35 Millimeter and Nothing Else

What the Fujifilm X100VI Gets Right on the Street — and What It Really Costs to Own One

The Fujifilm X100VI has become something close to a cult object among street photographers. It is small, it looks like a rangefinder from another era, and since its February 2024 launch it has been one of the hardest cameras in the world to buy at list price. More than two and a half years later, new bodies are still backordered at major U.S. retailers and used ones sell for more than new.

I own one, and it is still the camera I reach for when I want a photograph I know I will print and live with for a long time. But owning it has also made me curious about a fair question: is the X100VI a great street camera, or is the hype doing a lot of the heavy lifting? What follows is my attempt to separate the two — what the camera does well on the street, where it falls short, and who should (and should not) chase one down.