gdanmitchell
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 p.3 #4 · Will you be buying the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI? | |
The point about cameras being different does not negate my point about a crowded field of competing Fujifilm cameras.
Some people DO buy more than one camera in that range — say a XH2 and a X100vi. (I’ll just refer to that as if it exists for now.) But of people owning multiple cameras with different purposes, I’d wager that most (including many in this thread) who use a Fujifilm x-trans camera don’t use two of them — the other camera might be a GFX or (more likely) something like a FF body from another manufacturer.
So, if we’re looking at what I’ll broadly call the “more expensive Fujifilm x-trans cameras” (X100vi, XT5, XH2/XH2s, XPro of some number, should a newer one actually arrive.), picking one is almost always a decision to not get one of the others. Again, there are exceptions, but they are a small percentage.
For most folks getting a X100vi, that will be their only Fujifilm camera. Same for those getting the XT5 or XH2(s). Most folks with a XT5 aren’t going to get the X100vi (or, for that matter, the XH2).
Other manufacturers tend to differentiate based on sensor performance. That’s not the only thing, but it is pretty basic. Is it FF or crop. Is it optimized for higher MP or for faster speed and low light? Is it a less expensive low end model, or is it the very latest thing?
With almost no exceptions, Fujifilm does not do that. The same sensor ends up in virtually all cameras of a generation. (The XH2s is a rare exception… that we don’t hear about so much now.)
All of them provide the same resolution. The same (with one exception) operational speed in most ways. Differences in size, weight that are, objectively, not that great.
I’m a pretty good example of the conundrum. I have the XT5 because it is well-equipped. It gives up little the the XH2 that matters to me, and I prefer the smaller size and slightly lower weight. I am not willing to restrict myself entirely to a single focal length — while much of my small-camera photography is done with the 27mm f/2.8, I also rely on other lenses (various primes, a couple of macros, three zooms).
The X100vi is a very attractive, sexy camera. I’ve used it predecessors and liked them a lot. But could it be my only x-trans? No, for reasons outlined above.
Could it be a second x-trans camera augmenting my XT5? Maybe, but I doubt it. The X100vi would be better than my XT5 with the 27mm f/2.8 in some ways, but that better-ness is hardly significant. The XT5 is already quite small, especially with that lens. It works very well for street/travel photography, which is my primary use.
I’ve come up to the decision point a few times on the X100-series cameras. I like them a lot. But when push comes to shove, spending between $1500 and $2000 for a really lovely camera that does so little that my current system already does with aplomb is a bridge too far.
Because I’m not entirely positional – unlike some in this forum— I’m going to acknowledge two weaknesses in my position.
First, fujifilm’s use of the same sensor in all cameras cuts both ways. Above I explained how it reduces the attraction of a second x-trans camera for buyers like me. But on the other side, it also reduces Fujifilm’s development and manufacturing costs, which probably allows them a little more leeway with camera overlaps that would be more problematic if the sensors were not the same.
Second, because the X100v has been such an aspirational purchase for so many (we’ve all been over the TikTok crowd’s influence), the market is much hotter than it would otherwise be. Fujifilm may well be able to ride that wave, at least for a while.
YMMV.
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