I sold my old X100V to MPB. I loved the photos the camera took - when it would focus correctly. It drove me MAD. But I was lured back in by the great images I see daily on Unsplash, and when I saw they had introduced the 40-megapixel X100VI, I took the plunge. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting the focusing to be good, but I had managed to sell my earlier model for more than I paid for it new, so I figured it was worth a punt. Worst-case scenario, I'd just sell it on again.
The good news is that the focusing has improved a lot. With the earlier model, maybe half of everything I shot didn’t come out focused correctly; with this version, pretty much everything has. I’m impressed. I’ve also made a real point of only shooting with it, putting in the hours to get used to it and really give it a proper test. Shooting with the 23mm lens doesn’t come naturally to me. If I had my way, I’d be at 85mm most of the time, but it’s not been a chore.
I’ve tweaked the settings along the way to fit my flow, but now I’m in a good place with it, and I’m planning on taking it to Sweden in December when we go for three days to visit Gemma and Scott.
It strikes me a great little travel camera, light-weight and not flashy enough to attract attention I’m hoping to capture a mix of lifestyle, travel and strret photography. I think the lens will work well with the darker Swedish skies at this time of the year.
I’ve been taking it out with my locally on my evening walks lately and I really like the mood I can get with it. I’ve a little addicted to flipping the screen out and shooting low down and upwards. I’m really starting to get into blue hour / dusk. One of the benefits of winter is being able to caputre both sunrise and sunset without having to get up stupidly early or head out late in the evening. I’m a slug at heart you know.
So far it’s a thumbs up from me, and I wasn’t expecting it, especially not after calling the earlier version ‘the most disappointing camera I’ve ever bought’…