COMPACT CAMERA TEST FUJIFILM X100VI
“EXTERNALLY, LITTLE HAS CHANGED FROM THE PREVIOUS MODEL, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A VIRAL SUCCESS, YOU DON’T ROCK THE BOAT”
The lens is compatible with wide and tele lens converters released with the X100V – however, if you want to use filters, you’ll need to purchase a filter adapter ring amount to cling onto, and your little finger will be lost as to what to do with itself.
The X100V set some lofty expectations with its outstanding image quality, but the X100VI exceeds them. Edge to edge, images are sharp and detailed, with excellent contrast. Fujifilm’s colour science is among my favourites, and in the standard Provia simulation colours are pleasing, with a good balance of natural colour and saturation. If you don’t like that, there are always another 20 simulations to try.
In our lab tests, noise at higher
ISOs takes a hit over the X100V due to smaller photosites on this highermegapixel sensor, but in real-world use this is far less noticeable. I shot the neon lights of Tokyo at night with this camera and, even at ISO 6400 or 12,800, images were usable, and didn’t look any noisier to the naked eye than images from the X100V. Peeping in the corners, there doesn’t seem to be any obvious softness or vignetting in JPEGs, even when stopped down to f/2.
Autofocus is improved, and makes the older model feel significantly slower. On the X100VI, AF is quick and silent, and in continuous focus the camera had no problem holding focus on my subject as they wandered about the frame.
As well as human faces and eyes, the X100VI’s autofocus also now recognises subjects including animals, birds, cars and other vehicles. Some of these options feel less essential on a 23mm fixed-lens camera, but they’re good to have, and vehicle tracking worked well in my testing.