- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Differences
- Test Results
- Deals
- Discussions
The Fujifilm X100V is a compact APS-C camera with built-in prime lens. It has a hybrid electronic/optical rangefinder that adds a bit of retro flair, while its lens' fixed focal length encourages you to move around and engage with your subjects to frame the shot the way you want. The camera's lightweight, compact design makes it easy to bring along with you throughout the day. It delivers excellent image quality out-of-the-box and records impressively sharp, detailed video in both 4k and FHD. Unfortunately, its tiny handgrip and small size mean it isn't the most comfortable to shoot with.
Our Verdict
The Fujifilm X100V is good for travel photography. Out-of-the-box image quality is excellent, with good noise handling capability and minimal loss of sharpness at higher ISO levels, which is good if you plan on shooting in darker environments. Its compact design makes it very easy to travel with. Its autofocus system does a good job of tracking moving subjects. The lens' built-in ND filter should allow you to use a wider aperture or a slower shutter speed in brightly lit environments. Its fixed focal length forces you to move around to properly compose your shots, which some people may prefer, though it isn't as versatile as a fixed zoom lens for farther-away subjects. Also, the camera isn't the most comfortable to use due to its very small handgrip. It also isn't fully weather-sealed unless you purchase separate sealing accessories for its lens.
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Portable, lightweight design.
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Impressive build quality.
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Excellent image quality.
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Uncomfortable to use.
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Somewhat short battery life.
The Fujifilm X100V is great for landscape photography. Out-of-the-box image quality is amazing, with fantastic noise handling capability and sharpness, which yields clear and detailed landscape photos. It also feels quite solidly built, and it's partially weather-sealed, though you need to purchase extra accessories to get full weather-sealing. Its lens' built-in ND filter gives you a bit of extra leeway in widening aperture or slowing down shutter speed in bright environments. Its tilting screen is sharp and bright enough to be seen even under direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the camera isn't especially comfortable to use, but its compact and lightweight design make it easy to transport to remote shooting locations.
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Portable, lightweight design.
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Impressive build quality.
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Excellent image quality.
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Uncomfortable to use.
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Somewhat short battery life.
The Fujifilm X100V is pretty good for sports and wildlife photography. It has a reasonably fast continuous shooting speed and can clear its image buffer quickly, so you should be able to fire off a couple of extended bursts without long interruptions. Its autofocus system does a good job of tracking moving subjects, and image quality is also excellent. Unfortunately, its fixed focal-length prime lens can make it difficult to capture clear images of faraway subjects, though its digital zoom feature can help slightly in this respect. Its lack of any optical or in-body stabilization features can result in some motion blur. It can also be a little uncomfortable to use for extended periods due to its small handgrip.
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Impressive build quality.
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Excellent image quality.
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Short buffer clearing time.
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Fixed optical focal length isn't sufficient for capturing images of far-away subjects.
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Uncomfortable to use.
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Lack of in-body or optical stabilization features.
The Fujifilm X100V is okay for sit-down style vlogs, but it isn't really intended for video work. While its screen tilts, it can't rotate to face you when the camera is in a selfie position. The camera does an excellent job of smoothing out camera shake in FHD but struggles more when recording 4k video. That isn't helped by its lack of optical or in-body stabilization features. It can also easily overheat and shut down while recording 4k video, bringing a premature end to your recording session. On the plus side, it's lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry around on a gimbal. Video quality in FHD and 4k is also impressive, particularly in well-lit environments.
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Portable, lightweight design.
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Wide selection of inputs and outputs.
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Impressive overall video quality in FHD and 4k.
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Screen doesn't fully articulate.
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Overheats easily.
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Lack of in-body or optical stabilization features.
The Fujifilm X100V is decent for studio video, though it's mainly geared toward photography, not video. Overall video quality in FHD and 4k is great, with sharply rendered object contours and surfaces. Its F-log shooting mode effectively yields a wider dynamic range in recording and allows for more flexibility in color grading your footage in editing. Its wide selection of film simulation modes can also add a bit of additional flair to your videos. It has a wide complement of inputs and outputs, including a microphone jack, an HDMI output for using an external recorder, and, if you purchase a USB-C adapter, a port for plugging in headphones. Unfortunately, it can easily overheat while recording video.
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Wide selection of inputs and outputs.
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Impressive overall video quality in FHD and 4k.
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Overheats easily.
The Fujifilm X100V isn't for action video. It isn't meant to be attached to a chest or helmet rig and isn't rated as being weather-sealed unless you purchase separate sealing accessories. It's also incapable of recording at more than 30 fps in 4k or 60 fps in FHD, so you can't generate any smooth slow-motion footage from what you record. Still, it's very lightweight and feels impressively solid overall.
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Portable, lightweight design.
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Impressive build quality.
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Limited selection of frame rates in 4k.
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Not water-resistant.
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Somewhat short battery life.
- 7.7 Travel Photography
- 8.1 Landscape Photography
- 7.6 Sport & Wildlife Photography
- 6.5 Vlogging
- 7.0 Studio Video
- 4.9 Action Video
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
- Updated Aug 17, 2022: After running into issues with RawTherapee during retesting for Test Bench 0.9, we decided to process the 'Photo RAW Dynamic Range' test scene in Lightroom instead. The test scene photo has been reuploaded.
- Updated Jul 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated May 26, 2021: Review published.
- Updated May 21, 2021: Early access published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Fujifilm X100V comes in two color variants: 'Black' and 'Silver'. We tested the 'Black' variant, and you can see its label here. We expect the other color variant to perform similarly overall.
Let us know in the discussions if you come across another variant, and we'll update our review.
Test Results
- Top and bottom plates are made of milled aluminum
- Body is covered in a non-rubberized plastic, unlike the Fujifilm X-Pro3
- Wheels, switches, and buttons operate tightly and precisely
- Sturdy-feeling screen mechanism
- Flash is built into the camera, so you don't need to worry about a mechanism breaking
- Input and output compartment is covered by a hinged door, but it doesn't lock in place
- SD card and battery compartment covered by a locking hinged door
- Body is rated as being weather-sealed, but the lens is not. In order to make the entire camera weather-sealed, you need to purchase the separately available AR-X100 adapter ring and the PRF-49 protection filter
- Fujifilm X100V camera
- 1x NP-W126S battery
- Lens cap
- Shoulder strap
- Shoulder strap accessories
- Shoulder strap ring tool
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Owner's manual
- Minimalist handgrip feels slippery, despite its textured surface
- Plenty of room between lens and grip, so your fingers shouldn't feel pinched
- You need to pull up the shutter speed wheel to reveal the ISO adjustment dial, but unlike the mechanism used for the Fujifilm X-Pro3, it stays in place on its own
- Easy to make exposure adjustments with your eye pressed against the viewfinder or when shooting below waist level with the screen
- Back dial is easy to use, though the camera also has a thumb stick to navigate the menu or change focus points
- You can swipe on the touchscreen to access some core functions, though you have to set this up in the 'Touchscreen Settings' submenu.
- Viewfinder is made of plastic, and it can be a bit uncomfortable to press your eye against it for long shooting sessions
- Drive mode button can be hard to reach for users with small hands, but your thumb should be able to reach most buttons
Note: Like the Fujifilm X-Pro3, this camera has a hybrid electronic/optical rangefinder. The results shown are for the viewfinder when used in EVF mode. You can press the toggle switch at the front of the camera that switches it to an optical rangefinder. It has an advertised magnification of roughly 0.52x and a coverage area of 95%, meaning some unwanted details might make their way around the edges of your shot.
- Interface is very easy to navigate with physical controls
- Navigation can sometimes feel a little clunky since you need to go through several sub-menus to get to the settings you want
- Menu features some visual graphics to help you understand a few of the functions
- Some brand-specific terminology for common features and functions, but the menu is easy to use once you get accustomed to it
- Doesn't have a guide mode to help walk novice users through core functions
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm, though the camera does have a digital zoom that effectively crops to the image to simulate a focal length of 50mm or 70mm. It also has a built-in four-stop ND filter that effectively reduces the amount of light captured by the camera. This can be helpful if you wish to shoot at a large aperture or a slow shutter speed in a brightly lit environment without over-exposing your image. This filter is engaged through the menu system. We didn't test the performance of the camera with this filter. This camera can also only shoot at ISO Lo 100 as an extended minimum, which can impact test results.
Note: This camera can frequently interrupt your recording sessions by shutting down due to overheating. It's also worth noting that this test was conducted at the highest possible resolution that this camera can achieve.
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm. This differs from standard test methodology in which focal length is set to 30mm, so the results here may not be fully comparable to other cameras.
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm. This differs from standard test methodology in which focal length is set to 70mm, so the results here may not be fully comparable to other cameras.
Note: The camera couldn't achieve an ISO of 100 natively, as the native ISO minimum is ISO 160. ISO Lo 100 can be reached as an extended minimum, but this can still impact tests that are normally conducted at a native ISO level of ISO 100. It's also incapable of shooting beyond ISO 12800 natively, with ISO 25600 and ISO 51200 being extended maximums.
Note: This camera has a nominal recording time limit of 10 minutes, but in testing, the camera overheated and shut down before reaching that time limit.
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm. This differs from standard test methodology in which focal length is set to the full-frame equivalent of 50mm, so the results obtained may not be directly comparable to other cameras.
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm. This differs from standard test methodology, and the results shown may not be fully comparable to those of other cameras.
Note: This camera has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 23mm. This differs from standard test methodology in which focal length is set to the full-frame equivalent of 50mm, so the results obtained may not be directly comparable to other cameras.
