X100VI vs X100V: is the upgrade worth it?

These two cameras look almost identical and photograph almost identically in good light. The differences are real but narrow, and knowing exactly what they are saves you either money or disappointment.

Difference one: stabilisation

This is the big one. The X100VI has five-axis in-body stabilisation rated at six stops. The X100V has none.

In practice that means handheld shots at 1/8 or 1/4 second become routine on the VI, and on the V you are looking for 1/60 or faster with a 35mm-equivalent lens. Indoors, at dusk, in a restaurant or a museum, that is the difference between a usable frame and a blurred one.

If you shoot in daylight, it changes almost nothing.

Difference two: 40 megapixels

The VI has 40.2 megapixels against the V’s 26.1. On a fixed-lens camera that matters more than usual, because cropping is your only zoom.

A 50 per cent crop from the VI still gives you about 20 megapixels. The same crop from the V gives about 13. Both print fine; the VI gives you more room to reframe.

The cost is file size. Expect roughly 50 per cent larger RAW files and a noticeably fuller card at the end of a day.

Difference three: REALA ACE

The X100VI has all twenty film simulations. The X100V has seventeen. The missing three on the V are REALA ACE, Nostalgic Neg. and ETERNA Bleach Bypass.

REALA ACE is the one people notice: faithful colour with a firmer tone curve, which makes it the best all-day simulation on the camera. Nostalgic Neg. is the warm one that suits golden hour and family photos.

None of these can be added to the V by firmware. The difference is in the processing pipeline.

What is identical

The lens. Both use the redesigned 23mm f/2 introduced on the V, which fixed the close-focus softness of every earlier X100.

The hybrid viewfinder, the leaf shutter, the tilting screen, the dial layout, the battery and the single UHS-I card slot. Both need the AR-X100 adapter ring and a filter for weather sealing.

The VI is two millimetres thicker and 43 grams heavier because of the stabiliser. In the hand you will not notice.

Which to buy

Buy the X100VI if you shoot indoors, in the evening, or at events. Stabilisation on a fixed f/2 lens is transformative, and the extra resolution helps on a camera you cannot zoom.

Buy a used X100V if you shoot mostly in daylight, do not crop hard, and the price gap is meaningful. You are giving up three simulations and two stops of hand-holdability for a substantial saving.

Buy neither if the fixed 35mm equivalent does not suit how you shoot. The X-E5 has the VI’s sensor, processor and stabiliser, takes any lens, and is far easier to find in stock.