I have been a Fuji fan since 2018, when I bought a Fujifilm X100T from a friend. By the time the X100VI hit the market last year, I was ready for a major upgrade, especially considering the new camera’s addition of a much higher-resolution sensor, five-axis in-body image stabilization for six stops of stabilization, lightning-fast autofocus and a bunch of other features.
The only problem was that the X100VI seemed likely to have many of the same availability issues that its predecessor, the X100V, had in 2020. In fact, Fuji has done such a poor job of satisfying demand for the X100V that some retailers converted unfulfilled X100V pre-orders into X100VI pre-orders just to try to keep customers happy. Fujifilm even publicly stated that the company would try to avoid the same issues it had with the X100V by shifting production out of Japan to China, and by using parts that were easier to get in volume.
The Frustrating Experience Of Buying (Or Attempting To Buy) An X100VI
I ordered the X100VI from Moment — which was supposed to be partnering closely with Fujifilm to launch the new camera — within 30 minutes of its announcement in February 2024. I ended up waiting eight months before I cancelled my pre-order. Ultimately, I bought a used model that had taken fewer than 300 shots from a friend in December. During that time, retailers were given no real estimates of timelines or quantities, which left their customers in the dark. It was truly one of the worst buying experiences I’ve ever had for a product that wasn’t a scam.
Fuji’s CEO claimed during an earnings Q&A back in November that the company’s production issues had been resolved and that retailers would have a better idea of availability and volumes going forward. But here we are in March 2025 — a full year after the X100VI was released — and the United States’ biggest camera retailer, B&H Photo, still has the camera listed as a “New Release” with an option to “Notify when available.” That is far from having the supply issue “resolved.” I consider myself lucky to have acquired one of these cameras, but I am glad I did not give my money directly to Fuji, because I really don’t think they earned it.
The Fujifilm X100 Platform
The X100VI is the sixth generation of the X100 platform, which started with the FinePix X100 in 2011. That model was followed by the X100S in 2013, the X100T in 2014, the X100F in 2017, the X100V in 2020 and finally the X100VI in 2024. I believe that the X100VI is truly the refinement of the X100 platform in a way that makes its $1,600 price a great value (once we set aside the availability issues).
In fact, Fuji probably could’ve gotten away with charging more for this camera, especially knowing that it would be in such high demand. I applaud the company for making it so accessible; if you want to “upgrade” from the X100VI in terms of capabilities and features, you probably need to get something like a Sony A7CII, which has a larger body and costs $2,200. While the X100VI has a slightly larger body than the X100T, it is still extremely compact compared to almost any other camera with similar capabilities.
My motivation for getting an X100VI was mostly that my X100T was feeling pretty dated, to the point that I wasn’t using it anymore. Compared to more recent releases, the X100T doesn’t work very well in low-light scenarios, plus the 16MP resolution is way too low in comparison to newer cameras operating at 40MP or more. For me, the X100VI was an ideal replacement for the X100T because it has effectively the same form factor but with a significantly upgraded sensor (40MP), IBIS, faster autofocus and a very reasonable price. This was especially enticing because of the baby my wife and I were about to have in early 2024; I wanted something compact that would be easy to travel with, like the X100T was.
The X100VI Photography Experience
One reason I’m such a fan of Fujifilm cameras is the in-camera film simulations. I’m also evaluating the X100VI from the perspective of someone who is invested in Sony’s system with the A7III and A7RV. The pop-out screen on the X100VI is quite nice; it isn’t quite as useful as lots of camera screens today that have full articulation and rotation, but just by being able to pop out and tilt as much as it can, it is already a huge improvement over viewscreens that are firmly stuck in the camera body. I also like it that all of my older lenses from the X100T still easily fit on this camera, although Fuji has also released new versions of the conversion lenses for telephoto and macro photography that are probably better for the higher-resolution sensor.
With this model, Fujifilm made the necessary upgrade to 5-gigahertz Wi-Fi for faster transfers; the previous generation used 2.4 gigahertz, which is slower and has lots of interference. While the upgrade is appreciated, not offering Wi-Fi 6 is a mistake because it’s a very widely available technology — really, a commodity at this point — that has much better range, performance and security characteristics. One odd thing is that Fujifilm has this camera set to 2.4 gigahertz by default, so the user has to manually choose the 5-gigahertz option. Another necessary upgrade was the move from standard SD to SDXC, which supports up to 2TB card sizes. Unfortunately, this camera doesn’t support SDXCII, so it doesn’t take full advantage of the SD standard.
On this camera, I really like the ability to record in up to 6K, which is a huge improvement over the X100T’s 1080P, although I found myself recording in 4K since most devices and platforms don’t support 6K. The 40MP sensor is also good for creating more useful images than 16MP, which by this point is almost as low as where most smartphones are standardized today (12 MP). The IBIS also helps with low-light photography; the X100T really struggled with this because I would have to bump the ISO really high and get super noisy images to capture anything remotely sharp. Even the X100V doesn’t have this IBIS stabilization, which is a key factor for a smaller sensor to work well.
The focus on the X100VI is extremely fast, sharp and clearly AI-enhanced with face detection. This has become a fairly standard feature in high-end cameras and is starting to trickle down into more affordable cameras like the X100VI. This can be a blessing and a curse, because sometimes it will focus on the wrong face, while at other times it lands perfectly and the image is very sharp — so your mileage may vary. Speaking of trickling, this camera is also weather-sealed, so it can be used in the rain and other scenarios where you wouldn’t dare use a normal camera.
The shots this camera produces are high-quality across the board, and while the low-light performance isn’t quite as good as with some full-frame cameras, it’s important to remember that this is also a much smaller camera than those. A lot of people swoon over the aesthetics of this camera, which helps explain the crazy-long preorder lines and continual shortages of supply. To be fair, when I used this camera, I got lots of positive comments on its appearance, with some people thinking I was shooting film. But for me, it really boils down to the technical capabilities and how well this model continues the intention of the X100 line, and I think the X100VI is very faithful to that. That said, I would love to see Fuji continue to improve the low-light performance on the next generation and possibly improve the AI-driven object detection.
Current Situation: Hard To Get
As I explained earlier, while this camera checks all the boxes for me and has given me the performance upgrade that I wanted, it is still extremely hard to find. Fujifilm is of course fully within its rights to make consistent profits off this model for the next three or four years, but I don’t think it will bring people into the Fuji system like I suspect the company intended — unless the supply issues get ironed out, and soon.
The X100VI reaffirms the value of the X100 line, arguably too well, given that it is by far the most in-demand camera on earth and scalpers are charging north of $2,000 for it. In fact, some resellers on Amazon are selling it for above $2,200 right now, more than a year after the camera came out. I say it’s time for Fuji to further boost production of the X100VI and give the people what they want.
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