Fujifilm GFX100RF vs Fujifilm X100VI: I took hundreds of pictures with these premium compacts to see which comes out on top

Prior to its launch, pretty much everyone expected the Fujifilm X100VI to be a success. The X100V had been outselling production for months and, despite its scarcity, demand wasn’t slowing. Yet, I still don’t think anyone was quite prepared for the global phenomenon it turned out to be.

So it comes as no surprise that Fujifilm would try to replicate as much of that success as it can in the premium compact market. But while many might have hoped for something a little more affordable than the X100VI’s $1,599 American price tag, Fujifilm has decided to go the other way, launching its first compact medium format camera – the $4,299 Fujifilm GFX 100RF.

So there is clearly a gulf between these cameras in terms of price, but what is that additional $3,000+ getting you? Well, the main selling point is of course that GFX sensor. Not only is it almost four times the size of the APS-C sensor found in the X100VI, it also has two and a half times the resolution. So you're looking at a whopping 102MP versus the 40MP.

Surely these two aren’t in the same league, so why am I even comparing these cameras? Well apart from the sensor, throughout the remaining specs they are actually closer than you might think – and in many ways, the much cheaper and smaller X100VI surpasses its pricier big brother.

Also, Fujifilm went and styled these cameras to look as identical to each other as possible. Both are going after the same market of photographers who want a compact fixed lens camera with bags of style – although with different-sized checking accounts.

So is the new GFX 100RF enough to give X100VI owners buyers regret? Let's find out…

Fujifilm GFX 100RF vs Fujifilm X100VI: On Paper

Just looking at the spec sheets, the 100RF has the obvious advantage when it comes to resolution. With 102MP, it produces much larger images with much more capacity for cropping – although, that said, 40MP in the X100VI is still plenty of resolution for most applications.

The 100RF though does miss out on some key features found in the X100VI, though, like in-body image stabilization and the X100’s incredible hybrid optical viewfinder. Otherwise, there isn't a clear specs triumph for either camera. Check out how the two stack up on paper below.

Fujifilm GFX 100RF vs Fujifilm X100VI: In Practice

The camera I have had slung around my neck for most of the last year is the Fujifilm X100VI, after buying one at launch. I am a big fan of the design, size, and stunning image quality from the premium compact. And when I first heard that Fujifilm was making a GFX version of the camera, I had to try it!

Fujifilm has been gracious enough to take me to Prague for the X-Summit and launch of the Fujifilm GFX 100RF, along with loaning me a 100RF camera for the trip. So this was my perfect opportunity to pit these two cameras head-to-head.

I have taken hundreds of the same photos with each camera (much to bystanders' bemusement), and I have pored over the details to figure out if one of these cameras can take the crown as Fujifilm's best premium compact.

Image Quality

• Fujifilm GFX100RF: GFX (44x33mm) BSI CMOS II, 102MP, 35mm (28mm equivalent), f/4 - f/22
• Fujifilm X100VI: APS-C (23.5x15.7mm) X-Trans CMOS 5 HR, 40.2MP, 23mm (35mm equivalent), f/2 - f/16

Focal length and aspect ratio

Why you can trust Digital Camera World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test.

Time for some camera math. On paper the X100VI might look like it has the wider field of view, with a 23mm lens versus the 35mm lens on the GFX100RF, but alas it's not that simple.

Thanks to a quirk meaning all focal lengths are listed in full frame (35mm) sensor values, for both cameras you have to account for the crop factors of the APS-C sensor (1.5x) in the X100VI and the reverse crop factor of the GFX sensor (0.79x) in the GFX100RF.

So actually, you end up with the X100VI having an effective 35mm lens and the GFX100RF now the wider of the two at an effective 28mm. Don't dismiss a 7mm discrepancy; it is really surprising just how much of a difference that can make at wide angles.

But the story doesn't end there. As the aspect ratio of the GFX sensor is 4:3, it is also larger than the 3:2 APS-C sensor in the X100VI – which means an even taller field of view. So not only are you getting a wider angle on the GFX100RF, you are also getting more photo at the top and bottom of the frame.

What all this boils down to is the GFX100RF offers the more versatile photo experience, with more space for cropping and reframing your images after you've shot them. With taller landscape images, you have more space to crop portrait orientation photos from the center of a landscape frame without losing too much quality – perfect for social media, or for product images that might need to be in several ratios.

Image 1 of 2

Image 1 of 2

Image 1 of 2

Resolution

Before I started this test, I read the specs and assumed this would be a clear victory for the GFX100RF. The GFX medium format camera not only has a larger sensor with larger pixels, it also has a whopping 102 million of them! Compare this to the much much smaller APS-C sensor, with its smaller pixels and the impressive but far fewer 40 million pixels, and on paper the GFX100RF wins all day long.

Except, in reality, it is nowhere near as uncontested as the specs sheet might suggest. I can't deny that when you crop images, there is a clear edge to images shot with the GFX100RF; the level of sharpness and detail from the GFX sensor and 100RF's lens is just spectacular. But the X100VI really holds its own – a testament to both Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor and the superb quality of the X100VI's lens.

But I don't want to undersell the incredible GFX100RF sensor. Even right down at 80mm equivalent digital zoom, the quality is superb and it does put some dedicated zoom lenses to shame. If you need the absolute tip-top quality for your work then the GFX100RF is for you, but otherwise, you might find the detail of the X100VI can surprise you.

Image 1 of 2

Image 1 of 2

Aperture

Just as the crop factors of different sensors affect the advertised focal length of lenses, it also impacts their effective aperture. This means that in full frame terms, the X100VI has an equivalent aperture of around f/2.8, while the GFX100RF has an equivalent aperture of around f/3.2. So not a huge amount to separate these two here in terms of numbers.

In practice, when looking at subject separation or background blur (sometimes mistakenly referred to as bokeh) I couldn't really notice a difference between the two. While neither is going to replace a dedicated portrait lens with a full-frame equivalent aperture of f/1.2-1.8, the falloff from each camera wide open is really nice and looks professional.

But these were never going to be the cameras for creating dreamy portraits, these are primarily street / travel / documentary devices, and both cameras' apertures are good enough for that.

Image 1 of 2

Low Light

Ah, we get onto the area the interenet has been debating since the GFX100RF annoucement… Without in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and with only an f/4 aperture, can you even use this camera at night? Well, yes, quite easily actually. Although not nearly as easily as the X100VI.

I have never considered myself particularly steady-handed, but I was comfortably shooting with the GFX100RF at night out on the streets of Prague with only street lamps and storefronts providing ambient light down to 1/25 of a second – sometimes getting as low as 1/15. However, I couldn't do this reliably, and I needed to take several consecutive shots and hope that one might be a keeper.

Contrast this with the X100VI with IBIS, and it's a different story. With the X100VI I can comfortably handhold a shot at a full second, and time after time the shots are sharp. Shooting at the same 1/25 second it is just not a concern that there will be any hand shake spoiling my photos.

For finer details in low light, ISO for both cameras produces a similar amount of grain. Both are very good performers up until 3200, at 6400 it starts to show some more pronounced grain, but at 12800 or higher, it's a case of only using it if you have to.

I don't think the GFX100RF deserves half of the flak it's getting for its perceived inability in low light, but neither would I rush to make it my camera for a nighttime stroll, the X100VI being the much better choice here.

Image 1 of 2

Image 1 of 4

Image 1 of 2

Handling

• Fujifilm GFX100RF: 133.5 x 90.4 x 76.5 mm, 735g
• Fujifilm X100VI: 128.0 x 74.8 x 55.3 mm, 521g

Of course, the GFX100RF is the bigger and heavier camera. But considering the sensor inside the GFX100RF is almost four times as large as the one in the X100VI, there is surprisingly little distinction between these two cameras.

From the top or side, you might not even notice the difference; it is only from the front that you can see the GFX100RF is substantially taller than the X100VI. The X100VI can slip into pretty much any jacket pocket, but I can't say the same for the GFX100RF.

However, Fujifilm has done an incredible job of making the GFX100RF so small. And while the X100VI is the far more portable of the cameras, the GFX100RF really isn't far behind – and carrying it around for a few days on a shoulder strap, I occasionally forgot it was even there.

Image 1 of 2

When it comes to style, with both these cameras looking like they are built from the same blueprint there is so little to separate the two. Both feel so premium in the hand, and while the GFX100RF has the slight edge on feel with its machined aluminum top having sharper edges and feeling more solid, I think it misses that aesthetic of the X100VI's hybrid OVF viewfinder up front.

I do sorely miss the optical viewfinder on the GFX100RF. I know a lot of people do not use it on their X100s, but I personally love it. That said, the electronic finder on the GFX100RF is great – and is superior to the EVF on the X100VI – but I would opt for the hyrbid OVF/EVF all day long.

Handling-wise, again, there isn't much daylight between the two, although there are some new controls on the GFX100RF. The two most substantial are a digital zoom toggle and an aspect ratio switch.

The zoom toggle I found useful, but no more or less useful than just twisting the ring on the X100VI lens, and the aspect ratio again is not unhelpful, but you can just crop your full-size photos. Neither one makes the GFX100RF a must-buy.

Image 1 of 2

Battery Life

• Fujifilm GFX100RF: NP-W235, 820 shots (CIPA)
• Fujifilm X100VI: NP-W126S, 310 shots (CIPA)

Okay, this one is easy: the GFX100RF completely destroys the X100VI on battery life. I have always found the X100VI's battery a little pathetic, and it is one of the few weak spots of the camera.

In my long weekend of testing in Prague, I was easily churning through two batteries in one day's shooting with the X100VI. However, for the GFX100RF I was getting through two days with one battery. It really is night and day between the two.

There are some things to note. Obviously, the X100VI is a smaller camera so can't take the larger NP-W235 battery, with it using the NP-W126S instead. So, upping the battery would in turn make for a larger camera and spoil some of the X100VI's compact charm.

Also, the X100VI has in-body image stabilization, which is going to put considerable additional strain on the battery, and that is something the GFX100RF just doesn't have to deal with. I am sure if the GFX camera had IBIS, it wouldn't be posting such great numbers.

I really don't think anyone is (or at least should) be deciding between these two cameras based on battery life, but if you are the type of person who cannot tolerate carrying spare batteries then the GFX100RF is the safer bet.

Image 1 of 2

Fujifilm GFX 100RF vs Fujifilm X100VI: Verdict

So which is the better camera? After taking hundreds of pictures I still don't think there is conclusive proof that either is the "best" – and the results were far closer than I expected.

The GFX100RF's 102MP medium format sensor delivers unmatched detail, dynamic range, and cropping flexibility – beyond what the X100VI’s 40MP APS-C sensor can achieve. But not so much so that I can write the X100VI off in this department, with its 40MP sensor more than holding its own.

However, the X100VI excels in usability and versatility – and with in-body image stabilization, it has more consistent low-light performance. It's lighter, more portable, and more ideal for the everyday and street photography that this style of body is intended for. It also offers significantly better value, making it the more practical option for most users.

Ultimately, the X100VI is the better all-rounder, but the GFX100RF is the better camera for photographers seeking the best possible image quality – and for those who can justify the investment.

Image 1 of 2

You might also like...

Check out more of the best Fujifilm cameras in our guide. If you're sold on medium format – see your other options in our guide to the best medium format cameras. Looking for other small cameras – check out our guide to the best compact cameras.