Fujifilm X100VI initial review: Digital Photography Review – digitalcameras.ie

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The Fujifilm X100VI is a photographers’ fixed-lens digicam which mixes a stabilized 40MP APS-C sensor with a 35mm equal F2 lens.

Key options:

40MP BSI CMOS APS-C X-Trans sensor
35mm equiv F2 lens
In-body IS rated at as much as 6EV of correction
Hybrid optical/digital viewfinder (3.69M dot OLED panel)
Machine-learning educated topic recognition AF
14 movie simulations
6.2K video seize and 10-bit recording
Constructed-in ND filter
Tilt up/down rear touchscreen

The X100VI will probably be out there at an MSRP of $1599, a $200 improve over the earlier fashions. Will probably be out there from early March 2024.

Purchase now:

Index:

What’s new?

The largest change within the X100VI is the addition of in-body picture stabilization.

Apparently, Fujfilm says the IS efficiency drops from 6.0EV of correction to five.5EV of correction for those who use the viewfinder in optical mode. We weren’t given a purpose for this, so can solely speculate that the 6.0EV determine is achieved with some extent of analyzing photos for shake that for some purpose would not happen when the dwell view feed is not getting used. We’ll right this if Fujifilm gives any additional rationalization.

Little or no seems to have modified on the again of the X100VI, besides the disappearance of the phrase ‘Made in Japan.’ We historically do not take a place on such points however really feel it is price mentioning when it comes together with a worth rise.

The X100VI additionally sees a transfer to the 40MP BSI CMOS sensor used within the X-H2 and X-T5. It is a sensor that delivers excessive ranges of element seize, and from what we have shot up to now, we do not have a lot concern concerning the lens’s skill to profit from this decision bump.

The VI additionally options Fujifilm’s X Processor V, that brings with it the machine-learning educated topic recognition algorithms. This implies the X100VI has modes to acknowledge animals, birds, cars, bikes and bikes, airplanes or trains. As with different latest Fujifilm cameras, human face and eye detection is a separate mode, so you may must configure two buttons or positions on the Q Menu for those who plan to swap between photographing individuals and a distinct topic kind.

Movie simulations

The X100VI positive factors the Reala ACE movie simulation first seen within the GFX 100 II. Alongside this are added the Nostalgic Neg and Eterna Bleach Bypass simulations, taking the full quantity to 14 simulated filmstocks or 20 for those who embrace the faux-color-filtered variations of the mono modes.

It is a lot to select from, even for experimenting with them after the actual fact, utilizing in-camera Uncooked conversion. For probably the most half the choices out there characterize movie responses that you simply may really select to make use of, however the distinction between a few of the modes have gotten fairly delicate and there is a steadiness between offering helpful choices and feature-bloat.

Digital camera to cloud

The X100VI turns into Fuijfilm’s first digicam to help the camera-to-cloud (c-2-c) system utilizing its built-in Wi-Fi. This comes along with the same old Wi-Fi-to-smartphone choices. It permits you to pair the digicam with a Wi-Fi community after which have the digicam add photos and video on to Adobe’s Body.io cloud-based collaboration platform. Even on the preproduction mannequin we have now we discovered it was simple to arrange and provides the choice to auto add information as they’re created or to allow you to manually choose those you want to add. You possibly can choose particular file varieties, too, in order that it solely uploads video or JPEGs, or simply Raws or HEIFs, as you like.

Video

The X100 sequence has at all times supplied video to some extent, however we have not heard of lots of people making use of that functionality. The X100VI presents primarily the identical choices because the X-T5 (itself not the corporate’s most video-focused mannequin), so that you acquire 10-bit recording, 6.2K seize from a 1.23x (43mm equiv) cropped area or ‘HQ’ 4K derived from this footage. This displays considerable rolling shutter. Alternatively there’s sub-sampled 4K at as much as 30p from the sensor’s full with or at as much as 60p with a 1.14x crop.

Just like the latest GFX 100 II, the X100VI now has AF monitoring in video mode, and this is not restricted to the themes it has been educated to acknowledge.

The X100VI has a mic enter and may use its USB-C socket for audio monitoring although, in contrast to the X-T5, no USB-to-3.5mm adapter is offered.

It is attention-grabbing to notice that lots of the film mode’s settings at the moment are accessible solely when the digicam is in Film drive mode. This fashion there’s solely a single web page of primary video capabilities within the menu once you’re taking pictures stills.

Different modifications:

Along with the updates of a few of the digicam’s fundamental specs, the X100VI additionally inherits lots of the smaller refinements and updates that Fujifilm has developed within the 4 years because the final mannequin was launched. These embrace:

HEIF seize
Pores and skin smoothing impact
White precedence and Atmosphere Precedence Auto WB modes
Customized AF zone areas
Choice to restrict out there AF space varieties for AF-S or AF-C taking pictures
Pre-shot bursts (E-shutter + Cont H)
Self timer lamp on/off
Interval taking pictures with exterior timer
Interval precedence mode (prioritizes chosen interval, regardless of publicity time)

Physique and controls

The X100VI is 2mm deeper than the present X100V, and 43g heavier. In follow, neither of those modifications are particularly noticeable. The digicam nonetheless would not really feel overly heavy.

The physique’s dimensions are related sufficient that it will nonetheless match within the present LC-X100V leather-based digicam case. It is also nonetheless suitable with the present tele and wide-angle converter lenses. It makes use of the identical lens because the earlier mannequin, so you possibly can weather-seal the digicam for those who add the filter ring adapter and a filter of some type.

The rear display on the X100VI is a refinement of the tilting touchscreen on the earlier mannequin. It now tilts down a bit of additional (45° moderately than 30°) and pulls away from the physique and viewfinder a bit of when tilted up for waist-level taking pictures. It is a small change, however a welcome one.

Controls

The management structure is similar to the earlier mannequin, with devoted controls for aperture, shutter velocity, publicity comp and ISO (albeit an ISO management that is fiddly to the purpose of primarily being ornamental). As with earlier fashions and lots of historic movie cameras, the publicity mode is dictated by the place of the devoted dials. Primarily you flip the dial to ‘A’ in order for you the digicam to regulate that worth:

	Handbook	Aperture Precedence	Shutter Precedence	Program
Aperture ring setting	F-number	F-number	A	A
Shutter velocity dial setting	Shutter velocity	A	Shutter velocity	A

Publicity compensation is on the market in all modes, together with Handbook, when you’ve got Auto ISO chosen. And, because the shutter velocity dial solely has whole-stop steps, you should use a command dial to provide you 1/third cease precision, ±2/3 EV from the worth chosen on the dial.

Command dials

As well as there are two pressable command dials on the back and front of the digicam, which may have a sequence of capabilities utilized to them if the devoted controls aren’t getting used.

That is the place issues get a bit of difficult: the publicity comp and ISO dials have devoted ‘C’ positions to move management over to the command dials. The shutter velocity dial would not have a C place, so as a substitute must be turned to its ‘T’ (Time) setting. The aperture ring would not have a C place however its ‘A’ (Auto) place may be reconfigured to behave as ‘C’, by way of the menus. This is probably not apparent, given the ISO dial has each an A and a C place, however that is the place the X100 sequence growth has introduced us to.

We discover it laborious to think about many individuals are assigning three settings to the command dials, and therefore needing the pressable dials to make their perform toggleable, however for many permutations we will anticipate, we expect you possibly can configure them solely to the capabilities you need to management, so not less than you will not by chance press the dial and alter something surprising.

Disappointingly, for those who set ISO to ‘A’ you possibly can’t use a command dial to pick out between the three Auto ISO presets that you may configure. For that you’re going to want to pick out ‘C’ and watch out to not scroll the command dial too far and disengage Auto ISO altogether.

Hybrid viewfinder

The X100VI has the identical hybrid optical/digital viewfinder as its speedy predecessor. This has three modes: absolutely digital, absolutely optical and optical with an inset digital show.

As with all viewfinders which might be offset from the lens and sensor, it is affected by parallax: when centered at infinity, the distinction in place between the lens and viewfinder is irrelevant, however turns into more and more vital as the main target distance decreases. Not solely does the framing of the picture diverge at nearer focus distances, the place of the AF factors successfully strikes down and to the suitable as you concentrate on nearer topics.

The X100VI finder consists of the enhancements made in firmware 2.0 for the X100V. A ‘Corrected AF level’ possibility (AF/MF Settings pg 3) that shows a bracketed indicator within the OVF, exhibiting the place your AF level will transfer to for those who focus near the digicam. One other menu possibility, ‘Vivid Body Place Reminiscence’ (Setup/Display Setup pg 1) permits you to determine in order for you the AF field to revert to infinity after every shot or keep on the right place for the final time you centered. Between these two choices it’s best to be capable of get the OVF to work the way in which you are most snug with.

Battery

The X100VI makes use of the identical NP-W126S battery as the last few X100 fashions. It is an 8.2Wh unit from which the digicam is rated to ship 450 photographs per change utilizing the optical viewfinder or 310 photographs for those who use the EVF. The same old caveats come into play: in lots of taking pictures situations you possibly can count on to get round double this quantity.

Preliminary impressions

Richard Butler

It is easy to be a bit of underwhelmed by the X100VI at first. It seems a lot like its predecessors that it is laborious to understand what’s new. I hardly ever have the necessity for huge pixel counts, so respect the transfer to 40MP with out being particularly thrilled.

Likewise, the addition of topic recognition AF is a pleasing sufficient addition, however just like the arrival of 10-bit video and tap-to-track focus in video, it feels lots like a function that makes much more sense for a digicam such because the X-H2S, as a substitute of on a digicam with a set 35mm equiv lens. The byproduct of Fujifilm’s developments elsewhere in its vary, moderately than issues that the X100 sequence was crying out for.

And, as we famous when the lens was up to date with the X100V, the brand new lens is not particularly quick to focus: its design strikes many of the lens to focus, prioritising sharpness over velocity. So, even for those who determined that you simply need to go birding with a 35mm-equiv digicam, it isn’t going to maintain up with fast-moving topics, regardless of how way more subtle the AF algorithms are.

However then I began digging a bit of deeper, and began to analysis a glance again on the growth of the sequence. As somebody who purchased the unique mannequin and remembers the excitement within the workplace when Fujifilm first offered it to us, and who’s been concerned to not less than some extent in reviewing all the next variations, I used to be nonetheless caught a bit of offguard by what number of modifications the corporate has made with every iteration.

So right here we have now the addition of a serious function: in-body picture stabilization, but in addition a bunch of little tweaks and refinements. There are the delicate bodily tweaks just like the display that tilts additional down and pulls additional away from the viewfinder when turned upwards. However there are additionally minor updates, such because the addition of HEIF seize, the choice to make use of an exterior intervalometer and the flexibility to switch which of the digicam’s many AF space modes can be found once you go to pick out them. All individually minor, and possibly every related solely to a subset of customers, however cumulatively these little changes construct up into one thing.

For each higher and worse, the X100VI operates lots like an X100V: the mannequin the place we lastly felt Fujifilm’s ‘use it nevertheless you like’ strategy to operation risked overwhelming the digicam’s unique simplicity. Nevertheless it additionally behaves like an improved, extra refined X100V, which itself behaved like an improved, extra refined X100F, and so forth. At its coronary heart it is nonetheless the most recent incarnation of the digicam that extra DPReview writers have spent their very own cash on than every other.

With every launch of the X100 sequence, the query of whether or not house owners of the present mannequin ought to improve has sometimes been a reasonably nuanced one. However the reply for brand spanking new inductees to the query “which one ought to I get?” has at all times been “the most recent one.”

Plus ça change…