The Fujifilm X100VI is the perfect travel camera

The Fujifilm X100S was my first X-series camera which I bought back in 2015. I absolutely loved it. The way it looked, the feel of it in my hands, the image quality. 10 years on, having used the X100V in between, I now have the X100VI.

I’ve written about how great the X100VI is for street photography, but it’s actually an excellent photography all-rounder. It’s great as a daily carry, and I think it’s perfect for travel.

I recently spent a few days in Prague, focusing on my photography. I took my Fujifilm X-T5, along with a selection of lenses – the Fujinon 33mm f1.4 (best in class), the Fujinon 27mm f2.8 pancake (tiny and super-light) and the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 zoom (an excellent all-rounder). I also took the X100VI.

These two cameras share the same sensor and processor. They both have IBIS. They’re both weather sealed. Given a scene they will take essentially the same photograph, so I could have just put the 23mm f2 on my X-T5 and I’d have an X100VI in a slightly larger package, so why didn’t I?

Firstly, redundancy. If something happened to one camera, I’d have a backup – this was a photography trip after all, and I didn’t want to be stuck with only my phone.

Secondly, there’s something about the X100VI that makes it more enjoyable to use. It’s smaller, lighter, and more discrete. With the X100VI around your neck you look a lot less like a photographer, and more like a tourist or even a local. It has a silent shutter, which can be helpful when taking candid photos. The rangefinder experience is a real joy, especially if you disable the EVF. The X100VI has an ND filter built in. This is incredibly handy when you’re walking around in blinding sunlight (as I had in Prague) because you can switch on the ND and take video or slow shutter photos without a second thought. The ND filter in the X100VI is 4 stops, so it can be a little limiting in very bright light depending on what you want to accomplish, but generally speaking it’s absolutely fine.

I carried both of these cameras around with me each day because they both fit comfortably into my 9L Bellroy Venture Sling. I took the X-T5 with a single lens (each day I’d pick a different one), plus the X100VI. More often than not, I took out the X100VI. Admittedly 35mm is the most versatile focal length so this is part of the reason, but the big draw was the form factor, the weight, the rangefinder. It’s just a joy to use!

I had intended to shoot a lot of video on this trip but as it turned out, I didn’t (one day I’ll do this!). If there’s one gripe with the X100VI it’s the complexity of switching between video and stills. The X-T5 has a switch specifically for this (which is too easy to accidentally turn when changing shutter speed btw), but with the X100VI you have to press the Drive button, then use the joystick to navigate to the Video setting. Being able to assign this to a button, or even having a dedicated switch, would be a big improvement. Given the camera now has IBIS, it’s excellent for video so I think they’ll improve this on the next X100 generation.

Looking back, I could definitely have brought the X100VI as my only camera. There’s enough resolution in the 40MP sensor to let me crop in to mimic a 40mm or 50mm shot and retain a decent resolution. The battery can drain pretty quickly, especially in the midsummer heat and when shooting video, so I brought one spare. Had this been my only camera I’d probably have brought a third to relieve power anxiety. The batteries are cheap and light but on this trip I found two batteries to be fine because I also carry a 30W 10K USB-C powerbank with me to charge my phone, and I could use that to top up the X100VI when I’m having a break (I had a lot of breaks in the 33C heat!).

If you’re in the market for a single travel camera, you have to look at the X100VI. Some people might prefer something smaller, like the Ricoh GR III but this doesn’t work for me because it lacks a viewfinder and I struggle with the 28mm focal length (and I prefer 35mm to the 40mm of the GR IIIx). The Fujifilm colour profiles are also superb, although to be fair I use Classic Chrome 99% of the time.

On my next photography venture I’d still bring two cameras, partly for redundancy but also for versatility. But if I was travelling for pleasure with my family, or perhaps on business, and I only brought one camera it would be the X100VI, hands down.

It’s the perfect travel camera.