Thanks to mpb for sponsoring this video Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my in-depth review of the Fujifilm X16 successor to the enormously popular And almost always out of stock X100 V This video concentrates on photography With a separate one covering the Improved video capabilities it's the Sixth model in the series that packs an Apsc sensor into a fairly compact Vintage style body with a fixed 23 mil Lens that's equivalent to around 35 mil This makes it ideal for Street and Travel photography as well as attempting Second body to complement a larger System like previous models it's Available in silver or black with this Latest version costing around $1,600 or Pound this makes it a little more Expensive than the v in terms of retail Pricing or be it less than many chances Have been charging for that model at the Peak of its demand headline upgrades Include fujifilm's latest 40 megapixel Sensor improved video and most usefully Of all built-in St stabilization or Ibis For short if you fancy something a bit More exclusive though there's also a Special edition with a soft shutter Release dedicated strap box and history Card as well as a serial number on the Hot shoe and the original Fujifilm logo From 1934 engraved on the top and on the Cap appropriately it's limited to 1934
Models and cost 1934 or $2,000 in this video I'll follow on my Initial first looks review Taking a deep Dive into the photo quality the handling And features directly comparing it Against the previous X100 v a camera That I've been using for my own travel Photography for over 2 years I'll also Answer many of the questions that were Posted on that first review now once Again this video concentrates on the Photo side of the camera and I'll have a Separate review of the movie Capabilities which are much improved This review involved a lot of work so Many thanks to mpb for their sponsorship I think it's fair to say that many of us Watching camera reviews on YouTube May Already have some older gear that we Don't use so much anymore so why not Sell it to help pay for an upgrade mpb Is the world's largest online platform For used photo and video gear so if you Have any kit that you're not using Anymore just head over to their website For an instant quote for example if you Have one of the older x100t or F models In good condition you could get around 500 to £600 for it they also operate Across Europe and the us all of their Quotes include free collection so There's no need to factor in delivery C Or queing at a post office there's also No need to take any photos for a listing
Or no hidden sellers fees or potentially Disgruntled buyers to deal with either Once they receive and confirm the Condition of your gear you can receive The money in your account the next day Over the years I've bought and sold used Gear on multiple platforms but I found Myself returning to mpb for their Simplicity convenience and the fact that What they offer is what you actually get So why not check them out at mpb.com or Using the links in the description right Right back to the review now I don't Want to repeat too much from my first Looks video so just briefly the x16 on The right shares a great deal with the V On the left including essentially the Same body design and controls they're The same width and height but place them Side by side and you'll notice the six On the right is a tad thicker 2 mm in Total with 0.5 mil added to the main Body and the remaining 1 and 1/2 mil to The lens Barrel the six is also 43 G Heavier thanks to the Ibis but once in My hands I didn't really notice any Difference with the v in terms of size And weight and crucially it remains Compatible with all cases and Accessories this includes the filter Attachment accessory which is still Required to equip the S with full Weather ceiling as the lens still Extends a little bit in use it's a shame
The camera isn't where the sealed is Standard but the flip side is you get to Choose the degree of sealing based on The barrel size the controls and dials Feel and operate as before which means The six inherits an unlockable exposure Compensation dial now on my x100v I Found that this could accidentally turn When pulled out of a snug bag or pocket But I didn't actually notice that during My time with the six I think the EV dial And power collar are a bit stiffer when Brand new but may loosen over time the Hybrid viewfinder is also identical to The previous version so you can compose With an optical view with a number of Cunning overlays including a frame that Adj just for Parallax when focusing at Different distances or you could switch To a fully electronic View sharing the Same 3.69 million dot panel as before And allowing you to preview things like The depth of field the color style and The exposure now the greedy side of me Was initially disappointed that the Panel resolution wasn't increased but to Be honest it's already sufficient for The viewfinder magnification here as Before there's also a third viewing Option where you can overlay a small Electronic window in the corner of the Optical view to check the color and the Focus which could in theory provide the Best of Both Worlds although I tended to
Just use the Eva F the screen can still Angle up by 90° but now folds down a Little further to 45° making it easier To frame when holding it high like the V It'll also very neatly fold flush back Into the body afterwards to maintain the Body size fujifilm's kept the same NP W126s batteries before and while the Specs suggest it will now last a bit Longer during part to a less hungry Processor I found it roughly similar to The v in use so when composing with the Evf and using Ibis I typically achieved Around 150 photos and a few minutes of Video per charge for video alone you Should get about 75 minutes of 1080 or 4K per charge the SD slot also remains UHS 1 which means a full buffer can take A few seconds to empty but then this was Never designed as a sports camera the Fastest mechanical burst speed remains 11 frames per second and when set to Uncompress Raw I managed to capture 17 Frames at this speed before it slowed Down to about 1 frames per second once I Stopped shooting and the camera took About 17 seconds to fully clear the Buffer onto the card set to large fine Jpeg I managed 37 frames at 11 frames Per second after which it took around 5 Seconds to clear faster speeds are Possible with the electronic shutter up To 13 frames per second at the full Resolution or up to 20 frames per second
With a 1.29 times crop which captures 24 Megapixels pre-shot capture is also Available with the electronic shutter And finally the ports are also the same So you're getting USBC for charging or Data transfer micro HDMI and a 2 and A2 Mil Jack for a remote release or Microphone input I'd personally have Preferred they'd switch the mic input to A more common 3 and A2 mil but then Remote release Shooters would be the Ones needing an adapter under the USB Settings you can configure the x16 to Become a standard webcam I tried this Out on my MacBook with YouTube live Where the camera delivered a 1080 60p Stream over USBC while also accepting Power from the computer note that I Couldn't change the resolution or frame Rate though now I wasn't able to try out A long stream but since I managed over An hour of 1080 recording under battery Power alone with no overheating issues I'd expect to achieve at least this as a Webcam you could alternatively capture The HDMI output there's also Bluetooth And Wi-Fi and an option to print Directly to selected Instax printers or Beit only the discontinued Wi-Fi models Like the sp3 and sadly not any of the Current link models I have no idea why The Instax and digital divisions of fuif Film won't play together anymore there's Also support for frame IO for those who
Want to upload a variety of file formats To the cloud for backup or collaboration Let me know if you'd like me to make a Video about frame.io at the time of Making this review the x16 wasn't fully Supported by the phone app so I'll wait Until the next major version is released Then make a new video All About That Moving on to the lens the Optics are Identical to the V so you're getting a Fixed 23 mil F2 delivering a roughly 35 M equivalent field of view with a 10 cm Closest focusing distance get close to Your subject open the aperture and it's Possible to achieve some really nice Blurring effects in the background and I'll show you lots more examples during My verdict the mild wide coverage is Great for general purpose use but if you Want a tighter view the six offers two Digital telecon converter options one Delivering 50 mil equivalent or roughly Standard coverage and the other getting Closer still to 70 mil for a short Telephoto effect both modes have however Are simply cropping the image and while The X100 6 is high resolution does Provide more latitude for cropping than The earlier models the two telecon Converter modes still only leave you With 20 or 10 megapixels respectively They're also not doing anything to Interplay or scale the image so in my Test the final quality was actually no
Different from just cropping it yourself Afterwards so the only real benefit of Using the teleon converter modes is to Preview the cropped coverage as you Compose with either the evf or the Screen not that raw files are not Cropped if you're after broader coverage Than 35 mil the x16 offers a panoramic Mode from the drive menu here's a Standard single shot and now here's a Panorama from the same position showing A much wider field of view like earlier Models in this series though the Resolution is decreased in this case the Total Image measured just 14 megapixels And if you look closely there can be Stitching errors The Horizon here is Jagged at times and there's some Repetition of moving objects Sometimes it can work well but for fewer Artifacts and high resolution results I'd suggest just taking multiple frames And stitching them manually in post for Optically wider or tighter views the x16 Is compatible with the wcl and TCL Adapters which screw onto the barrel and Convert the equivalent coverage to 28 or 50 mil respectively both maintain the Full resolution but adds the size and Weight of the camera so if you regularly Want to change the coverage optically I'd recommend getting one of the Interchangeable lens cameras instead Like an xt30 or whatever its successor
Becomes like earlier models in the Series The x16 employs a leaf shutter Built right into the lens which is not Only very quiet but also allows you to Synchronize flashes up to the top Mechanical speed of 4,000 of a second Now I believe that the shutter mechanism Is identical to the V but I was Surprised to find it much quieter in use For example here's the sound of the X100 V And now here's the sound of the newer X16 recorded with exactly the same Microphone Settings pretty quiet right and this Confused me until I check the settings On both models now both cameras can play An artificial shutter sound if you'd Like something different or louder for Both mechanical and the electronic Shutter but by default the x16 has its Mechanical volume set to Zero versus two On the X100 V and this is why the V Sounds louder as it's actually playing An artificial click sound on top of the Actual shutter itself reduce the X100 V Shutter volume to zero and it'll be as Quiet as the six or for a louder click On the new model just increase its Volume mystery solved oh and the x16 Also keeps the built-in for stop ND Filter which is activated in the menus For photo or video here I fixed the Sensitivity to 125 ISO and the aperture
To F4 and without the ND the camera is Metering a shutter speed of around 105th Of a second after activating the ND Filter in the menu though the camera now Meters an eighth of a second confirming The four stops not only does this let You shoot wide open under any conditions Especially when you also have a top Electronic shutter speed of 180,000 of a Second at your disposal but it also lets You deploy some longer exposures in Daytime conditions here's a shot I took With the previous X100 V where at F16 And 160 ISO I was able to achieve a 1second exposure thanks to the ND filter Which is now just about handh holdable On the six thanks to Ibis now without The ND filter I was stuck at 15th per Second with little to no blurring in the Water and it's even more useful for Video as I'll show you in my separate Review of the movie capabilities Moving On by adopting the latest sens an image Processor the x16 inherits all of the Subject recognition of other recent X Cameras so while the x100v only offered Human face and eye detection the six Gains an additional menu with options For Animals Birds Cars bikes planes and Trains now obviously with a mild wide Angle lens some of these subjects are Going to be too far away and too small In the frame to be recognized so when it Comes to birds you'll really only
Exploit it for large and tame specimens Like Steven seagull here rather than Those in flight for Animals also think Less in the wild and more of the staged Pet Portraits at close range as for cars It certainly Works although I'm not sure How much I'd use it human detection Though is a different matter and like Its predecessor the X100 6 does a pretty Good job at recognizing and tracking a Person locking on to their closest eye If you set it to Auto you'll also enjoy A little blur in the background at f2 Especially when the subject is at Head And Shoulder distance I would preferred It though if human and the other subject Types were all in the same menu I Wondered whether having the latest Sensor and image processor would speed Up the auto focus over the previous Versions so I recorded the six pulling Focus between the foreground bottle and The background shutters here there's Occasional wobbles to confirm Focus but It gets the job done pretty quickly for Comparison here's the older X100 V using Exactly the same settings and to me Anyway it looks pretty much identical in Terms of speed now I've seen some X Bodies with high-end lenses focusing Faster so clearly the 23 F2 lens of the X100 V and 6 is a limiting factor that Said it never held me back in day-to-day Use and I think it's fine for this kind
Of camera just don't expect the 6 to be Notably faster than the v in terms of Focusing okay now for my image quality Test with one of the headline upgrades Being the switch from 26 to 40 Megapixels by employing the same sensor As the xt5 and xh2 you can record images In the choice of three resolutions with Five aspect ratios for each the option To record compressed files raw files or Both the choice of storing those raw Files is uncompressed losslessly Compressed or with lossy compression and Thanks to the new image processor the Choice of either jpeg or hiff there's Also the current collection of film Simulations including the latest reala Ace the six is the first X camera to Inherit this SIM from the gfx1 1002 but It'll now also be added to the older xh2 X2s X C5 and xs20 with a firmware update Now the film Sims are responsible for Great looking outer camera jpegs but It's important to look beyond the Influencer hype and realize they aren't Exclusive to the X100 cameras first a Selection of film Sims are available on All Fujifilm cameras new and old not Just this one and secondly most other Brands also have some pretty goodlooking Profiles I may personally like Fujifilm's color profiles but they're Not a Magic Bullet To Success nor a Mystical Recreation of actual film The
Big question for me though is whether The x16 is recording meaningfully Greater detail than the V 40 megapixel Sounds a lot more than 26 but actually Only equates to about a 25% boost in Linear resolution plus there's the Factor of the lens as well so here's a View of bright and Pier that I shot with Both cameras side by side starting with The x16 I'll zoom into the image and put The6 with its 40 megapixels on the left And the x100v with its 26 megapixels on The right now if you're pixel peeping You will notice the six on the left is Indeed a little crisper with ever so Slightly finer details resolved than the V on the right but is far from night and Day I showed some similar comparisons in My first looks review which you might be Interested where you might assume it's The lens that's holding the x16 back but Again remember 26 to 40 megapixels only Represents a 25% increase in linear Resolution it's not as much as you might Think to further illustrate this here's A closeup comparison from my xh2 review With the 40 megap camera on the left Versus the 26 map xh 2s on the right Both fitted with a very sharp lens and Even with these topend Optics the Difference is pretty mild so I'd say the Lens on the x16 is certainly capable of Exploiting the resolution of the sensor Behind it but crucially the difference
Between 40 and 26 megapixels in real Life isn't as much as you'd think that Said as I'll demonstrate in a moment the Presence of Ibis can make a significant Difference to the quality in use but First a noise comparison the sensor in The x16 has a slightly lower base Sensitivity of 125 ISO versus 160 on the Previous generation so I'll start with That before zooming in for a closer look As before the 40 megapix 6 is on the Left and the 26 mapix V is on the right These are all jpegs out of camera Although I do have raw comparisons in my Xh2 photo review which will apply here Too starting with both cameras that Respective base sensitivities you can Again see a mild boost in detail from The six on the left but nothing too Significant as I increase the Sensitivity one stop at a time you'll See the image on the left gradually Soften its ultimate detail while I'd say The V on the right is doing a slightly Better job at retaining details in Particular as I approach the higher Sensitivities from 3200 ISO onwards I'd Say the V on the right begins to match Or even exceed the detail of the six on The left again though this is series Pixel p Ing and I wouldn't notice that Much difference at more common Reproduction sizes but in a key benefit Over its predecessors the x16 becomes
The first model in the series to support Built-in stabilization or Ibis for short Which in my test really did deliver five To six stops of compensation under a Wide variety of conditions I personally Found I could easily handhold exposures Of half a second on the x16 and if I was Really careful even one or two seconds You're actually looking at a 2C exposure That I shot handheld with the six where Ibis has kept the image nice and sharp Now what this means in practice is that You can keep handholding the six at its Lowest sensitivities under much dimmer Conditions than the models before it Let's say you needed a 30th per to Handhold the x100v without any camera Shake which under dim conditions meant Boosting the sensitivity to say 3200 ISO Well under the same conditions Ibis Could let you handhold the x16 at say 1 Second at allowing you to use the base Sensitivity of 125 ISO so now here's the Six on the left at 125 ISO and the V on The right at 3200 ISO where there's now A significant difference in quality of Course terms and conditions apply a 1C Exposure means that anything on the Frame that's in motion is going to Become blurred so it's not going to help You if you need a fast shutter speed in Order to freeze some action but if the Subject is static or you can impra Motion blur for Creative effects Ibis
Will allow the six to maximize its Potential quality under a much broader Variety of conditions here's some Handheld shots that I took around dusk Under very dim conditions at between eth And half a second all of which allowed The camera to stay at 125 ISO for very Crisp and clean results in fact I became So confident with the Ibis that I Reprogrammed the slowest shutter speed In auto ISO to be an eighth for second And even that was being conservative Again though if you need to freeze Action or even minor movement when say Photographing people there is no Substitute for a faster shutter speed Which in turn will force you to use Higher isos depending on the lighting But if your style of Photography can Exploit Ibis it is a GameChanger on the X16 and while I was initially skeptical Over its value in steadying a 35 mil View during composition it actually made A visible difference at least when using The evf or screen here's the view when Composing without Ibis where it's Wobbling a little not hugely but it will Impact how accurately you can handhold a Very precise composition now go into the Menus to enable Ibis and return to a Much steadier View at least again when Composing electronically I personally Find this really useful when lining up Very precise compositions and I actually
Missed it when returning to the Unstabilized X100 V Ibis also finally Makes the X100 useful for handheld video And I'll talk much more about that in my Review of the movie mode oh and note if You are holding the camera when it's Powered down you may feel the Ibis Mechanism wobbling or rattling a little Bit inside the body this is however Normal for any camera with ibys and it Stops as soon as you power them up oh And by squeezing Ibis into the smallest X Series camera I think it's a pretty Safe bet we'll also now see on all Models in the future xt30 replacement Anyone moving on to dynamic range with The new sensor here's a shot that I took A bright and pier where exposing for the Upper side means that the lower section Of the pier is in pretty dark shadow you Can see from the histogram that the Shadow are clipped but adjusting the Shadow slider in Adobe camera raw here Allows you to retrieve a decent amount Of detail in this area if desired at the Other end of the scale here's a view of A brightly backlit window where the Details on the outside Roofing and the Distant trees are saturated reducing the Highlight slider in camera roll though Can retrieve some of that previously Lost detail so clearly there's latitude At both ends of the scale if you're into Post-processing raw files before
Wrapping up a quick note on multiple Exposures access from the Drive menu Where you can initially select the ways In which the frames will be combined Here's some examples using two frames on Each but with different composite Settings when shooting multiple Exposures the x16 lets you capture up to Nine images previewing the combination So far in a ghostly version so that you Can better align the next shot and if You don't like the one that you've just Taken you can delete it and try again or Just exit the capture process when you Finished all files of each separate Frame are also recorded okay now if my f Verdict during which I'll show you a Selection of images taken with the final Production X16 if you'd like a closer look at any Of them I provided a bunch in their Original format on my review page for The camera at cameralabs.com the fuif Film x16 built upon the hugely popular X100v enhancing both its photo and video Quality without compromising the core Appeal it shares the same compact Vintage styling the same controls lens Viewfinder screen battery and ports but Upgrades the sensor and processor and Remarkably squeezes ibys into a body That's only barely thicker and heavier Than before in my test the high Resolution didn't make a huge difference
To the real life detail over the X100 V But the presence of Ibis transforms the Potential quality under dimmer Conditions allowing you to handhold much Slower shutter speeds and keep that ISO Low for the best results I managed to Handhold Sharp results as slow as 2 Seconds and found that one quarter was Very achievable of course this won't Help if you need to freeze Motion in low Light but if your subject is mostly Static or you can Embrace motion blur it Is a very useful Improvement Ibis also Makes video considerably more usable on The x16 over its predecessors and while The focal length and lack of flip screen Mean you still won't be handheld Vlogging from in front of the camera you Will be enjoying far superior results From behind it plus much longer Recording times make it a more practical Camera overall and while the retail Price is a couple of hundred more than The X100 V when it was first launched That model has rarely been sold for that In recent years so arguably you're now Getting Ibis and greater availability For free speaking of that availability Fujifilm has built a new Factory in China for the x16 and while this means It's the first in the series not to be Made in Japan it should mean that you Stand a much greater chance of actually Getting a hold of one amazingly though
Given the success of the V the series Continues to find itself with little to No competition if you want to high-end Fix lens compact sure there's the like a Cu's but they're three times the price And while Rico's aging gr3 is smaller And cheaper it doesn't have the Viewfinder or the Vintage styling Ultimately I'd say most owners of the X100v could probably skip the upgrade Unless of course they'd regularly Exploit Ibis but if you have an older X100 or you're still on a waiting list For a v or simply want to high quality Allinone the x16 is an easy camera to Recommend if I didn't have a v of my own I'd be ordering one right now and if You're remotely tempted I'd get your Order in sooner rather than later as Initial demand is already looking pretty High I've got links in the description To the current pricing and that's it for This review of the photo capabilities of The X100 6 let me know what you think in The comments and be sure to check out my Review of the movie mode as it is Substantially better than any model in This series to date and thanks again to Mpb for sponsoring this video if you Have any photo gear to buy sell or trade Check them out at the links in the Description thanks for watching and I'll See you next time Bye-bye
