Fujirumors is reporting which battery the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI will use: the old NP-W126S.
A lot of Fuji X Weekly readers frequently visit Fujirumors. There’s some crossover between the audience of both websites; however, I’m not a rumor site, and I don’t personally have inside information on upcoming gear. I can only comment about what other people report, and Fujirumors has a reputation of being correct a whole lot more than incorrect. If you want the inside scoop, that’s where you need to go. But I do get asked to comment on the things that Fujirumors reports. Just within the last couple of hours, three different people reached out to me for my opinion on the latest rumor.
I think a lot of photographers—myself included—speculated that, since the X100VI will have IBIS, it will also have the new WP-235 battery. Between the 40mp sensor and the in-body-image-stabilization, there’s a lot of potential battery drainage, so the old battery would be insufficient, and the new battery would be a requirement. In order to use the bigger battery, the camera would need to be larger, at least a little. Plus, the new battery is a tad heavier. The assumption was that the new camera would be a hair bigger and a little heavier to accommodate IBIS and the WP-235 battery.
The X100VI will indeed be a hair bigger—but literally just a hair—as apparently the lens needs to extend just 1mm further out to make room for the IBIS, but otherwise it will be basically identical to its predecessor. I’m sure the camera will be just a smidge heavier, too, but not much at all. By using the old battery—the same battery that the X100V takes—Fujifilm prioritized size and weight on the new model. It seems as though more will be the same than different between the X100V and X100VI, and that’s not bad whatsoever. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But it definitely raises some questions regarding battery consumption. The expected battery life on the X100F was 390 pictures, and it increased to 420 on the X100V. Those numbers are decent enough, but not necessarily impressive; plenty of battery life most of the time, yet occasionally insufficient. Of course, battery life depends on a whole host of factors, so your mileage might vary. I used to own a Sigma DP Merrill camera that got between 35 and 40 exposures on a battery—about as many frames as a roll of 36 exp film. So it’s nowhere near that; however, it’s also not particularly close to the 580 shots that the X-T5 is rated at. The X-S20, with the old sensor and new battery, can apparently get 750 exposures, which illustrates that the new sensor drains the battery significantly more than the old sensor. So what kind of battery life are we looking at? I’m sure that the Fujifilm programmers worked some magic to maximize efficiency, but it would be pretty shocking if the X100VI can get more than 350 shots… it might even be less than 300. I have no idea, this is mere speculation, and I could certainly be wrong. I’ve been wrong plenty of times before, so definitely take all of this with a grain of salt.
There are, of course, some things that one can do to mitigate battery drainage. For example, on my X-T5, if I know I’ll be shooting all day and need the batteries to last, I’ll turn Image Stabilization Off, and only use it when I need it (most of the time I don’t need it). On my X100V, I like to keep the rear LCD off and use the Optical Viewfinder, which not only gives a film-like shooting experience, but also saves battery. It’s possible to make the battery last quite awhile if you need it to. And, as always, you can keep a spare or two nearby. If you are in a studio, you could always use a tethered faux battery that plugs into the wall.
I think it’s clear that the X100VI—much like the X100V—is a photographer’s camera more than a cinematography tool. With the heat issues and battery drainage—sure, it’s possible to use it for video with much success, but it is far from ideal for that purpose. I don’t use my X100V for video, and don’t anticipate using the X100VI for video, either, even with IBIS. Can you? Absolutely. Is it the best option? Absolutely not.
I’m actually a little glad that the X100VI will take the old NP-W126S, and that Fujifilm prioritized size and weight over battery life. The way I use the camera, I get significantly more than 420 exposures on a fully-charged battery. I can turn IBIS off, and only activate it when I need to, which I’m sure won’t be very often. It’s good to have IBIS as an option, but the reality is that it’s not all that important on a camera like the X100. Size and weight matter more to me. I don’t think Fujifilm’s battery choice will be a big deal for most people (it won’t be for me), but for some it might make the X100V an intriguing choice over the X100VI, just depending on how long the battery will last on the upcoming camera.
With my x100v and using both the EVF and tilt screen I’m able to take a 5 mile hike and return with dozens of keeper photos from landscapes to near macros while consuming < 25% of the battery's reserve. I only have one battery and I charge only every few shoots, in camera using a USB-C wire. I do not want a larger heavier battery.
I think, for instances where you’ll be out all day, such as when traveling, having a long-lasting battery is definitely good, but for the most part, the “old” battery is plenty good enough. Thanks for the input!
I think people forget that the x100 thru the x100T used the even smaller NP-95 battery. People complained but they still continued to buy the camera.
I never owned any of the X100 cameras prior to the X100F. The CIPA rate for the X100T is 330 (vs 390 for the X100F). My guess is that the X100VI will be closer to that of the X100T, but that’s just pure speculation.
With 40 mgp.it will be nessesery to have ibis!!!
I’ve heard this before, and I think it’s a myth. I turn the IBIS off on my X-T5 somewhat regularly, and never noticed any issues when doing that, so long as the shutter speed is sufficient for the focal length of the lens. The old rule of thumb is that the minimum shutter speed needs to be a similar to the focal length of the lens. For example, a 30mm focal length lens should have a minimum shutter speed 1/30.
I’m anxiously waiting this new X100VI just because I hope to get the chance to buy a used X100V at a proper price!
Same! Heck I would settle for a used X100T, but $800 is just too high.
I hope so, but no guarantees that it will anytime soon.
I cross my fingers .. I bought my used xt4 that it was 2 months old, as soon as the xt5 came out, its owner sold it to buy the next model…
I’m sure some will sell their X100V for the X100VI, but I’m not sure how many. There will always be those who just have to have the latest. I personally don’t see the VI as being a huge upgrade to the V, but maybe I’m wrong. Where I see it most affecting the price of the V is with availability (assuming that Fujifilm can actually make enough copies), which will drive many of those who have been unsuccessfully trying to buy an X100V to the VI, and in turn reduce the demand for the V. Maybe it will be possible to get a used copy for the same price as the MSRP, or for slightly less. I don’t expect that the price will fall much more than that for awhile. I, of course, could be completely wrong.
Compare the x-t4 to the x-t5. The x-t5 moved to 40MP and yet is more efficient with battery conservation. So let’s knock that concern on the head, the bigger files won’t impact on battery life.
As to ibis, compare the x-s10 to the x-t30 – the closest two cameras I could think of. The x-t30 is indeed more efficient with about 10% more shots.
I would expect similar performance to the x100v with the losses due to ibis offset by the more efficient sensor.
And of course let’s be realistic, ibis won’t be needed or be necessary for 98% of shots. So just turn it off. An extra function button to recognise we might want to do this quickly would be nice. However, it’s love Fuji to implement some simple automation of IBIS whereby the user selects from which shutter speed IBIS should be active. If it can detect tripod usage and deactivate it, this is an obvious and simple solution to conserve battery.
The CIPA rating for battery life in the X-T30 II is 380 shots, and 325 for the X-S10. That is with the same battery, same sensor, only difference is IBIS. The X-T30 II get’s 17% more battery life than the X-S10. (325+17%=380).
The X-T4 has X-Processor 4, which is much less efficient than X-Processor 5. If the X-T4 had the new processor, it would likely get similar results to the X-S20 (750 instead of 500). That also means that the 40mp sensor gets about 170 less shots than the 26mp (nearly a 30% difference) with the same processor.
Put all of this together… IBIS has a 17% negative effect, 40mp has about a 30% negative effect. But X-Processor 5 has a large positive effect (50%)… maybe it will be close to a wash, but the new battery supposedly lasts 50% more than the old, so that must be factored in.
My best calculation factoring all of this is that the X100VI will get a CIPA rating of 340 shots.
I do think the idea of a setting where IBIS automatically activates when the shutter reaches a certain user-set threshold (I would think around 1/30 would be a common choice), and otherwise be inactive, would make a lot of sense. Hopefully Fujifilm does this.
With IBIS, face and object detection, 40mp to process, battery life can only be worse than experienced with the X100V. If one battery isn’t sufficient to last you all day, most people have a second. They’re not that expensive. The inevitable increased drain on the battery with the X100VI is unlikely to take the overwhelming majority of users into three batteries a day territory. So it might be a storm in a teacup. The 40MP sensor might be a plus, but could be a minus in terms of noise and lag between shots. I went out and got the X100V as soon as it was released as I knew I’d love it (and I do). The X100VI isn’t giving me that feeling. If I want a 40MP camera, the X-T5 (and maybe the rumoured X-Pro 4) will be a much better option. Is there a user case for an X100 series shooter to ever need to utilise 40MP?
In the end, it will be a storm in a teacup. I don’t think it will matter a whole lot in the long run.
I think the reason why 40mp makes sense in an X100 is due to the fixed focal length lens. The extra resolution gives more room for cropping, and makes the digital-teleconverter more useful/higher-quality.
This battery choice has knocked me back a little, I was convinced Fuji would go for bigger battery. I don’t think the battery in the 100V is brilliant and always carry two spares. With the extras fitted I am a little concerned, even though I have heard people say just get extra batteries. I think a new battery would have worked if Fuji had changed the direction the battery was entered into the camera. I think this way would improve the grip and would not really impact the size. I’m sitting on the fence to just keep my 100V and skip the VI.
I personally lean towards appreciating smaller size/weight than increased battery life, but I definitely understand that people might feel differently, and strongly so. I think a lot of X100V owners are going to keep their X100V; it’s an excellent camera, so no hurry to replace it with something that has both pluses and minuses.
In terms of size, I find the minuscule difference between the F and the V already has quite an impact in the feel of the camera (no big hands) so I invariably gravitate towards the F rather than the V. It’s a pity they’re now adding some in size again no matter how minuscule.
I’m glad that Fujifilm didn’t go even bigger, but they’ve got to be careful with each size increase, for sure.