Brief Summary
James Reader discusses his experiences with the Fujifilm X100VI, outlining five pros and five cons after using it for about six weeks. The pros include its capabilities as a hybrid camera for both photo and video, the improved video image quality, the new film simulation "reala ace", its low light capabilities, and its aesthetics and usability. The cons include the limitations of the lens, autofocus issues, lack of improvements to the camera body, poor battery life, and slow buffer clearing.
- Great hybrid camera
- Improved video quality
- New film simulation
- Excellent low light performance
- Aesthetic and usability
James Reader introduces a review of the Fujifilm X100VI after owning it for about six weeks. He used it as a hybrid camera for both photography and video, particularly for travel, street photography, and portraits. Instead of a typical review, he presents a list of five pros and five cons based on his experiences with the camera.
The Fujifilm X100VI is highlighted as a great hybrid camera, improving upon its predecessor, the X100V, which was primarily a photo camera due to its 8-bit video recording and clip time limits. The X100VI excels as both a photo and video camera, retaining the beloved colours and rendering of the X100V for photos, while also offering high-quality video capabilities. With the removal of recording limits, inclusion of 10-bit footage, built-in IBIS, and F-Log 2, the X100VI is a capable video camera. It is considered one of the best fixed-lens travel hybrid cameras currently available, offering very few compromises in either photo or video quality.
The video image quality of the X100VI is a significant improvement over the X100V, featuring 10-bit recording, 6K resolution, IBIS, no recording limits, and a new F-Log 2 colour profile. The footage from this camera is organic, sharp, and has improved dynamic range with a beautiful highlight roll-off. The improved video quality encourages spontaneous video capture, making it a valuable tool for travel.
The new film simulation, "reala ace," is a versatile addition, falling between classic Chrome and classic negative. It adds a subtle golden tone to scenes and landscapes while providing flattering skin tones for portraits. This simulation has become a favourite for capturing most scenes straight out of the camera. While currently exclusive to the X100VI, it could potentially be added to other Fujifilm cameras via software updates.
The X100VI demonstrates excellent low light capabilities in both photo and video modes. It performs well up to ISO 65,400 in photo mode, maintaining clean images, which is beneficial for street photographers. The inclusion of IBIS allows for lower ISO settings and longer handheld shutter speeds. In video, the camera performs impressively up to ISO 12,800, producing usable footage even at high ISOs, rivalling full-frame cameras in low light performance.
The aesthetics and usability of the Fujifilm X100VI contribute significantly to its appeal. Its design is a conversation starter and makes it enjoyable to use and accessorise. The tactile dials make shooting engaging, encouraging users to bring it along more often than larger cameras. Its compact size and capabilities for both photo and video make it ideal for situations where full-frame cameras would be left behind, allowing for the capture of spontaneous and favourite photographs.
The video is sponsored by Tessan, highlighting their universal adapter designed for travellers. The adapter features multiple plug types (UK, Europe, China, Australia) and includes fast-charging USB-C and USB-A ports. It supports power conversion for US, UK, EU, and Australian plugs, making it suitable for use in airports and hotels. The adapter is available in 65W, 35W and 100W versions.
The lens of the X100VI is seen as a limiting factor. It's the same lens used on the X100V, and despite the sensor's jump from 26 to 40 megapixels, there have been no optical improvements. This is considered a missed opportunity, as the expected improvements in image quality are not as significant as anticipated. The camera does not crop significantly better than the X100V, and the lens struggles in backlit situations, easily becoming washed out.
The autofocus in the X100VI is described as erratic and somewhat unreliable. Despite advertised improvements, the actual number of keepers has not significantly increased. While the software side shows improvements in tracking speed and accuracy, these do not consistently translate to better end results. The autofocus is also unreliable in video, often jumping to the background or random subjects.
The lack of improvements to the camera body is a missed opportunity. While the design is appreciated, certain enhancements could have been made without impacting the overall aesthetic. A quick switch for photo and video modes, similar to the one on the XT5, would have been beneficial. The absence of a d-pad and the inability to tilt the screen vertically for portrait photography are also noted as shortcomings.
Battery life is a significant con, with performance being potentially worse than the X100V. Multiple batteries are needed to get through a full day of shooting. Additionally, the camera grip tends to get hot, particularly where the battery is located, which can be uncomfortable.
The buffer in the X100VI is slow to clear, attributed to the larger file sizes from the higher megapixel sensor. This can be problematic when quickly switching between photo and video modes, as the camera may not allow mode changes until the buffer clears. The camera also occasionally locks up, requiring a restart, with the issue potentially linked to certain memory cards.
An additional con is the difficulty in acquiring the camera due to high demand. Despite its drawbacks, the X100VI remains a fun and engaging camera to use. While it may not be the revolutionary upgrade some had hoped for, it is still a great hybrid camera, particularly excelling in video image quality, making it one of the best travel cameras currently available.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “Fujifilm X100VI Review - 5 Pros and Cons - A let down or a hybrid beast?”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:02 [Music] so I've owned a Fujifilm x16 for about 6 weeks now and I was lucky enough to get it pretty early on and also use it on a couple of trips mainly as a hybrid camera for both photo and video for things like travel d today street photography and portraits so after the time that I've spent with the camera I figured rather than doing my usual review I put together a bit of a list of five pros and five cons that I have experienced in my time with the Fuji x16 so let's get right into
0:49 it pro number one is that the Fujifilm x16 is now a great hybrid camera I've been a longtime owner of the Fujifilm x100v and although I loved that camera it was pretty much a photo only camera to me I really didn't use the video side at all because it only recorded in 8 bit and it had a pretty heavy time limit on the clips you could record with the x16 most of those issues are now solved but don't get me wrong this is still a photo first camera for me I just love the colors and rendering coming out of this camera for capturing my life and travels and the x16 feels mostly like a continu uation of all the things I loved about the x100v in terms of the photos coming
1:35 out of this camera the x16 just has this unique way of capturing mundan and everyday scenes and somehow making them interesting mainly down to the in camera processing that you can do and it's something that I just don't get from any other camera I ownn but this is now a more capable hybrid camera than ever the camera really has you covered for high quality video too which is something we'll get on to later in the video but with the removal of those record limits we've got 10bit footage now we've got built-in Ibis we have F log 2 we've now got a really really capable video camera too along with it being an awesome photo camera this is the first X100 camera that genuinely has you covered for both photo and video in my opinion with very
2:22 few compromises in either and to be honest it's probably the best fixed lens travel hybrid camera on the market right now when you take into account the cost when using the X100 V if I was capturing feros I'd never think to myself to just quickly throw it into movie mode and capture some clips but with the x16 I do because the quality is just so good that when I do that I don't feel like I'm missing out on any quality in any way up against my fullframe cameras and that just makes this such a valuable camera to own for travel in my opinion Pro number two is the video image quality and this deserves an entire section on its own because I've seen some huge improvements in the six over the X100 V I touched on a few
3:08 earlier we now have 10 bit but we've also got 6K resolution we've got the Ibis we've got no record limits and a new F log to color profile to say that I've been blown away by the video quality from this little camera really is an understatement I just love the look of the footage coming out of this camera now using F log too the footage looks so organic yet it's still sharp and with much improved dynamic range over the x100v with a beautiful highlight rollof again I would find myself with the x16 taking a few photos and just throwing it into movie mode activating that ND filter and capturing some video clips um the kind of clips that if I had brought the x100v I would have never have captured because I would
3:54 have just thought to myself what is the point autofocus is decent in video and the addition of Ibis is certainly welcome although far from gamechanging in this camera overall I was extremely impressed with the video image quality coming out of this camera so much so that it actually has me interested in trying out some of fujifilm's other cameras for video such as the X H2S and pro number three is the new film simulation reala ace and I am a big fan of this new film simulation that has been added into the Fujifilm x16 it's just very versatile with its look lying somewhere in between classic Chrome and classic negative it adds a subtle golden tone to Everyday scenes and Landscapes
4:42 whilst giving a really flattering look to portraits as well and it also gives you beautiful skin tones this is now my favorite simulation by far for capturing most scenes straight out of camera it just seems to work for me in most scenes and scenarios compared to other film simulations now you don't get this in many other Fujifilm cameras right now but it is just a software thing at the end of the day so Fujifilm could add this to other cameras if they want to so hopefully we do see that in the future Pro number four is the X100 6's low light capabilities and this applies to both photo and video modes this camera is really really capable in low light situations ISO performance in this camera is excellent all the way up to
5:28 ISO 65 ,400 in photo where it remains really really clean which I think is a really important thing in a camera like this that's really popular among Street photographers and nighttime is one of my favorite times to get out there and get shots the addition of Ibis also really helps in this area because it allows you to keep your ISO much lower by having much longer shutter speeds and being able to take the shots handheld in video again I was really impressed with the performance of this camera right up until 12,800 ISO and even when there is noise it's rendered nicely and you get just in general really usable footage out of this tiny camera at very high isos and to be honest in terms of low light performance it keeps right up with my fullframe
6:14 cameras Pro number five the final Pro is the Aesthetics and usability of the Fujifilm x16 now let's face it I genuinely feel at a large part of this camera's appeal its popularity and its hype comes down to its aesthetic and I get it I love how this camera looks it's a conversation starter and it's really fun to buy accessories for and in general is actually really fun to use too thanks to its tactile dials it just feels really engaging to shoot with this camera this may not seem like a big deal but with my Canon R5 for example I'm not bringing that camera everywhere with me but with this camera I will bring it with me not only does the fun engaging experience of using this camera encourage me to just get out and shoot but the fact that this is so small and
7:01 compact yet still capable for photo and video now means I'm bringing it along to more situations where the full-frame cameras would get left at home and it still gives me great results there's been many occasions where simply down to the fact that this camera is so easy to just bring along throw in a backpack I've actually managed to capture some of my favorite photographs where usually I would have left one of my big bull Buy fullframe cameras at home and never got the shot I'm just going to take a quick minute to let you know that today's video is sponsored by tessan now as photographers we all love to bring our equipment with us when traveling but we've got enough to pack in our backpacks without having to worry about bringing a bunch of adapters and plugs
7:48 and messy cables too and that is why I've been loving Tess's new universal adapter that offers safe compact and convenient charging no matter where you are in the world the design this thing is just so awesome at the flip of a switch you can change the plug type to fit whichever local socket you need such as UK type G Europe type c and China and Australia type I plugs offering a single Compact and lightweight solution for your travel charging needs and of course the adapter allows for the conversion of us UK EU and Australian plugs meaning it's just perfect for airports hotels and more this 65 W unit also has two fast charging USB type c and two USB
8:35 type A inputs built into the adapter which means you can leave your extra charges at home this handy little unit is really cut down on the amount that I have to pack in my travel bag as you can see here I'm charging two cameras my phone and also two battery chargers using just this single travel adapter the USBC free is also fast charging which is perfect when you're on the move and needs some extra charge fast the 65 W version I have here also utilizes G technology for even better performance now that I've used this adapter on a couple of trips now I really don't think that I could go back to traveling without it it's just so small on lightweight it will easily fit into your camera bag or suitcase the model I have here is the 65 wat version but tessan
9:21 also make a 15 wat version a 35 W version and even a 100 W version of this unit the 35 W version of this adapter even includes an extra USBC Port giving you six ports in one so whether you are just charging your headphones or your MacBook Pro tessan has you covered so if you want to learn a little bit more about your new favorite travel companion check out the link to tessan Universal travel adapter in the description of this video all right onto the cons list and con number one is the lens I have a feeling that this lens is holding this camera back back a little bit it's the same lens that was on the X100 V so despite that jump from 26 to 40 megapixels on and on an APS sensor that
10:09 is a really demanding sensor size there's not been any Optical improvements made by Fuji film to the lens and I think that this was a mistake because despite that jump in resolution from 26 maps to 40 megapixels I have not seen anywhere near the kind of improvements in image quality that I would have expected this camera doesn't crop any better than the 26 mapel x100v in my experience I really wanted to see a bit more crispness and retention of fine details in heavy crops but it's just not there I compared the two cameras the X100 V and the 6 side by side in a previous video and on that video you can find raw files if you want to download those and check them out for yourself as I've spent more time with the x16 I've just come to the conclusion
10:55 to be honest that it is just really hard to see any kind of image quality improvements over the x100v and to be honest I got a lot better performance out of s Fujifilm xt5 and the 27 mm 2.8 prime lens when I used that combination and that is what leads me to believe that it's the lens that's holding this camera back from its full potential so yeah I do wish we saw some improvements to the lens with the x16 it's still also not great in backlit situations it gets washed out very easily so overall I think Fujifilm missed a good opportunity there [Music] and con number two is the autofocus the autofocus in the x16 is a little weird to work with right now and is very
11:40 erratic for lack of a better word when I heard that the X100 6 was going to have some autofocus improvements I was really excited to see how good those improvements were going to be but despite those apparent improvements I've unfortunately not really seen any Improvement in the amount of Keepers that I get when out shooting with this camera I certainly do see some improvements on the software side of things the camera does tell me it's tracking really really well the box is in the right place and it tracks faster than the v no doubt I just don't see the benefits in the end results I found it to be really unreliable in video 2 where the autofocus will just say jump to the background or jump to other random subjects in the frame I'm sure we'll see some improvements at some point
12:25 hopefully through some firmware updates as it is early days right now but as of right now the autofocus is a con for me con number three is the lack of improvements to the body of this camera yes I love the design of this camera but in my opinion Fujifilm missed an opportunity to make some improvements to it while still having very little impact on the overall great design of the camera for example this is a great hybrid camera of course we've covered this so why not add some kind of quick switch like we have on the xt5 to switch Qui LLY between photo and video modes right now I have to go into the drive menu and take several steps to be able to get into video mode and then activate the ND filter for example so i' would liked to see a quick switch that would
13:11 get you into video faster and automatically enable that ND filter for example they also could have added a d-pad to the back of the camera there's room for it there and I feel like that would have been a great thing to add but the main thing that drives me crazy with this camera is that you can tilt the screen out horizontally but you can tilt it vertically for say portrait photography and I really think that Fujifilm could have made that Improvement to the screen with the x16 they could have also just added an extra custom button or two but Fujifilm largely kept everything the same and in my opinion missed a good opportunity to update some things with the body on this camera con number four is the battery battery life is just not good I'm afraid
13:56 Fuji said we'd see some improvements in the x16 but I can't see those improvements in fact I think that the performance in terms of battery life is worse in the six you still need a fair few batteries to get you through a full day it just drains so quickly and as a side note also the camera the grip gets really hot where the battery is and this isn't something I've really experienced with any other small cameras that I've used but the X100 6's grip will get really hot and uncomfortable after a while even when just shooting photos [Music] con number five is the buffer the buffer in this camera is pretty slow to clear and I would put it down to the larger file sizes thanks to that new higher megapixel sensor also the issue with
14:42 this camera is I love using it for video now so I might be shooting a few photos and want to quickly hop into movie mode and capture a clip but if the buffer hasn't cleared you just can't even get into movie mode let alone record a clip and sometimes that buffer can take say 10 seconds to clear or even sometimes I've just had to Simply turn the camera on and off just to be able to get into movie mode I've also found as a side note that this camera locks up on me quite a lot it will just completely freeze and I cannot even turn the camera off but that does seem worse with certain cards so I really haven't figured out what's caused that yet so that's my list but I do want to add one honorable mention to the con side of things and that is of course just how difficult this camera is to get right
15:27 now but I don't know maybe it's getting a little bit better let me know down in the comments below if your pre-order has been fulfilled and maybe when you ordered it or let me know if you are still waiting for this camera so overall as a longtime x100v owner this has not been the exciting upgrade that I hoped that it would be but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is still a really fun and engaging camera to use the X100 V was one of my favorite cameras of all time and that will extend onto the six as well when I spend more time with it and make some memories with it and also I can't take away from Fujifilm that they have really made this a legitimately great hybrid camera now they really stepped up their game in terms of video image quality in this
16:15 camera and as a result has made it one of the best travel cameras on the market right now but let me know down in the comments if you have any pros or any cons to share about your x16 or just your opinion in General on my list that's it thank you guys so much for watching and I will see you all in the next one
