Viewpoint Geoff Harris
Fujifilm X100VI mania is in full swing and this highlights wider trends, says Geoff Harris
It’s only spring but this year has been dominated by the excitement around one camera – the Fujifilm XI00VI, a premium compact with retro/classic styling. Describing it in this way, the camera sounds unremarkable, as other makers, notably Olympus/OM Systems, have been bringing retro-styled models to market for years.
What’s ignited the firestorm of excitement though is the fuss made about its predecessor, the X100V. It already had admirers, but it effectively sat there for a couple of years before it started to get bigged-up by TikTok and Instagram influencers, intoxicated by its cool looks and convincing film simulations. Covid also contributed, as supply chain factors meant the camera became very hard to get.
Fujifilm is now busting a gut to keep up with demand for the X100VI. There’s even been a ballot for punters keen to get the Limited Edition in the UK.
Commentators have been focusing on this but most are missing the wood for the trees. The unprecedented demand for the X100VI shows that all the predictions about smartphones destroying the compact camera market have been overstated. While the glory days of 2010 are over, when more than 121 million digital cameras were shipped, camera makers are holding their own (see page 4).
Yet there’s never been such a massive choice of photographically powerful smartphones. The received wisdom was always that most consumers wouldn’t bother with a separate camera as soon they could take comparably good pictures on their phone. So, what gives?
Is the shine going off phones?
From talking to younger picture-takers, this old-timer gets the sense they’re now bored with only using phones. Phones are everywhere. But a cool-looking retro camera still appeals to the under-30s.
It’s an attention-grabbing accessory.
Second, the X100VI looks nice when you post about it on social media (as well as taking great photos). Stylish cameras make good subjects for YouTube videos, for example, which are often recorded on your… phone.
Third, the X100VI appeals to existing photographers as not everyone wants a bulky, premium-priced mirrorless flagship (though top-end mirrorless cameras are also generating good profits for makers).
It’s not just Fujifilm, either. Leica continues to make hay with its Q series of premium compacts. The firm recently added its branding to Xiaomi smartphones, and while this may seem counterintuitive, it realises that a pricey Leica camera dangling from your neck still makes you look pretty damn cool.
The future is unwritten
Like with continued demand for printed books and vinyl, you can never totally predict how consumers will behave. Even puny but bling digital compacts from the noughties are back in fashion.
The success of Fujifilm’s X100VI and other stylish premium compacts does not mean the existential threat from smartphones has just gone away. But I am increasingly convinced that all those ghoulish reports of the slow death of the ‘conventional’ camera have been greatly exaggerated. And what’s more, all camera makers should be celebrating the success of the Fujifilm X100VI.