Complete reference · every number verified against Fujifilm's official spec sheet
Every X100VI setting, in depth
Continuous shooting frame rates and exact buffer depths, autofocus, the ND filter and leaf shutter, IBIS, all 20 film simulations, every video mode and bitrate, and the universal starting settings for any situation.
Every spec on this page comes from Fujifilm's official X100VI specification sheet. Third-party reviews disagree on the burst numbers (you'll see "15fps mechanical" quoted around the web — that's wrong). The tables below are the manufacturer's figures.
🎛️ Where every setting actually lives
Recipes tell you what to set. This tells you which dial or menu. Every path below verified against the official manual.
⚠️ First: there is no PASM dial
This is the thing that confuses everyone coming from a normal camera. The X100VI has no Auto/P/A/S/M knob. The mode is decided by whether you set the shutter dial and the aperture ring to A or to a number.
| Shutter dial (top) | Aperture ring (lens) | You get |
|---|---|---|
| A | a number (2, 2.8, 4, 5.6…) | Aperture priority — this is "MODE: A" in every recipe |
| a number | A | Shutter priority |
| A | A | Program (full auto exposure) |
| a number | a number | Manual |
Every recipe row → the exact control
| Recipe says | Where it is | How |
|---|---|---|
| MODE · A | 🎚️ Two physical controls | Turn the shutter speed dial (top plate) to A. Set the aperture ring to a real number. Done — that's aperture priority. |
| APERTURE · f/5.6 | 🎚️ Aperture ring | The clicked ring around the lens barrel. Rotate to 5.6. Marked 2 · 2.8 · 4 · 5.6 · 8 · 11 · 16. |
| ISO · Auto 125–6400 | 🎚️ Dial + 📋 menu | Lift the collar of the shutter speed dial and rotate — it's also the sensitivity dial — to A. Then set the range: MENU → A SHOOTING SETTING → ISO AUTO SETTING → AUTO1 and set MAX. SENSITIVITY = 6400. |
| MIN SHUTTER · 1/250 | 📋 Same screen | ISO AUTO SETTING → MIN. SHUTTER SPEED → 1/250. This is what stops walking people blurring. |
| DRIVE · CH 13fps | 🔘 DRIVE button | Press DRIVE/DELETE (back of camera) → choose CH HIGH SPEED BURST → then pick the frame advance rate. |
| AF · AF-S | 🎚️ Focus selector | The physical slider on the front-left of the body. Three positions: S (single) · C (continuous) · M (manual). Slide to S. |
| AF · Single point | 📋 Menu | MENU → AF/MF SETTING → AF MODE → SINGLE POINT. Move the point with the focus stick; resize it with the rear command dial. |
| AF · Face/Eye | 📋 Menu | MENU → AF/MF SETTING → FACE/EYE DETECTION SETTING → Face ON, Eye Auto. |
| FILM SIM · Classic Chrome | 🔘 Q button | Press Q → highlight the Film Simulation tile → turn a command dial. Or MENU → IMAGE QUALITY SETTING → FILM SIMULATION. |
| EXP. COMP · −⅓ | 🎚️ Its own dial | The exposure compensation dial on the top plate, right side. One click toward −. Each click is ⅓ stop. |
| ND filter ON | 📋 Menu (map it!) | MENU → A SHOOTING SETTING → ND FILTER → ON (4 EV). Assign it to a button — MENU → BUTTON/DIAL SETTING → FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING — you'll use it constantly. |
| Pre-shot burst | 📋 Menu | MENU → A SHOOTING SETTING → PRE-SHOT. Electronic shutter only. |
| Shutter type | 📋 Menu | MENU → SHOOTING SETTING → SHUTTER TYPE → MS+ES. |
| Highlight / Shadow / Color / Clarity / Grain | 📋 Menu | All under MENU → IMAGE QUALITY SETTING, below Film Simulation. |
| Save as a bank (C1–C7) | 📋 Menu | MENU → IMAGE QUALITY SETTING → EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING → CUSTOM 1–7. |
| Digital teleconverter (50/70mm) | 📋 Menu or ring | MENU → A SHOOTING SETTING → DIGITAL TELE-CONV. — or assign it to the control ring around the lens. |
✅ The five-minute version
If you only do this much, the universal recipe is live:
- 1. Shutter speed dial → A
- 2. Aperture ring → 5.6
- 3. Lift the shutter dial collar, rotate to A (ISO auto)
- 4. MENU → A SHOOTING SETTING → ISO AUTO SETTING → MAX 6400, MIN SHUTTER 1/250
- 5. Exposure compensation dial → one click to −⅓
- 6. Press Q → Film Simulation → Classic Chrome
- 7. Focus slider → S
Steps 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 are physical — no menus at all. Only 4 and 6 need the screen. Then save it: EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING → CUSTOM 1, and you never rebuild it.
Every menu path here was checked against the official manual — you can read the page itself in the built-in manual reader, or ask the AI assistant on the guide page.
⚡ The 15-minute setup — do this once
Out of the box the camera is set up for nobody. Fix these twelve things and never think about them again.
| # | Setting | Set it to | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Image Quality | FINE + RAW | JPEG you can post immediately, RAW you can rescue. The card is cheap; the moment isn't. |
| 2 | Image Size | L 3:2 | Full 40MP. Crop later, not in camera. |
| 3 | ISO | Auto, 125–6400, min shutter 1/125 | Caps noise and guarantees a shutter fast enough to stop a walking person. |
| 4 | Drive mode | CH (electronic, 20fps) | See the burst section — this is your default for anything with people in it. |
| 5 | AF Mode | Single Point + AF-S | You decide what's sharp. Zone/wide guesses, and it guesses wrong on street. |
| 6 | Face/Eye Detection | ON | Overrides the point whenever a person enters frame. Turn off only for still life. |
| 7 | Focus Check | OFF | Auto-zoom on manual focus is disorienting when you're shooting fast. |
| 8 | Preview Exp./WB in Manual | ON | The EVF shows the actual exposure. This is the whole point of a mirrorless camera. |
| 9 | Shutter Type | MS+ES (Mechanical priority) | Mechanical for image quality, auto-switches to electronic past 1/4000. |
| 10 | Fn button (front lever) | ND Filter | Your most-used control in daylight. One flick to shoot f/2 at noon. |
| 11 | Q Menu slot 1 | Film Simulation | The thing you actually change most. |
| 12 | IBIS | Shooting Only | Saves battery vs Continuous, still stabilises the shot itself. |
📐 Exposure — the dials, and what "A" does
The X100VI is a dial camera. There is no PASM knob — the mode emerges from what you set to A.
| Shutter dial | Aperture ring | You get | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Set (f/2–f/16) | Aperture priority | Your default. You pick the blur, camera picks the speed. |
| Set | A | Shutter priority | Freezing action or forcing motion blur. |
| A | A | Program | Handing the camera to someone else. |
| Set | Set | Manual | Studio, night, or any scene with unchanging light. |
Shutter speed ranges
| Shutter type | P / A modes | S / M modes | Bulb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical (leaf) | 30 sec – 1/4000 | 15 min – 1/4000 | up to 60 min |
| Electronic | 30 sec – 1/180,000 | 15 min – 1/180,000 | 1 sec fixed |
ISO
Native: ISO 125–12,800 in ⅓ steps. Extended: 64, 80, 100, 25,600, 51,200.
Avoid the extended values. ISO 64/80/100 are pulled — they lose highlight dynamic range, they don't gain you quality. If you need less light, use the ND filter instead. ISO 25,600/51,200 are pushed and fall apart. Set your Auto-ISO ceiling to 6400 and treat 12,800 as an emergency.
🔥 Continuous shooting — every frame rate and buffer
Official Fujifilm figures. Buffer = frames before the camera slows down.
Electronic shutter (CH)
| Speed | Crop | JPEG | RAW | Lossless RAW | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 fps | 1.29× | 117 | 52 | 35 | Peak action. Divers, skaters, kids, dogs. The crop makes it ~45mm equiv. |
| 13 fps | 1.29× | 146 | 57 | 36 | Longer sequences — deeper buffer than 20fps. |
| 10 fps | 1.29× | 163 | 59 | 36 | Longest cropped buffer. Sustained action. |
| 13 fps | none | 80 | 38 | 24 | Best full-frame burst. Full 35mm field, still fast. |
| 11 fps | none | 38 | 33 | 21 | Shallow JPEG buffer — 13fps is strictly better. |
| 8.9 fps | none | 84 | 38 | 24 | Deeper buffer at a still-usable speed. |
| 8.0 fps | none | 76 | 35 | 21 | Candid people — fast enough, easier to cull. |
Mechanical shutter (CL)
| Speed | JPEG | RAW | Lossless RAW | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 fps | 97 | 36 | 23 | Fastest mechanical. Use when electronic rolling shutter is a problem. |
| 5.0 fps | 110 | 42 | 25 | General mechanical burst. |
| 4.0 fps | 184 | 48 | 26 | Deep buffer, relaxed pace. |
| 3.0 fps | 504 | 57 | 29 | Nearly unlimited JPEG. Long events, ceremonies, anything you can't miss. |
📸 Pre-shot burst — the one that feels like cheating
Half-press and the camera starts continuously filling the buffer without recording. When you fully press, it keeps roughly the last 20 frames from 0.5–1 second BEFORE you pressed.
- This fixes human reaction time. You physically cannot press a shutter fast enough to catch a jump at its apex — this does it for you.
- Electronic shutter only. It will not work in CL/mechanical.
- Use it for: jumps, dives, skate tricks, a bird taking off, someone about to laugh.
- Cost: battery drain and a lot of frames to cull. Turn it off when you're not hunting a peak moment.
⚠️ Rolling shutter — when NOT to use electronic
The electronic shutter reads the sensor line by line, so fast-moving subjects skew and hard artificial light can band. Switch to mechanical (CL) for: propellers and spinning wheels, whip pans, anything under LED stage lighting or older fluorescents, and flash work.
Bracketing & special drive modes
All available from the drive menu: AE Bracketing · Film Simulation Bracketing · Dynamic Range Bracketing · ISO Sensitivity Bracketing · White Balance Bracketing · Focus Bracketing · Multiple Exposure · HDR · Advanced Filter.
- Film Simulation Bracketing is the underrated one — one press, three sims written from a single RAW capture. Perfect while you're still learning which sim you like.
- Focus Bracketing for close-up detail work where f/16 still isn't enough depth.
- AE Bracketing for high-contrast scenes you'll merge later.
🎯 Autofocus — all modes
Intelligent Hybrid AF: TTL contrast + TTL phase detection, 425 selectable points.
| Mode | What it does | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| AF-S + Single Point | Locks once on one point | Default. Street, portraits, still life, anything not running at you. |
| AF-C + Single Point | Tracks continuously on one point | Someone walking toward you. Pair with burst. |
| AF-C + Zone (3×3 → 7×7) | Tracks within a block of points | Erratic movement — kids, dogs, sport. Bigger zone = more forgiving, less precise. |
| All-area / Wide Tracking | Camera picks | Handing the camera to a friend. Otherwise avoid — it favours whatever's closest. |
| MF + focus peaking | You focus | Zone-focusing street, shooting through glass or fences, sun in frame, macro. |
Subject detection
The X100VI detects Animal · Bird · Automobile · Motorcycle & Bike · Airplane · Train. Pick one at a time — it isn't a general-purpose mode.
People are handled separately. Face/Eye Detection is its own menu item, not part of the subject-detection list. For photographing humans you want Face/Eye Detection ON and subject detection OFF — running both makes the camera hesitate.
Zone focusing — the street technique
Switch to MF, set f/8, and set focus to about 2.5 m / 8 ft. At 23mm and f/8 roughly everything from ~1.5 m to infinity is acceptably sharp. Now the camera has zero focus lag — press and it fires. This is how street photographers get shots that autofocus would miss.
🕶️ ND filter & leaf shutter — your two unfair advantages
The 4-stop built-in ND
A 4-stop neutral density filter lives inside the lens. One button and your exposure drops four stops with no colour shift and nothing to screw on.
- Shoot f/2 in blazing midday sun. Without ND, f/2 at ISO 125 in full sun needs faster than 1/4000 — beyond the mechanical shutter. With ND you're back in range.
- Motion blur in daylight — water, crowds, light trails at 1/15 or slower.
- Video at the 180° rule — 1/50 at 24p outdoors is impossible without it.
- Map it to the front lever or a Fn button. Buried in a menu it's useless; on a button it's the control you'll hit most.
The leaf shutter — flash sync at ANY speed
Most cameras cap flash sync around 1/200. The X100VI's leaf shutter opens and closes from the centre, so it syncs flash at any mechanical speed up to 1/4000.
- Fill flash against a bright sky at 1/2000, f/2 — subject correctly lit, sky still deep blue. A DSLR physically cannot do this without HSS gear.
- It's also nearly silent — no mirror, no focal-plane slap. Better for churches, museums, quiet streets.
- Use the tiny built-in flash on −⅔ to −1⅓ for fill. At full power it looks like a flash; dialed down it just looks like better light.
🤚 IBIS — 5-axis, 6.0 stops
Sensor-shift stabilisation rated at 6.0 stops. Practically: the old "1/focal length" rule says 1/35s is your handheld floor. Six stops of correction takes that to roughly 1/2 second if you brace properly.
| IBIS setting | Behaviour | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting Only | Active at the moment of capture | Default. Full benefit, much better battery. |
| Continuous | Always on, including preview | Video, or when a steady viewfinder helps you compose. |
| Off | Disabled | On a tripod — IBIS can fight a locked-off camera. |
IBIS stops your shake, not your subject's motion. A person walking still needs 1/125 no matter how good the stabilisation is.
🎨 Image quality settings — what each slider actually does
| Setting | Range | What it does | Start at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Range | DR100 / 200 / 400 | Protects highlights by underexposing then lifting. DR200 needs ISO 250+, DR400 needs ISO 500+. | DR100, DR200 in harsh sun |
| Highlight Tone | −2 … +4 | Contrast in the brights. Negative = protects skies and skin. | −1 |
| Shadow Tone | −2 … +4 | Contrast in the darks. Negative = lifted, faded, filmic blacks. | −1 to −2 |
| Color | −4 … +4 | Saturation. | 0 to +2 |
| Sharpness | −4 … +4 | Edge acutance. 40MP needs very little. | −1 to 0 |
| Noise Reduction | −4 … +4 | High-ISO smoothing. High values turn detail into plastic. | −4 |
| Clarity | −5 … +5 | Midtone local contrast. Negative = soft glow. slows the buffer | −2 to 0 |
| Grain Effect | Off/Weak/Strong × Small/Large | Adds film grain. | Weak / Small |
| Color Chrome Effect | Off/Weak/Strong | Recovers detail in deeply saturated colours (reds, flowers, sunsets). | Strong |
| Color Chrome FX Blue | Off/Weak/Strong | Same, for blues. Deepens skies and water without touching skin. | Strong |
| White Balance shift | R/B ±9 | Warm/cool bias on top of any WB. | R+1 to R+2 for skin |
🎞️ All 20 film simulations
| Simulation | Character | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|
| PROVIA / Standard | Neutral, balanced | You're unsure. The safe default. |
| Velvia / Vivid | Punchy, high saturation | Landscapes, autumn, blue water. Ruins skin. |
| ASTIA / Soft | Soft contrast, kind skin | Portraits in harsh light. |
| Classic Chrome | Muted, documentary, warm-cool split | Street, travel, summer. The most "expensive-looking" sim. |
| REALA ACE | Faithful colour, hard tonality | Newest sim. Natural skin with contrast. Great all-rounder. |
| PRO Neg. Hi | Portrait, moderate contrast | Studio and controlled light. |
| PRO Neg. Std | Flattest colour sim | Skin you'll grade later. |
| Classic Neg. | Shifted colour, hard edges | Grungy street, markets, nightlife. |
| Nostalgic Neg. | Warm amber, lifted shadows | 70s road-trip feel, golden hour. |
| ETERNA / Cinema | Flat, low saturation | Video, or stills you'll grade. |
| ETERNA Bleach Bypass | Very low sat, very high contrast | Moody, industrial, rain. |
| ACROS | B&W with the best grain structure Fuji makes | Any black & white. Always choose ACROS over "Black & White". |
| ACROS +Ye / +R / +G | Yellow / Red / Green filtered B&W | +R darkens skies hardest; +G flatters skin. |
| Black & White (+Ye/+R/+G) | Plain monochrome | Legacy. ACROS is better in every case. |
| Sepia | Brown toned | Rarely. It's there. |
🎬 Video — every mode, frame rate and bitrate
Official figures. All modes support 10-bit 4:2:2 internal, F-Log and F-Log2.
| Mode | Resolution | Frame rates | Bitrate | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2K | 6.2K (≈6240 px wide) | 29.97 / 25 / 24 / 23.98p | 200 / 100 / 50 Mbps | 1.23× (≈43mm equiv) |
| 4K / DCI 4K | 3840×2160 / 4096×2160 | up to 59.94p | 200 / 100 / 50 Mbps | none up to 30p · 1.1× at 59.94p |
| Full HD | 1920×1080 / 2048×1080 | up to 59.94p | 200 / 100 / 50 Mbps | none |
| High Speed | 1920×1080 | 240 / 200 / 120 / 100p | — | slow motion |
⚠️ The UHS-I bottleneck
The X100VI has a single UHS-I card slot — that caps you at 200 Mbps. There is no point buying expensive UHS-II or V90 cards for this body; a solid V30 UHS-I card is all it can use. Buy capacity, not speed.
Video settings that actually matter
- Shutter = 2× frame rate (180° rule). 24p → 1/48 or 1/50. 60p → 1/120. Faster looks jittery; slower looks smeared.
- Outdoors this is impossible without the ND. 1/50 at f/2 in daylight is wildly overexposed — flick the ND on. This is the single biggest reason X100VI video looks good.
- F-Log2 gives 13+ stops of dynamic range but needs grading. If you're not colour grading, shoot ETERNA and skip Log entirely.
- IBIS → Continuous for video, and add digital IS if you're walking.
- 4K/30p is the sweet spot — no crop, no overheating anxiety, plenty of resolution.
- 6.2K's 1.23× crop turns your 35mm into ~43mm. Worth knowing before you frame a shot.
📐 Universal angles — the ten that always work
Composition rules that apply to every photo on the example gallery, regardless of subject.
| Angle | How | X100VI note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Rule of thirds | Subject and horizon on the lines, not the middle. | Turn the grid on: DISP/BACK → Framing Guideline |
| 2 · Low angle | Drop to knee height, tilt up, put sky behind. | Flip the LCD up so you don't lie on the ground. |
| 3 · High angle / straight down | Get above and shoot down. Flattens into graphic shapes. | Tilt screen down; keep the camera level or the effect breaks. |
| 4 · Eye level, dead on | Square up, symmetrical, confrontational. | Use the electronic level — dead-on only works if it's exact. |
| 5 · Frame within a frame | Shoot through a doorway, arch, arms, foliage. | f/2 blurs the frame; f/8 keeps it sharp. Both work, pick one. |
| 6 · Leading lines | Roads, rails, piers, shadows pointing at the subject. | 35mm is ideal — wide enough to include the line's full run. |
| 7 · Near–far | Object close in the corner, subject in the distance. | f/8 keeps both readable. This is the depth trick. |
| 8 · Reflections | Puddles, windows, glass, water, sunglasses. | Get low. Reflections appear at grazing angles. |
| 9 · Backlight / into the sun | Sun behind subject, rim light on the edges. | −1 EV, and the leaf shutter lets you add fill flash at any speed. |
| 10 · Negative space | Small subject, huge empty area. Calm and confident. | Resist filling the frame. Empty sky is a choice, not a mistake. |
📋 Universal settings by scenario
Dial these in and start shooting. Adjust from there.
| Scenario | Mode | Aperture | Shutter / ISO | Drive & AF | Film sim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street, daylight | A | f/5.6–8 | Auto ISO 125–6400, min 1/250 | CH 13fps FF · AF-S single | Classic Chrome |
| Street, zone focus | A | f/8 | Auto ISO, min 1/250 | MF @ 2.5m · no AF lag | ACROS |
| Portrait | A | f/2 | Auto ISO, min 1/125 | CL 5fps · AF-S + Face/Eye | Reala Ace / Astia |
| Action / jumps | S | f/4 | 1/2000, ISO up to 6400 | CH 20fps + Pre-shot · AF-C zone | Provia |
| Landscape | A | f/8 | Auto ISO 125, min 1/125 | Single · AF-S | Velvia |
| Beach / water, midday | A | f/2–2.8 + ND ON | Auto, −⅔ EV | CH · AF-C | Classic Chrome |
| Golden hour | A | f/2 | Auto, −⅔ EV | AF-S + Face/Eye | Nostalgic Neg. |
| Blue hour / night | A | f/2–2.8 | ISO 640–3200, 1/60 (IBIS) | Single · AF-S | Classic Neg. |
| Indoors / restaurant | A | f/2 | Auto ISO to 6400, min 1/60 | AF-S single | Classic Chrome |
| Concert / stage | A | f/2 | ISO 3200–12800, min 1/250 | CL mechanical (LED banding) | Eterna Bleach Bypass |
| Video, outdoors | M | f/4 + ND ON | 1/50 @ 24p, ISO 125 | 4K30 · IBIS Continuous | Eterna |
| Motion blur, daylight | S | f/16 + ND ON | 1/15 or slower, ISO 125 | Single · brace or tripod | Provia |
💾 Custom banks — set these seven and stop menu-diving
The X100VI stores seven custom setting banks (C1–C7), reachable from the Q menu. Program them once:
Save with Menu → IQ → Edit/Save Custom Setting. Note that custom banks store image-quality settings, not the physical dials — you still set aperture and shutter by hand.
Where to go next
- 📸 Example gallery — 1000+ real photos with the setup for each type
- 🔬 20 technique breakdowns — real frames dissected shot by shot
- 🌴 California photo spots — 24 locations with light windows and settings
- 📖 The full 420-page manual — searchable, with AI assistant
- 🎲 Shot Roulette — 500+ ideas