6 Reasons Why We Love The Fujifilm X100VI in 2026

I've owned a few cameras in the X100 line over the years, and I'll be honest — I was a bit late to the VI. By the time I got my hands on one for a few days, the internet had already made up its mind. But spending time with it myself? Yeah, I get it now.

I still shoot with my X-Pro1 daily. It's battered, it's slow, and I love it. So when I picked up the X100VI, I wasn't expecting to be won over quite so quickly. Here's what did it. And if you're the kind of photographer who actually carries their camera everywhere, it's worth pairing it with a proper leather camera strap — because this one deserves to be worn, not left in a bag.

1. The 40MP Sensor That Elevates Every Shot
40 megapixels in a jacket-pocket camera still feels slightly absurd to me. It's the same sensor as Fujifilm's flagship bodies, and you feel it in the files — there's room to crop, room to recover, and that Fujifilm colour science is doing its thing underneath all of it. I shot some frames I'd have been happy with on any camera I own. That's not something I say lightly.

2. IBIS — Finally
Six stops of in-body stabilisation, and it's the first time the X100 series has had it. I didn't realise how much I'd been compensating for the lack of it until I didn't have to anymore. Low light, slow shutter, walking — it just handles it. Handheld video is actually usable now too, which opens the camera up in ways the previous versions couldn't quite manage.

3. The Hybrid Viewfinder Is Still the Best Thing About It
I know some people don't use the OVF. I think those people are wrong. There's something about shooting through an optical viewfinder on a camera this size that makes you slow down and actually look at what you're pointing it at. Flick to the EVF when you need to check exposure or nail focus in tricky light. It's a genuinely clever system and nobody else does it quite like this.

4. Film Simulations + Reala Ace = Dangerous
I've been shooting Classic Chrome for years and I'm not changing. But Reala Ace is genuinely good — neutral, filmic, handles skin tones well. The simulations on this camera mean I'm handing JPEGs straight to people without touching them in Lightroom. That's not laziness, that's the point. This is the kind of camera you want on you all day — and a slim leather camera strap makes that a lot more comfortable than a nylon afterthought.

5. The Dials Still Matter
I'm not interested in cameras that make me go into menus to change basic settings. The X100VI has a shutter speed dial, an aperture ring, an exposure compensation dial. I can change all three without taking my eye away from the viewfinder. It sounds simple because it is — and that simplicity is increasingly rare. It makes shooting feel like shooting, not like operating a device.

6. It's Just the Right Size
Not the smallest camera I've used. Not the lightest. But somehow exactly the right size — big enough to feel like a proper camera in your hands, small enough to actually have with you. That's the whole game with a compact. The X100VI wins it.

Final Thoughts
I went in a sceptic — not of the camera, but of the hype. The hype is mostly justified. The X100VI is a genuinely excellent camera that gets out of the way and lets you shoot. It's not perfect (the fixed lens will always divide opinion, and good luck finding one at retail price), but for what it is and what it does, it's hard to argue with.

Mine spent most of the time I had it slung over my shoulder on one of our handmade leather camera neck straps. Felt right. If you're picking one up, browse the full range of leather camera straps — something that good deserves a strap to match.