Fujifilm X100VI rumour potentially quashed as exciting lens redesign in official teaser signals technical changes ^↺

One of the first Fujifilm X100VI rumours to emerge said that the lens on the new X100V replacement would be a redesigned unit, although it was unclear exactly what this meant. Shortly after that rumour, a supposed leak claimed that the Fujifilm X100VI would actually have the same lens as its predecessor. Now, from a more credible source — Fujifilm itself — a teaser reveals that the original leak may, in fact, have been correct.

The Fujifilm X100VI teaser, originally posted to the @fujifilmx_us Instagram page, didn't reveal much about the camera at first glance, but digging through the video, it quickly becomes apparent that there have been changes to the lens barrel. Namely, the new X100VI lens appears longer than the one on the X100V, and the focus ring is substantially thicker than its predecessor.

We already know from previous leaks that the Fujifilm X100VI is set to get sensor-based in-body image stabilisation akin to the Fujifilm X-T5 (curr. $1,699.99 on Amazon), more or less ruling out the possibility that the lens change comes from the stabilisation hardware.

This still leaves a few more possibilities as to why the new lens would be larger, an important factor for a camera that is so laser-focussed on compactness. The most exciting of the possible changes to the lens is a wider aperture, but the growth could also be explained by a longer focal length, improved weather sealing, or different autofocus hardware.

Any of the aforementioned upgrades would likely be a welcome trade-off for those looking for a compact, powerful camera, but an aperture upgrade makes the most sense, since the smaller APS-C sensor can suffer at F/2.0 in low-light scenarios. 

The rest of the teaser reveals much of the same retro design as found on the ever-popular X100V, but there also seem to be some subtle, mostly visual, changes to things like the viewfinder selector switch on the front of the camera. This is more than likely the designed outcome for many hardcore Fujifilm X100 series fans, since the camera's internals are expected to get substantial improvements, and the rangefinder-style design is one of the more endearing aspects of the X100 series.

Understandably, Fujifilm's official teaser, which confirms the launch date of the camera once again, is drumming up a lot of attention, speculation, and hype for Fujifilm's upcoming compact camera. Some are even going so far as to question whether the pictured camera is even the X100VI and not the Fujifilm X-Pro4, which is also slated for release sometime this year.

If you're looking for a similarly-retro camera without having to wait months for the X100VI, check out the Fujifilm X-S20, which sells for $1,399 with a 15–45 mm kit on Amazon.