Shooting with a Fujifilm X100V? This guide covers the specific connection and software requirements for the Fujifilm X100VI. If you are shooting with the older X100V, the hardware and software are quite different (including the need for separate webcam apps and a different leather case). You can find my dedicated Fujifilm X100V connection guide here.
There are two main options for connecting a Fujifilm X100VI to a computer. The more flexible and faster option involves using a USB cable. But for some operations, you can also establish a wireless connection.
Here’s a rundown of the options.
USB-C cable for the Fujifilm X100VI
Whether you’re looking to download images to your computer, charge the camera using a computer’s USB, or manage your X100VI’s camera settings, there’s a good chance you’ll need a USB cable.
The X100VI has a USB Type-C (10Gbps) port built into the side. If you need a spare or replacement, you’re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable.1
The connector on the other end of the cable will depend on your computer. The traditional standard is known as a Type-A connector. Newer computers use USB-C, which is smaller.
One thing to watch with USB cables is that some are designed only for charging and cannot handle data transfer. You will want to verify you have a cable suitable for both high-speed data and USB Power Delivery (PD). If you plan to power the camera continuously — like during a long webcam stream — standard older USB-A ports often won’t deliver enough juice, so connecting to a PD-rated port or power bank is the most reliable option.
Downloading images from Fujifilm X100VI to a computer
There are three main ways to download images from your X100VI to your computer. Only one of them requires a direct USB-C cable.
Downloading directly from the camera
Using a USB-C cable, connect the camera directly to your computer’s USB port. To ensure the computer recognizes the camera as an external drive, check the camera’s menus (Network/USB Setting > Connection Mode) and make sure it is set to USB CARD READER. This essentially treats the camera as a memory card reader (albeit a rather fancy one!).
The computer’s operating system should automatically detect the camera and treat the SD card as attached external storage (the camera needs to be powered on for this).
For handling the downloading, there’s a wide variety of apps and software that can take care of it. You can manually copy across using your operating system’s file management software (such as Finder on Mac or Explorer on Windows). You can use an image organization app like Lightroom. Or you can use Fujifilm’s own free app called Fujifilm X Acquire.
Downloading directly from the camera
Another option is to use a separate SD memory card reader connected to your computer. So you take the card out of the camera, put it in the card reader, and the computer treats it much like an external storage drive.
An advantage of this method is that, with the right card reader, it can be much faster. Some memory card readers will even allow you to download from multiple memory cards simultaneously. Just make sure you avoid the problematic newer bus formats (SD Express and microSD Express cards) and stick to reliable UHS-I or UHS-II readers.
Wireless & cloud
While the old PC AutoSave software has largely been retired, the X100VI features native integration with Frame.io Camera-to-Cloud. Having an active Adobe Creative Cloud subscription makes this incredibly seamless, but you can also sign up for a free standalone Frame.io basic tier to use the feature.
Once connected to a wifi network, you can set the camera to automatically upload RAWs or JPEGs directly to the cloud the moment you press the shutter, making them instantly available on your computer without ever touching a cable.
Processing images with Fujifilm X RAW Studio
With Fujifilm X-series cameras, there are a couple of reasons that you might want to connect the camera to a computer that you might not necessarily run into with other systems.
One has to do with a unique feature of Fujifilm’s X RAW Studio image processor.
With most RAW image processors, you download the images to your computer and process them using an app on the computer — such as Lightroom — that leans heavily on the computer’s CPU and RAM.
X RAW Studio does things a little differently. It uses the attached camera’s image processor for the heavy lifting.
That brings a few advantages. For one, it’s quick. The camera’s X-Processor 5 is designed for only one thing — rendering Fuji files — and it does that one thing exceptionally well.
It also means that you take advantage of the camera’s exact color science and film simulations. You’re not relying on Adobe’s interpretation of those results; they are the true originals.
Most practically, because the X100VI now produces massive 40-megapixel files, X RAW Studio is a much more effective workflow solution if you’re traveling with an underpowered laptop. By forcing the camera hardware to do the processing, it completely frees up your computer’s resources.
Saving camera settings with Fujifilm X Acquire
Fujifilm has a dedicated desktop app known as Fujifilm X Acquire. Aside from downloading images, it has a brilliant utility feature that lets you back up and restore your intricate camera settings and custom film recipes directly to your computer via USB.
Connecting the Fujifilm X100VI as a webcam
There is yet another reason you might want to connect your X100VI to a computer: to use the camera as a high-end webcam for Zoom or Skype.
Unlike the previous generation that required downloading clunky third-party software, the X100VI natively supports UVC/UAC standard webcam protocols.2
This simplifies the process immensely. First, dive into the camera’s menus (Network/USB Setting > Connection Mode) and ensure it is set to USB WEBCAM. Once that is done, simply plug the camera into your computer using a USB-C cable and turn it on. Your computer will automatically recognize the X100VI as a standard video and audio input source. You can select it right in your video conferencing app without installing anything extra.
