As a long time user of the Fujifilm X system, I've always been intrigued by the company's famed (or is that infamous) X100 series.

But I had never used one despite all those YouTube videos trying to convince me to do so. With the release of the X00VI I became seriously tempted. Not because of the specs (although they're great), but there's only so long I can last before 'Coffee-High-Gear-Acquisition-Syndrome' gets the better of me.

That said, for many months after the release date I resisted and all the talk of long delivery times cemented that decision. Or so I thought.

The change came when I was feeling little flat about the long term viability of using my Leica M6. All the hassles and costs around film were getting to me a little. Developing and scanning, then pushing the scans through Negative Lab Pro blah blah blah was making me think 'what's the effing point of this?!'

So then the light-bulb flashed - 'ah, I could try the X100VI and if it somehow replicates the feeling of shooting with the M6 then may be, just may be, the time has come to let go of the mighty M.'

So, with that somewhat flimsey justification in hand, I ordered a black X100VI and waited. I thought I'd have to wait some time, but the delay was only about 4 months which I thought wasn't too bad.

So how did I get on?

Not quite.

During the time I owned the camera (about 5 months) I just never felt super excited about it. Now much of this could be down to me and the aforementioned film / M6 torment I was putting myself through. No doubt you will be different.

But I just wasn't feeling it.

There were some things that bugged me a little.

The handling felt off. For me the X100VI felt slightly too small. I was often nudging buttons and dials this way and that and therefore changing settings un-expectedly.

The X100VI doesn't have that 'just-the-right-amount-of-heft' that gives confidence to the user. I've extensively used the X-PRO1, X-T2, X-T4, X-H2s, M10 and M6 and the X100VI felt a bit 'lightweight' in comparison.

Now I don't expect Fujfilm to put ballast in their cameras just so I can pump some iron, but for me it wasn't quite right.

The EVF / Screen configuration drove me mad. On X-T and X-H models I can use an external button to toggle through viewing options. On the X100VI I couldn't seem to do this. It was either EVF or screen or Eye Sensor only. It's possible I missed something in the menus, but those menus are so bloody complicated I gave up.

And that points to the paradox of X100VI. One of the great things about the camera is how much functionality is packed in under the bonnet. The ROI for this camera is simply fantastic.

The rebverse of that though is too much stuff. Too many menus. Too many buttons. Too much to think about. I just want to fire it up and take pictures not spend hours scrolling through convulted menus trying to figure out why a specific thing is or isn't happening depending on what the camera is set to in some other part of the menu.

I wish that camera manufacturers could be braver and release a camera that simply just take pictures. I appreciate that doing so is commercial suicide. Leica are close to it but flip, that's a lot of money to spend.

Another annoying thing was Face detect. I wanted to use the camera on OVF mode mostly, but I noticed that the Face Detect did not function in this mode. I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but it's bloody annoying.

So after all this, what are my conclusions.

First and foremost and let me be absolutely clear: the X100VI is a great camera. It's worth the money - it'll do most things well. And in all liklihood you will love it. The pictures were detailed, sharp and the focus surprisingly good in my opinion.

I REALLY wanted it to be the right camera for me. An everyday carry that would allow me to focus on photography but without the film hassle.

But I've come to realise that I didn't need the new 'latest-and-greatest' camera - the marketing nonesense and arty YouTube videos got to me.

My beat up X-T2 with a manual lens fits the use case.

Sure, it's not as exciting as a new toy. But it takes the same pictures for none of the extra cost. All the pictures above were taken on the X100VI. And all of them could have been taken on a 2012 era fujifilm X camera.

Still, we're all caught up in the this must-have-it marketing merry-go-round but I doubt I've learned my lesson. :)