Fujifilm announces the X100VI, its follow-up to a TikTok sensation

Fujifilm’s X100V turned so wildly fashionable that it felt just like the digicam was endlessly backordered at each digicam retailer round. On the secondary market, costs for the rangefinder-style mirrorless digicam shot up into really foolish territory after it had a giant viral second on TikTok. The X100V was so in demand that Fujifilm may’ve taken the simple route for a successor and nonetheless been assured to have a success on its palms.

The brand new mannequin, being introduced at this time, appears to be like virtually the identical on the surface, however the X100VI contains significant enhancements that can make it a extra succesful digicam — in way more capturing environments — than any earlier entrant within the X100 sequence. The flip aspect to these upgrades is that the worth has climbed by $200 to a brand new MSRP of $1,599. That’s not far off from the X-T5, however the two cameras serve very completely different functions: the X-T5 is an interchangeable lens system, whereas right here, you’re getting a 23mm f/2 mounted lens.

Just like the X-T5 and X-H2 earlier than it, the X100VI has jumped as much as a 40-megapixel sensor, which offers higher cropping leeway and enhancing flexibility. Having extra decision to work with is nice and all, however a extra spectacular improve is that Fujifilm has constructed in-body picture stabilization (IBIS) into this digicam. You stand up to 6 stops of stabilization assist for these eventualities the place you wish to preserve the shutter pace as sluggish as doable whereas preserving picture sharpness.

However Fujifilm hasn’t upgraded the whole lot. The X100VI sticks with a UHS-1 SD card slot — fairly sluggish for a digicam this costly — and it makes use of the identical battery because the X100V fairly than the bulkier (and far longer-lasting) battery that’s current within the firm’s different fashions. The latter selection was made to protect the X100VI’s general dimension (it’s only a bit thicker), nevertheless it means you’ll wish to have a spare battery available everytime you’ll be out capturing for a full day. The digital viewfinder and rear LCD even have the identical resolutions as final time, at 3.69 million and 1.62 million dots, respectively. You continue to have the liberty to decide on both the optical viewfinder, EVF, or a hybrid of the 2 when capturing, and the X100VI continues to supply an inner four-stop impartial density filter when wanted.

Fujifilm has geared up the X100VI with its newest X-Processor 5, which makes the brand new digicam “nearly” twice as quick because the X100V. Together with the pace increase, you’re getting much-improved autofocus that makes use of the corporate’s newest algorithms for topic detection. And the X100VI will come loaded with 20 Fujifilm movie simulations, together with the Reala Ace sim that was beforehand unique to one of many firm’s dear medium format cameras. Ask any Fujifilm shooter, they usually’ll inform you one of many firm’s core strengths is JPEG processing: there are complete web sites dedicated to tweaking these movie sims and getting the very best straight-out-of-camera outcomes.

As for its building, not a lot has modified: the X100VI has an aluminum physique designed to resist some bumps and go in all places with you. However as earlier than, you’ll must outfit the lens with Fujifilm’s sold-separately adapter ring and protecting filter to realize true climate resistance. In a departure from its made-in-Japan predecessor, the X100VI will observe different latest Fujifilm cameras in making the swap to China-based manufacturing. Some would possibly view this digicam as having much less pictures “mystique” because of this — there’s a ton of historical past and heritage to cameras being produced in Japan — however shifting the method to China ought to enable the corporate to get many, many extra X100VIs off the meeting line and into digicam outlets.

The X100VI shall be obtainable in silver or black and is anticipated to start out transport in early March. Alongside the usual mannequin, Fujifilm will launch an extraordinarily limited-edition model of the digicam that’s “engraved with the company model brand from Fujifilm’s founding in 1934.” Priced at $1,999, “every unit bears a novel serial quantity,” and the corporate says “these numbered X100VI items are packaged in a particular, soft-release field that features a particular strap and Fujifilm historical past playing cards.” You’ll solely be capable to order the LE straight from Fujifilm.

If the X100V is any indication, there’s going to be a ton of curiosity on this digicam. For anybody prepared to learn to use them, the X100VI’s dials and handbook controls provide a wonderful reprieve from auto-everything smartphone capturing and the rising prevalence of computational pictures. And people Fujifilm JPEG colours are simply pretty much as good as folks say. Keep tuned for extra impressions from each Becca Farsace and myself within the weeks forward.