gk's fuji guide
A short, opinionated primer for the iPhone shooter making the jump to a real camera made by NJ.
Start Here
This camera is going to feel weird at first — slower, fussier, full of dials that do nothing your phone ever asked you to think about. That friction is the whole point. Treat it like a new kitchen: learn the tools, then forget them. What follows is the cheat sheet.
Why this isn't your iPhone
Your phone made the decisions. HDR, exposure, color, focus — all handled before you even tapped the shutter.
The X100VI hands those decisions back to you. It's slower on purpose.
The camera doesn't take better photos than your iPhone.
It takes yours.
The Three Dials
Drag the slider. Same photo, different setting. Watch what changes.
How wide the lens opens. Wide (f/2) blurs the background, like a shallow depth-of-field food shot. Narrow (f/8) keeps everything sharp, like a flat-lay.
← Drag to compare →
You already do this with your phone's Portrait Mode. Now you control it.
How long the lens stays open. Fast (1/1000s) freezes — kids running, oil splashing in a pan. Slow (1/15s) blurs — car lights, steam rising off soup.
← Drag to compare →
Think of it like heat: high and quick, or low and lingering.
How sensitive the camera is to light. Low (200) is clean and crisp. High (12800) is grainy and moody. Higher ISO = more grain = more 'film' vibe — sometimes you want that.
← Drag to compare →
Grain isn't a flaw. It's seasoning.
Defaults
Load these before you leave the house. Then forget them.
JPEGs for instant use, RAW as a safety net
catch the moment between moments
fast enough for life, precise enough for plates
it just works
camera handles light so you don't have to think
see the real world and the photo
for harsh midday sun, this is your sunglasses
swap recipes in one tap
everything you need, nothing you don't
glance, don't chimp
Recipes
Copy these into Custom Settings (C1–C7) and you'll basically never need to edit a photo again.
your daily driver
Best forAnything, anytime. Start here.
Fujicolor 100 Gold · street + travel
Best forStreets, markets, overcast days, anything cinematic.
food + portrait
Best forPlated food, skin tones, soft window light, golden hour.
Americana · golden hour
Best forSunsets, warm restaurants, late afternoon light.
your black & white
Best forStreets, harsh light, moody indoor moments.
Soft Daylight · pretty but real
Best forMarkets, flat lays, daytime portraits, anything where colors should look true but pretty.
All recipes credit: Fuji X Weekly, Film Recipes, and the global Fujifilm community. Want more? fujixweekly.com.
Little Tricks
Things the manual buries but you’ll use every single day.
Skip the Q menu entirely. Press the rear command dial straight in and a C1-C7 list pops up — spin to switch, click to select. One second, one finger, eyes still in the viewfinder.
Otherwise the camera silently overwrites your saved recipes whenever you tweak something on the fly. Menu → IQ → toggle off. Do this on day one or lose your recipes within a week.
The default Normal is secretly battery-saver mode — slower viewfinder, slower autofocus, sluggish feel. Boost wakes the camera up. Power Management → Performance → Boost. Carry a spare battery; worth it.
Flick the front lever forward for optical: see the real world, react fast, frame around what’s coming. Pull it back for electronic: see exactly what the photo will look like, recipe applied. Different tools, same camera.
No click, no mirror slap. People genuinely forget you’re shooting. Quiet restaurants, candid family, sleeping pets — the X100VI hides better than a phone does, because a phone screen still glows.
Single-shot autofocus should refuse to fire unless sharp. Continuous autofocus should fire no matter what. Don’t miss the moment for the sake of perfect focus.
f/2 is dreamy but soft at the edges and corners. For tack-sharp food, products, or portraits, stop down a touch. For mood and bokeh, open it back up.
Top-right of the camera. The X100VI’s meter runs slightly dark by default — nudging +1/3 to +2/3 makes most scenes glow. This single dial is the difference between flat photos and flattering ones.
It’s a crop pretending to be zoom — drops resolution and image quality. Easy to switch on by accident. Disable it in the menu and forget it exists.
Transfers JPEGs to your phone in seconds over Bluetooth. Set it up once, then never AirDrop yourself a photo from a memory card again. It also lets you control the camera remotely for self-portraits and tripod food shots.
Spend a week with these and the camera starts to feel like an extension of your hand.
How to Shoot
Dial in
Aperture priority, f/5.6, ISO Auto (max 6400), min shutter 1/250, Zone AF.
Load this
Classic Negative.
One tip
Pre-focus at 3 meters and shoot from the hip. Don't raise the camera to your eye — you'll spook the moment. Walk slow, shoot fast.