Fujifilm X100VI

Gareth Bevan discovers a compact camera that packs in some stealth upgrades

- Gareth Bevan

The sudden overnight popularity of the X100V took everyone in the camera world a little by surprise, but none more so than Fujifilm, which has spent the time since scrambling to get enough copies in the hands of all the people who want one. Launched in 2020 as the fifth iteration of Fujifilm's premium compact camera, it wasn't until almost two years later when TikTok influencers sent the price of the Fujifilm X100V skyrocketing and its supply chain into freefall.

Hopefully, with some lessons learned and some more ambitious manufacturing targets, Fujifilm is back to give the X100 series another go with the Fujifilm X100VI.

What's changed with the X100VI from the previous model? Externally, not that much but when you have a viral success like this on your hands, you don't want to rock the boat. The X100VI sees a big bump in resolution from the X-Trans 5 sensor from 24MP to 40MP, with video now topping out at 6K. The new X-Processor 5 also powers better autofocus with subject recognition and tracking for faces, eyes, animals and vehicles.

If you have used a camera in the X100 series before then you should feel at home with the X100VI. Fujifilm remains committed to dials on its cameras, so there are two dials up top, one handling exposure compensation, and the other shutter speed. This shutter speed dial also has a clever trick though, where you can lift and twist it to change the camera ISO. It works really well and is particularly satisfying.

The aperture is handled by the ring on the lens, which has two raised textured handles and I find it easy enough to turn with one finger. The lens clicks at each aperture stop are quite audible, meaning that you don't have to take your eye off the viewfinder to alter your settings.