Joel Always one syllable, sometimes "@jayroh"

Fujifilm x100vi Part 1: Introduction

12 Oct 2024

Fujifilm X100VI camera sitting on my window ledge, backlit by muted sunlight
Photo of the Fujifilm X100VI camera, taken with a (clearly inferior) iPhone 14 camera

I bought a new camera.

Earlier in the year there were a glut of videos on social media about this new Fujifilm X100VI camera that people were freaking out about. I fell down into the rabbit hole, read many reviews, and watched my fair share of videos. Having walked around a little bit with a Nikon DSLR many years ago, something about the size of this little camera paired with the features struck a chord. At that time I thought, “I must have this”. The issue upon completing said thought was that this camera, unless you pre-ordered at the moment of its announcement, would remain on back-order for months.

Undeterred, I placed my order. And I waited.

That was 7 months ago.

…

Last weekend it came in.

Ok. How do I use this thing?

Because, the answer to which, is - I haven’t the foggiest.

Buttons, knobs, dials, switches, gestures. Derp?

I guess I’ll have to figure it out the same way everyone else figures anything out - by watching YouTube videos. Oh - and for me - by taking notes. So, here’s where I’ll be posting some associated YouTube videos, along with anything I find noteworthy enough (for me) for future recall. If you find this helpful, that’s great. If not, that’s also great.

Stills or Video

Changing the context of how you’re shooting. Always change the settings for still shots by turning the camera on, pressing Drive/Delete and scrolling and selecting “Still Image”, versus scrolling all the way down to the bottom and selecting “Movie”.

You are able to change video settings while still in “Still Image” mode, but there are different options and settings within the “still image” context that you can change or further update in the “Movie” context.

As a result, always change the settings for either where it is best applied.

Still Images: Miscellaneous Settings

When going through all of the configuration options, there are some things I found to be unintuitive. For example:

  1. Under “AF/MF” (Auto-focus / Manual Focus) there are some things that will be grayed out, or unable to be changed. This may be depending on the focus mode setting on the left side of the camera body - “M, C, S”. You will have some things available if you are in “Manual”, or “Continuous”, or “Single” focus modes.
  2. “AF+MF” - when turned on, will auto-focus first, then allow you to manually focus after the auto-focus is done.
  3. “MF Assist”, set it to “peak”, with “focus peak highlight” set to “RED(HIGH)”. This will highlight the areas of the subject in focus within the lcd with red, well, highlight. When using the manual focus dial this will provide you a better idea of what is being focused on.

Videos: Miscellaneous Settings

  1. “Movie Settings” / “IS Mode Boost”: Good to turn this “On” if you are shooting video, and holding the camera still in your hands. If you don’t have a tripod and it is being held perfectly still, turn this setting on.

Items for Future Research

  • Film Simulation - the different “looks” and styles you can choose, when you’re shooting
  • Auto-focus settings and usage
  • Shortcuts