The Fujifilm Finepix X100 was the company’s first large-sensor camera, and helped define the X series that sprang from it. As a result, understanding the X100 VI’s history helps us understand the brand.
In the noughties, Fujifilm had become known for its long-zoom ‘bridge’ compacts. But in the face of a price war, it wanted to remind people that it was also a world leader in broadcast lenses and a brand that understood photography.
Sigma and then Leica had already introduced large sensor fixed lens cameras, but neither of them mimicked the look or style of the fixed lens rangefinders that had been popular in the 60’s and 70’s. As befits its role in helping Fujifilm pivot from mass-market compacts to aspirational products for photographers, the original X100 still wore the outgoing ‘Finepix’ name. But it would soon become clear that the X series had arrived.