Last year I was one of the lucky ones who got the Fujifilm X100VI.  I mostly purchased it as a compact and lightweight alternative to dragging around my Canon mirrorless bodies and lenses.  But many who buy the X100VI (as well as other Fujifilm digital cameras) do so because they want to take advantage of Fuji’s film simulations.  As I talk about in my review, the X100VI is equipped with several film simulations that provide users the ability to emulate the look of classic Fujifilm film stock in their digital images.  Provia.  Velvia.  Classic Chrome.  There are many different film simulations available.  I didn’t grow up shooting Fujifilm – we always bought Kodak film when I was a kid.  So as much as I admire the different looks that my images have when I use the various film simulation options, I’ve never truly known how accurate they were.  So I decided to try a little experiment in order to find out.

I purchased a role of Fujifilm Acros 100 II for my Canon A-1 and set out on a day of photo taking with both my Canon A-1, and my X100VI.  I decided I would shoot as many similarly composed photos as I could and compare how the film images shot with my Canon A-1 look compared to the film simulation images produced by my X100VI.  To make the comparison as fair and valid as possible, I selected the Canon FD 35mm F2 SSC which should provide a near identical focal length and image reproduction to the X100VI’s effective 35mm f2 lens.

THE PHOTOS

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

Fujifilm X100VI

Canon A-1

CONCLUSIONS

First let me say how much fun I had taking these photos.  I shot my Canon A-1 in aperture priority mode (AV) mode, and my aperture ranged from f2 to f4 depending on lighting conditions on this overcast day, which was PERFECT for shooting in B&W.  The X100VI never left f2 thanks to its much faster shutter, and all the photos were shot in Fujifilm’s RAW file format, and the Acros film simulation was applied to all the images in Lightroom.  Beyond some minor exposure corrections, the images are essentially straight out of the camera.  I made no effort to match the exposures in each photo set.  In some cases, the Fujifilm photo will be a bit darker.  In other cases, the Canon A-1 was a tad darker.  I don’t think there’s more than a half stop difference between any two photos.

In terms of the accuracy of the Fujifilm X100VI’s Acros film simulation, it’s jaw dropping accurate.  Not to the degree that you can’t easily tell the sharp, digital camera image from the film camera scan.  Could you make the digital camera image look even more film like?  Sure.  De-sharpen the digital camera image, add some grain…it could be tough to tell the difference.  But in terms of the Acros look?  The film simulation nails it.

In terms of the experience shooting, the A-1 was just so…easy.  The viewfinder is beautiful and it was so much easier to see through than the electronic viewfinder (EVF) on the X100VI.  The X100VI EVF is clearly something that could be improved on the next iteration of the camera.  With the A-1, it is just meter, set aperture, compose, and shoot.  With the X100VI, first you have to either turn on or wake up camera – that can take a couple of seconds.  Then I would meter and adjust my shutter speed.  On the plus side, the X100VI images were gorgeous.  And these aren’t just de-saturated monotone images.  And not just filters slapped on the image.  There’s real magic in those film simulations.  They go beyond what you can do with filters – I can’t fully explain it.  But it really is fascinating to compare the images that were taken with an actual film camera with a vintage 35mm lens and compare them to film simulation applied images from the X100VI.

I’ve gained new respect for the Fujifilm X100VI.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.