I am sure that by now, you are well aware of Fujifilm’s amazingly popular new camera, the X100vi. I have had every version of the X100 since it was introduced, and I have loved each one. They have incrementally gotten better and better.
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What is phenomenal about the X100vi is that it has broken sales records everywhere. I am someone who stays on top of the industry. The first week sales orders were opened, it became clear just how popular and well-selling this new camera was.
The previous model, the X100V, was back-ordered for a month when the X100vi was introduced. Fujifilm made a wise choice to move the manufacture of the X100 from Japan to China, where it could at least double the production volume.
Fujifilm quickly realized when the orders started to pour in that they would not have the capacity to handle such an unexpectedly large volume. Sources began to report that this camera’s sales and back orders were in the hundreds of thousands. I reached out to numerous sources that I could talk to as well as industry resources, and on a worldwide basis, this camera would possibly be one of the best-selling cameras ever; it was reported back to me that back orders could be more than 500,000 and possibly over 600,000.
Essentially, this camera went viral. Social media sources such as Tick Tock, Instagram, and many others sold its uniqueness as the camera to have if you wanted to be cool. I belong to several X100 forums and groups, and it’s amazing how many people are asking questions that are so basic it is clear they have never owned a camera like this before and maybe shouldn’t.
In short, the whole concept of this camera appealed to many (including myself). The X100vi boasts a 40mp sensor with image stabilization built and packaged in a small rangefinder-like camera body. The image quality is superb. I love mine, and I have not been tempted to do many upgrades recently, as most cameras are incremental in features and not worth the price of the upgrade. Fujifilm X100vi doubled the megapixels and added IBIS for a small price increase. Trading in my X100V towards the X100vi was a no-brainer as the camera had retained so much value.
I could go on and on, and there are a ton of YouTube videos out there, as well as articles and reviews, extolling the features and imaging capabilities of this small camera. It will be interesting to see how Fujifilm responds to the large backorder. It’s public knowledge that their capacity is 15,000 cameras a month. Even taking those numbers through the end of the year, you are looking at a huge, unprecedented sales volume.
Just about a week ago, Fujifilm took orders for a special edition version of the X100vi. The number of orders crashed the website. Essentially, the Special Edition sold out in minutes. It has presented its own set of challenges as, believe it or not, scalpers are buying what cameras they can find and selling them for outrageous pricing on eBay and other sales sites. There have been prices from 4 to 10 times the original price. See this post on Fuji Rumors or this one on DPreview . You can find more like this just by doing some Google searches.
My hat is off to Fuji. They created a monster ( and a fine cameras too) and now all they have to do is figure out how to tame it. We would be foolish to think other camera makers aren’t watching this and trying to develop their own Fuji X100vi killer.
The Video (13:10)
Please enjoy this little video I put together with some of my thoughts.
Kevin Raber
March 2024
Elevate Your Vision
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