Fujifilm X100V Camera Review

The Fujifilm X100V is quite portable. Though it isn't quite "pocketable" in the same way the RICOH GR III is, it's still notably smaller than interchangeable-lens models like the Fujifilm X-T4.

The build quality is great. The top and bottom plates are made of milled aluminum, giving the camera a more premium feel. The rest of the body is made mostly of plastic, but all its buttons, dials, and the tilting screen feel sturdy and well-built, with plenty of physical feedback.

Unlike previous models in the X100 series, this camera is partially weather-sealed. However, to get full weather-sealing for the lens, you need to purchase the AR-X100 adapter ring and PRF-49 protection filter from Fujifilm at an additional cost.

• Fujifilm X100V camera
• 1x NP-W126S battery
• Lens cap
• Shoulder strap
• Shoulder strap accessories
• Shoulder strap ring tool
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• User manual

Though it has a small bump of a handgrip, the camera can still feel a bit slippery in the hand. Overall, it's okay as far as ergonomics go but is naturally limited by its more compact size. The plastic around the viewfinder can feel uncomfortable to press your eye against. Thankfully, the dedicated exposure dials make it easy for seasoned photographers to adjust settings. There's also a small thumbstick for menu navigation and focus point selection, as well as touch capability.

Like the Fujifilm X-Pro3, this camera has a hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder offset from the center of the body. You can press the toggle switch at the front of the camera to switch between optical and electronic modes. When using the OVF, you can also toggle a small electronic rangefinder window, which gives you a small focus preview in the bottom corner of the viewfinder window. The OVF includes frame lines that show roughly what the image will capture but also gives you a view outside of just the frame, meaning you can frame your subject more easily. The EVF works like any other mirrorless camera viewfinder and allows you to preview exposure settings, depth of field, white balance, and focus in real-time.

The resolution, magnification, and coverage results shown above are for the EVF, which has a higher resolution than previous models in the X100 series. The OVF, meanwhile, has an advertised magnification of roughly 0.52x and a coverage area of 95%.

Unlike previous models in the series, this camera has a tilting screen. The screen sits flush with the body until you pop it out, and the tilting mechanism feels very solid and works well for waist-level shooting. It's also bright, which is good for fighting glare on sunny days, and it has a high resolution that gives you a crisp view of your shots.

There's some neat touch functionality, including customizable swipe functions that let you adjust or access certain settings by flicking up, down, right, or left. You can also use it to select focus points, as a touch shutter, or to zoom in and out on photos in playback mode.

The menu is fairly simple and easy to navigate, though some settings are buried in submenus and harder to find. Thankfully, the camera includes visual graphics for certain settings and functions, though there's no additional info button or 'guide' mode. Fujifilm also uses its own terminology for certain settings, like 'photometry' for metering settings.

The Fujifilm X100V is also compatible with Fujifilm's XApp, which Fujifilm claims to offer smoother wireless connectivity between X series cameras and smartphones than the older Fujifilm Camera Connect app. You can use it to transfer files or control the camera remotely.

The Fujifilm X100V has a built-in lens with a fixed focal length of 35mm (full-frame equivalent). That said, it does have a digital zoom function, which crops the image to simulate a focal length of 50mm or 70mm. With a max aperture of f/2, it's also quite a fast lens among compact fixed-lens cameras and makes it easier to get a shallow depth of field.

The lens also has a built-in four-stop ND filter that effectively reduces the amount of light captured by the camera. It can be helpful if you want to shoot at a larger aperture or slower shutter speed in a brightly lit environment without over-exposing your image.

If you'd prefer a point-and-shoot camera with some zoom range, consider the Leica D-Lux 7.

The Fujifilm X100V has an advertised CIPA rating of 350 shots when using the EVF and 420 shots when using the OVF, which is pretty good overall. Of course, real-world usage can vary drastically depending on how you use your camera. Still, in comparison to other compacts and mirrorless cameras, it's quite good, though you can expect fewer shots than cameras with larger batteries like the Fujifilm X-T4.

Video battery life is disappointing, on the other hand, yielding just over an hour of continuous 4k video recording. The camera can also frequently overheat and shut down during recording when using the highest video quality settings.

The Fujifilm X100V can shoot at a fairly quick max burst rate, which is good for capturing sequential bursts of action or movement. In its high-speed continuous mode, you can choose between either eight or eleven frames per second, while low-speed continuous mode gives you the option to choose between three, four, five, or six frames per second, giving you a wide variety of speeds to choose from to suit different subjects. Unfortunately, its photo buffer isn't especially deep, particularly if you prefer to shoot RAW, but thankfully, empty time isn't too long, so you can get back to shooting relatively quickly if you manage to fill up the buffer.

The camera's autofocus tracking is inconsistent. You can still get a fair amount of usable shots when shooting continuously, but the camera's AF can struggle to keep up with faster or more erratic subjects. Still, it supports both face and eye tracking and will be alright with slower subjects.

When using a static focus point and moving the camera with your subject, as opposed to letting the camera's AF track them automatically, AF is a lot more reliable. You can get plenty of usable and in-focus shots when using the camera this way, which is especially useful in scenarios in which you can reliably predict a subject's movement.

The Fujifilm X100V doesn't have any image stabilization. Thankfully, the short focal length of its lens and the fast f/2 aperture make it relatively easy for most people to capture stable handheld shots. Even without stabilization, you can get fairly clear images at relatively slow shutter speeds.

Dynamic range is great on the Fujifilm X100V. It can capture a wide range of highlight and shadow detail at its base ISO of 160, which is great for high-contrast scenes. With less available light, there's a drop-off in usable dynamic range, but overall, it's very good.

The camera uses a high-resolution sensor, the same one found in models like the Fujifilm X-T4, so it does an excellent job of resolving fine details. That gives you plenty of leeway to crop in without losing too much visible sharpness or detail.

RAW noise handling is good. The camera performs well even in low light when you have to boost the ISO. Of course, it doesn't do as well as full-frame options, but it's very good for a compact fixed-lens camera. That said, Fujifilm cameras tend to have lower max ISO settings, giving you less flexibility to shoot at extremely high ISOs. In practice, however, the cases in which you'd need such high ISOs are rare.

The Fujifilm X100V suffers from frequent overheating when shooting extended takes in 4k. It's capped at a 10-minute recording time limit, but in practice, the camera will likely overheat before you even reach that limit. On the upside, it can capture video files with fairly high bit rates, meaning higher-quality video. You also have both UHD 4k and DCI 4k if you prefer a more cinematic resolution and aspect ratio.

Autofocus performs decently well in 4k. The camera supports both face and eye detection in video mode, which is great, but its face-tracking feature is just okay. It doesn't always keep up with its target, especially with faster or more erratic movements, but it isn't bad. The general subject tracking is similarly effective. Once locked on, it's accurate, but it can sometimes be a bit slow to keep up with faster subjects.

4k video quality is impressive. It's especially good in more controlled lighting, with colors that pop and sharply-rendered details. It's good in low light, with fairly minimal noise and solid dynamic range.

The rolling shutter is somewhat slow but not bad overall, so while there is some noticeable distortion and skewing when panning the camera, it isn't as bad as on a camera like the Sony ZV-1.

Like other Fujifilm cameras, it has a high-speed recording mode in FHD, which lets you record 1080p footage at either 100 or 120 fps with slow-motion playback. You have the option to slow footage down to 2x, 4x, or 5x slow-motion. This mode incurs a slight crop and doesn't record any sound. Otherwise, regular 1080p recording is capped at 60 fps, which is still great for fast action.

Internal recording capability is a bit better in FHD than in 4k. There's a slightly longer 15-minute time limit, and the camera is less likely to overheat. Bit rates are also excellent.

In 1080p, autofocus performs alright. It's about on par with its 4k performance, so it's fairly quick and accurate overall, but there's a bit of hunting sometimes, and it's less reliable with very fast or erratic subjects.

Video quality is good in 1080p. Colors look great out of the camera, and brightly lit scenes are rendered with plenty of detail. It isn't as good in low light, with some visible noise and loss of detail in the shadows.

There's less rolling shutter distortion in 1080p, but you'll still notice skewing with faster camera movements.

There's a single SD card slot, and it's located on the bottom of the camera, which makes it harder to switch out cards when using a tripod. However, the placement isn't surprising, given the camera's small size.

The camera has a USB-C port for charging and file transfer, along with a Micro HDMI port to connect to an external display or monitor and a microphone input. However, there's no headphone jack, and unlike models like the Fujifilm X-T4, this camera doesn't come with a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box.