Once as rare as unicorn poop, the Fujifilm X100V can now be readily found – so is it still worth buying?
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
A year ago, the Fujifilm X100V was the camera that everybody wanted but nobody could buy. Whipped into a frenzy by TikTokers and influencers, the general public snapped up every last camera on every last shelf across the planet.
With a global shortage, it was back-ordered for months – meaning the only way to get a Fujifilm X100V was to join a huge waiting list or buy one at an exorbitant price on eBay (or buy an exorbitantly priced (limited edition Disney version).
Now, however, Fujifilm X100Vs aren't hard to find. Indeed, in the wake of the launch of the X100VI, the X100V became the camera that most people wanted to get rid of. So, now that you can routinely find one on the used market, is it still worth buying?
Fujifilm X100V: still worth it?
Let's get it straight: this camera was worth buying before it got a first-class ticket on the hype train, and it's still worth buying now that it has been unceremoniously kicked off.
Yes, it may have been superseded by its bigger brother with more megapixels, but the Fujifilm X100V is still one of the best compact cameras out there.
Its 26.1MP image sensor still delivers sensational shots. True, you can't crop into them quite as much as you can on the X100VI with its 40.2MP sensor and fake focal lengths, but the whole point of a fixed lens camera is to shoot what you see – not pretend that your 23mm lens is actually a 50mm or 70mm.
Speaking of, that 23mm f/2 lens is exactly the same on both cameras. So you're getting the same razor-sharp performance, with a 34.5mm equivalent field of view that's perfect for street and travel photography, documentary and reportage, and even environmental portraiture.
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The Fujifilm X100V may have been replaced by the Fujifilm X100VI, but it still has plenty to recommend it (Image credit: Gareth Bevan / Digital Camera World)
I always miss in-body image stabilization (IBIS) when it's not present, but I find the X100V small enough to get steady shots with a good bit of camera discipline (truth be told, stabilization has spoiled us all a bit!).
It still shoots respectable 4K video (though I wouldn't really recommend this as a go-to video or vlogging camera), and it actually offers faster burst shooting than the X100VI at 30fps electronic / 11fps mechanical shutter.
Aside from the IBIS, the only things you really miss here are 6.2K video, a slightly lower base ISO and a trio of Film Simulations – the latter of which are probably the most important things, to someone looking at this camera. But with 17 simulations to choose from, you're hardly left wanting.
In short, if you were interested in the Fujifilm X100V before then it's every bit as deserving of your interest now. And now you might actually have a chance of buying one!
James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.
