The new Fujifilm X100VI will be officially announced mid-February, four years after the launch of the popular X100V. With image stabilization and a 40MP sensor, it’s closer to the “ideal camera” solution for travelers.
The camera is not officially out yet, but we already know that it will emulate another emulsion from Fujifilm and, even more important, that it is “only 1 Millimeter Thicker than X100V.”
The Fujifilm X100V, launched in 2020, is a star from Fujifilm’s gallery, and even TitTok, it appears, could not resist to its timeless body with top and bottom plates milled from single pieces of aluminum, which results in a refined and classic camera body with clean, attractive edges. Finished with a beautiful satin coating, the X100V is a perfect combination of design and engineering that is sure to make photographers of any level joyful as they make their images.
So, because you do not change a winning team, the good sense suggests that Fujifilm will keep doing the same, or bout the same with the new Fujifilm X100VI, which is the center of all attention from rumor websites, and other that use the same source of info to make “news”. And the news is that, and we got this from the Fujirumors website, “The Fujifilm X100VI will be just 1 millimeter thicker than the X100V.”
The author of the informative text notes that “The size difference would be so negligible, that it would be noticeable only on paper” and adds this: “I hope that now you’ll agree that the size difference is really extremely negligible and that we can say the X100VI has basically the same size of the X100V.”
So, now you know: the new camera is just “1 millimeter thicker than the X100V”. It means you don’t need to go and buy a new photo bag, because the Fujifilm X100VI camera will, probably fit in the same compartment you’ve used for your Fujifilm X100V.
What is not viable now will be available tomorrow
There is more about the new Fujifilm, though, and it’s related to something that the company has made in almost all its modern cameras: classic film emulsions are emulated in the mirrorless models from Fujifilm. They may have stopped selling many of their glorious films – I know, I used some, mostly Velvia – but the spirit of those emulsions lives inside the Fujifilm cameras of today.
Now, there is real excitement because the Fujifilm X100VI, according to the same website, “will be Fujifilm’s first APS-C camera to feature the new REALA ACE film simulation.” This should not be much of a surprise, but the reason for the news is one: according to the website, Fujifilm engineers said, during the X summit even from the company, that “the new GFX100II sensor is the best fit Reala Ace. Without this sensor, we are not able to realize REALA film simulation in it”.
The sensor on the GFX100 II is, in fact, something special as the new 102-megapixel sensor “GFX 102MP CMOS II HS” with a readout speed that is about two times faster than the GFX100S. According to Fujifilm, combined with X-Processor 5, the GFX100 II is able to achieve a high continuous frame rate of up to 8fps, surgically accurate AF, and advanced video features that have never before existed in any previous GFX System or X Series camera.
The GFX100 II introduced the latest iteration of Fujifilm’s renowned color science – REALA ACE. Brand new for GFX100 II, this 20th Film Simulation combines faithful color reproduction with hard tonality, making it suitable for all subjects and situations. Now, the engineers might have said that they could only do it with the GFX 100 II sensor, but there could be reasons for that to be true at the time but not anymore. That’s technology moving forward, and, from my experience of years seeing new products at Photokina, and many of Fujifilm’s development and progression from analog to digital (which I followed closely for professional reasons… decades ago) what is not viable now will be available tomorrow. After all, it is Fujifilm that notes, about the GFX100 II, that it is “is able to achieve a high continuous frame rate of up to 8fps, surgically accurate AF, and advanced video features that have never before existed in any previous GFX System or X Series camera.”
The rumors do not stop at size and color, though. There is also a price hike shared, spread by the same source and used by many websites, repeating a rumor. Prices have been rising lately, even for groceries – I know, I was out shopping today – so this should not come as a surprise. And it’s still a rumor….
More interesting, really, are the known facts about the upcoming camera: it has much of what made the X100V a great camera, but it comes with a 40 MP sensor against the 23MP from the previous model and that’s important for a camera that only has a fixed lens – 23mm. The new sensor, besides all the technological evolution that four years represent, has more pixels if you want to crop an image, and offers image stabilization, which will contribute to sharper images.
Just for those two new things the Fujifilm X100VI introduces, it makes sense to upgrade to this new model, when it becomes available, somewhere around February 20. Or buy one if you’ve never touched the Fujifilm X100V until now. And don’t forget that the new model also offers, according to rumors, REALA ACE film simulation and is “1 millimeter thicker than the X100V”. Ah, yes, and don’t forget the rumor about the price: is going to cost more!
