prefer an updated X-E series so I can change the lenses and keep the smaller footprint. Glad you have liked your experience with the x100VI.

I like your honest coments when you review products 👍😉

I once owned an earlier version of the x100 but sold it because I was frustrated with the fixed lens. I now own the xt5 and I really enjoy using it, especially paired with the 16-80 zoom, a great travel combo. But I still want something smaller and lighter for street work and now use the xt30ii with the 23 f2 lens and reach for this more than the xt5 ( except when it is raining!) . Combined with the 27 pancake it really fits in a coat pocket. As you get older, I'm 77, a light kit becomes more manageable.

Aside from the fact that you can customise the shutter sound & volume for both the leaf shutter and the electronic shutter in the sound settings menu, the negatives were pretty much spot on. That said, I love my X100VI.

Hi Roman.. You can eliminate your number one negative by going to🔧 menu, then to sound setup and then increasing MS Electronic Shutter Volume and ES Electronic Shutter Volume. 7:38

I use this cam together with the A7cr and Sigma 85mm 1.4 lens, fits both easily in a Peakdesign 6l bag…perfect combination

Best honest review to date. In a nut shell it's over priced for what it is .

Very balanced review. Keep up the great work. Love the honesty and do agree on some of the negatives. Do think the positives outweigh the negatives (slow write speed, weather sealing extra cost).

Great review, thanks, I just received my X100VI a few days ago. Which lens hood are you using?

Thanks for the review! Do you have a name or link for the weather kit/ lens hood?

Enjoyed the review - where’d you get your shades from 😊😊

Going on almost 4 months since I preordered the camera, and I have no clue if/when I'll ever receive it. Reviews like yours are really helping me to sway towards alternatives at this point.

You can turn the sound on the shutter release. It's not analog but at least you hear something when you press the shutter.

Great review for a great machine. Next week I'll fly to London and move to Dartmoor/Cornwall, any suggestion?

"A luxury product" - well said! It's for taking great photos of your holidays, your family and friends. When you don't want to fuss with your camera settings.

Congrats on getting the X 100VI Limited edition #0479 of 1934! Mine is #1904 of 1934. I have even used it as my X-T5 companion camera, essentially as the "wide angle lens" on wildlife safaris when my X-T5 takes most shots with a long lens. Great to have the same sensor in both cameras.

Good review! The only point I'd disagree on is about the feel of the shutter. I don't want to feel *anything* when I take a photo, because anything I feel is just unwanted vibration that can be transferred to the photo. It's why I love the X-T5 shutter feel - it's like it's mounted inside a cage with springs, you can barely feel it. The X-Pro3, conversely, makes a distinct SNAP when it shoots.

Good tools are nice to pick up and use.

Very nice review, Roman, particularly because you waited until the rest of the RU-vid herd did theirs. As much as I'd like a VI, I cannot justify the cost, so I will get a Fuji XF 27mm f/2.8 for my XT-5 and have a similar shooting experience with the added benefits of faster memory and the bigger body.

X100V shutter sound is enabled by default so it sounds a little louder, in reality they're the same leaf shutter. Quiet shutter is great for indoors, and high speed flash sync is really nice if you want a handy fill light outdoors in the sun. I think the tradeoff suits the type of camera but yeah it can come down to personal taste Agree they should make it fully weather sealed but there's much cheaper alternatives for the filter adapter than the Fuji, mine was $20 from Squarehood and imo it's better than OEM. That said I also think the current screw threads on the lens makes the adapter lenses feel more secure and compact, I think a traditional filter thread could be too thin. A thick enough thread for the adapters on a sealed lens would add more bulk to the lens. Not ideal to buy additional material obviously but tbh the tradeoffs aren't terrible.

Thank you for your sincere opinion Roman. What is the filter (on the X100VI) you used in this video?

The most positive thing about this camera is it encourages you to go out and shoot. Small rig have a great light weight small grip for it.

Thanks Roman,… I am looking forward to buying this camera, when available! … in the meantime, I just purchased your London Book. I am planning to create a book on Tokyo. Did you make that book using Squarespace? Cheers.

Got mine in the mail yesterday. Just in time for a weekend trip. Been using the 100v daily since its release. I’m not sure how I’ll like the added resolution.

Great review. Feels like one of the few out there that isn’t completely peddled by Fuji. By that I mean that I feel you gave real criticism of this camera. So many others gloss over the points you made. I’m out there looking for my first real camera and want to keep things simple and portable. Anything else I should check out? I see the Ricoh GR 3. Not sure what to get!

Putting the leaf shutter on the negative list because you personally dislike it seemed reasonable until I realized you also had a neutral list. The shutter is absolutely neutral at worst - not to everyone's taste, but very attractive to some people.

great overview and helped me make my decision - I will go with the Leica d-lux 8, even though I might be comparing apples to oranges

Great review. I don’t actually need it, but would like one never the less :-)

Hi Roman, where did you get your X100VI ? How long was the wait time ?

Uh1 card is to reduce heat. No front glass, i.e. not weather sealed, is to reduce size. Lens extends out far for macro. Has selectable shutter sound fx. AF does need firmware love.

The A7RV reminds me of doing a job, which it's the gig camera. My Pen F and M11 I feel makes me enjoy photography again vs. a source of income. Dunno if that made sense.

Off topic but where are your shades from man? Super clean

I use XT3's for work, and an XE-3 for fun. Its much cheaper than the X100's, possibly not quite as cool, but being able to swap out the lenses from my collection is great.

All X100 cameras have a leaf shutter. Which is great, and is the explanation why it's silent. It's a sign of quality and awesomeness!

I have to say I highly disagree with you about the focus engine on the X100VI, as it's having the exact same issues as fellow RU-vidr @edvard2942 recently exposed on the X-T5 and X-H2/S models with the latest firmware... I recently wanted to test the face / eye detect AF system, so went out with a friend to do a casual portrait session, and with a stationary subject, good light, and using either Single Point 5x5 AF or AF ALL, the in-focus hit rate on her eyes was I'd say 3/10... Just like @edvard showcased, the camera would claim the eye was locked on focus (green), both in the moment and later in playback, but the actual focus area was always their lips, nose, cheek, and very rarely her eye(s). I also found when I set the camera to AF Zone 7x7 or 5x5, the focus is EXTREMELY "jittery" and never settles on a logical area within the focus frame; on my 2017 Sony A7R3, I can do the same and the focus is ROCK SOLID and steady on a logical subject within the focus grid. And let's not forget that Fuji's 425-point AF grid is ONLY available in single-point mode up to single-point 5x5 mode, because in all others it drops to something like 112 which is ABYSMAL... I thought edvard was exaggerating, but I now agree that using a Fuji camera like this, or even an X-T5/H2 make me feel like I'm using a Nikon D7200 from 2014, it's not acceptable for a camera brand in 2024, and Fuji should fire their entire focus engine team and re-do the entire thing. I'm hoping this can at least be partially resolved / improved via firmware, but time will tell.

Hey Roman, do you have a photo spots guide for Lisbon?

What shutter release button are you rocking there Roman?

I ended up coming to a similar conclusion. I really wanted the X100VI. I have a X100T and XH1 already that I've owned for several years, so the upgrade would have been nice. But its out of stock everywhere, so I went around the stores to look at alternatives and did research. Ended up getting a XT5 new, and a used 23mm F2 for less then the total of a X100VI. Amazing camera, and I can use my 35mm f1.4 and 56mm f1.2 on it as well, so I sold my XH1 as its just too big to carry around all the time, and my XT5 is just a better camera. My partner uses my X100T now as basically a point and click camera as it still takes much nicer photos then her phone.

Whats that lens hood its amazing!

At 1:58, your camera top looks different. What's that right beside the fujifilm emblem,engraved signature?

my biggest bugbears with it (and the main reasons for not getting one) are the old battery and not going with CF Express memory cards. I know they would make the camera bigger but with the extra resolution, etc then I feel the would be necessary to get the best out of the camera

🔥🔥

The leaf shutter has a sound, though subtle one

The external usb battery you were using? What brand is it?

have you ever tried the x-t X0 lineup (the smaller xt10/20/30 etc.)

What's that minimalist wrist strap?

The accessory widget looks like a combined UV filter and hood? I coughed up £50 for a Fujifilm brand metal hood for my 35 f2 as the one that comes with the lens is deeply horrible. Add a decent quality filter and that comes to about the cost of the X100VI gizmo so although obviously I'd prefer it to be included with the camera I wouldn't be too reluctant to pay extra. Please keep us posted on how you get on. Another video in a few months would be good.

The shutter lacking that tactile experience is such a bummer. That was my favorite thing about moving from Canon to Fuji with my X-T5. I've been flirting with adding a X100 to my setup just for fun but that's definitely a turn off. I wish they came out with an X-pro 4 (or kept making the 3).

Your point about the WR issue is well taken. It's especially important when combined with my biggest negative with this camera... The price! Like many new bodies it's just way to expensive. And given the price, there is no excuse for having to purchase the lens cover and especially to charge so much for it. Thanks for your insights! Have a great day....

Ref grip - Every X100 model I’ve owned I stuck a strip of skateboard deck grip on the front and back.

Idk, man. The leaf shutter not making much noise is awesome but I do miss the beautiful shutter sound of my x pro3. That sound is so rewarding but the silent leaf shutter means I don't have to use electronical shutter for silent shots.

What’s the lens cover?

Where is the location at 1.18? Is it Bank or St Paul's tube station?

The silent shutter is a no no for me. I love the sound of my X-E4 whem i snap a photo. Makes the experience so much better. For silent cameras i have my phone or ES mode.

There’s no stock for this camera. Don’t bother preordering. You’ll have your money locked for months

9:41 what’s the location?

'those squirrels don't fuck about' 😂 ha ha quality!

The X100 isn't merely a luxury item! it's a unique tool in the right hands. It offers features such as a leaf shutter, a built-in ND4 filter, and a decent 35mm FOV lens all packed into a very compact body. You can expand its capabilities with tele and wide-angle extenders. Imagine photographing portraits for your client, both indoors and outdoors, and wanting to stand out by adding a speedlight or strobe. With the X100, your kit will be as compact as possible: any flash, any triggers, and you can shoot up to 1/1000 (possibly even higher) with the ND4 filter and ISO 200 on a sunny day. It amuses me when RU-vidrs compare the X100 to other mirrorless (DSLR-like) cameras, suggesting they might be a better investment.

All X100 cameras have had leaf shutters 😊👍

Good review, agree with your conclusions. Until I am rich enough I'll have the live with the 100f. 🤑

I watch videos like this to keep my hyped up because that preorder delay is taunting me to cancel

Is that a limited edition version I see?

Get the XT-50 or the XT-5 guys. Cancel your pre-orders. Your 2024 YOLO vacation does not require you to have Tiktok's favorite camera.

You can enable shutter sound - problem solved

I didn't like the image quality at night. Iso over 1600 it's useless. But in my opinion images takes with the camera are better than a phone. However if you are ok a budget this camera will do the job

I'd find an iPhone more useful if I wanted compact. But it's not really that compact. It's barely much smaller than my XT3.

Everytime I look at the X100 series of cameras I just think “why not just get an X-Pro series?” Granted I’m happily served with my X-T4. I just never quite understood the hype I guess.

finally better thumbnail lol

„Squirrels don‘t f*ck about.“ - Roman Fox, 2024

dude! it's a leaf shutter! 🍃

me with my x-pro1 thinking than in 10 years i will buy this camera second hand

Your videos

nobody speaks about the wake-up time for getting it out of sleepmode pressing the shutter button. For a street photo gear, it seems a major point, and my experience with an x-t4 was not in favor of Fuji bodies :(

I've had the X100VI since early March (I'm lucky!)... I started photography and photo development in the 1970s at the age of 7... I've had dozens, maybe even hundreds of cameras, but this is the first time in a long while that I feel like I'm holding a film camera that reminds me of a Canon AE1 or a Nikon FM2 from my childhood. It's an ideal camera for those who want to enjoy understanding photography far from the PSAM modes, which are pure marketing! Back in the 70s or 80s, we used to roam the streets generally with a single lens, often a fixed 35 or 50mm (FF). Today, many think that photography is about having the most powerful equipment, with 10 different lenses.... Photography should remain a pleasure, not a constraint. If you want to use the X100VI for the Olympic Games🤸or the 24 Hours of Le Mans 🏎... then you will have different photos from the perfect, but soulless, photos of professionals. With the X100, you will have extraordinary photos for these events, full of life if you know how to compose your images and capture the moments to immortalize, which I have no doubt you know how to do. Thank you for your video full of common sense and impartiality."🤸

Roman don’t get yourself in sussy jail 😂

Nice review. The X100 looks cool but once you get used to the X-S20 or X-H2/s style bodies you might prefer those 🙂

Did you make an upskirt joke?

Man I don't understand how you can say it feels premium, everything in that camera is fidgetting in some way. The buttons are very bad and all the dials are quite unsecure, the ISO/Shutter one seems like is going to detach any moment when you turn it. The general construction is not that good and the plastic finiture feels rubbish when you hold it. Fujifilm is not producing gear with high construction quality lately...