My "new" camera

FedEx delivered my new camera today - two days after I ordered it. And two days after I cancelled my pre-order for the Fujifilm X100VI. I’ll tell you the reasons why I made this decision and why I think the Fujifilm X100V is actually the right camera for me, and maybe for most people that want an X100 camera

I woke up on February 20th around 6am. The Fujifilm X-Summit had already happened hours before, where the new X100VI was officially announced and pre-orders opened up. I realized I wasn’t going to be one of the first people to receive the new camera, but after hearing reports of the demand and some back-of-the-napkin calculations by those better informed in the industry, it would be many weeks or even months before I would see the camera I had already paid for.

I watch a lot of YouTube and reviews of the X100VI from those who had already had hands on with it noted that there were only 3 real features differentiating the latest release from it’s predecessor. I started watching comparison videos. After a bit of back and forth in my head, the decision became clear. Here are the primary reasons why I decided to get the X100V over the X100VI.

40 Megapixel sensor
The new camera has a larger megapixel count over the previous model’s 26 megapixels. But we all should know by now that megapixels do not tell the whole story on image quality. While 40 sounds like a huge jump, it’s actually only an image increase of roughly 25%. Those larger images also eat up hard drive space much more quickly. That’s not really the point of having a walk-around camera.

I have seen a number of side-by-side reviews of pixel-peeping images and the quality increase is marginal. My guess is that the now 4-year old 23mm f/2 lens does not resolve detail that the 40 megapixel sensor can produce, thereby limiting the image quality.

IBIS
The new models offers In-Body Image Stabilization - 4-stops mechanical + 2-stops digital. This is incredible in a camera this small! However, this feature is more beneficial to video and only marginally beneficial to photo shooters. Plus, I don’t have IBIS now in my X-T3, so I wouldn’t really miss what I don’t already enjoy. I also worry that IBIS would eat through the small battery even faster.

New video modes
I am not a video shooter. Period. Enough said. These new video modes make no difference to me and I don’t think anyone buying an X100 camera buys it for video, specifically.

Everything else about the X100VI is the same as the previous X100V model. Body style, lens, ND filter, battery, viewfinder, LCD screen, etc. Yes, they slightly moved a button on the back and there are 3 new film simulations, but none of this makes a consequential difference. The X100VI is also the first camera to be manufactured in China, instead of Japan. While I’m sure quality controls will be held to Fujifilm’s high standard, I still like the nostalgia of having a Japanese made product over a Chinese made product.

So I looked around and found that the X100V - a camera that has been almost completely unavailable for 2 years; a camera I looked at and thought about wanting for years - is now suddenly available on the used market as people offload it in favor of ordering the new camera. And the prices are coming down. I paid less than retail for my X100V. If you know anything about this camera, you’ll know that for the past couple of years these have been selling used for 1.5x to 2x their original retail price!

In the end, I decided that the X100V, with it’s excellent image quality and smaller file sizes, was really what I wanted from an everyday carry camera. I’m thrilled to finally have my first X100 camera and to fall in love with photography all over again.