Fujifilm X100VI Background Blur: Aperture, Distance and Zoom

To blur the background on the Fujifilm X100VI, turn the aperture ring to f/2, get close to your subject, and put as much space as you can between your subject and the background. The lens is a fixed 23mm f/2, so aperture and distance do most of the work, and the built-in ND filter keeps that wide aperture usable in bright light.

Why blur works a little differently on a fixed lens

Most camera guides tell you to buy a new lens for a blurrier background. On the X100VI, that is not an option. The camera has a fixed 23mmF2 lens. PetaPixel describes it as the 23mm f/2 II lens, which gives a 35mm full-frame equivalent view.

Focal length is how wide or tight your picture looks. A simple example: 23mm on this camera looks about like what you see when you look straight ahead without turning your head. It shows a fair amount of the scene, so backgrounds stay easier to recognize than they would with a long portrait lens.

That is not a flaw. It just means you get your blur from three things you can control every day: how wide the lens opens, how close you stand, and how far away the background is. If focal length is a new idea, the guide Lens Basics: Focal Lengths & Your First Lens walks through it gently.

Digital Camera World's reviewer called the 23mm focal length spot on for travel, street and some environmental portraiture, and said they would have liked a slightly wider aperture for more creativity with shallow focus. So if your blur looks softer than a phone's portrait mode, that is normal for this lens, not something you did wrong.

Step 1: Open the aperture to f/2

The aperture is like the pupil of your eye. In the dark, your pupil gets big to let in more light. The lens does the same thing.

Aperture is written as an f-number, like f/2 or f/8. Here is the tricky part, and it trips up almost everyone at first: a small number means a big opening. f/2 is wide open. f/8 is a small hole.

A wide opening gives you shallow depth of field. Think of depth of field as a slice of bread. With a thin slice, only your subject is sharp and everything behind them goes soft. With a thick slice, more of the scene stays sharp. For background blur, you want the thinnest slice the lens can give you, and on the X100VI that is f/2.

Where the aperture control lives

On the X100VI, you change aperture with the ring on the lens itself. Digital Camera World notes the ring has two raised, textured handles and that the clicks at each stop are easy to hear. Fujifilm says shutter speed, aperture and ISO controls are all instantly accessible on the camera.

Turn the ring until it reads f/2. That one move is the biggest single change you can make for background blur on this camera.

Use the built-in ND filter in bright light

On a sunny day, f/2 lets in a lot of light. Sometimes too much, and your picture comes out bright and washed out.

An ND filter is like sunglasses for your camera. It makes everything darker without changing the colors. The X100VI has a four-stop ND filter built into the lens. When you switch it on, it reduces exposure by four stops, which lets you choose wider apertures in bright environments. Fujifilm says it helps deliver a wide aperture in bright conditions to separate the subject from the background.

So the rule is simple. Bright sun and you want blur: ND on, aperture at f/2. Indoors or in shade: you probably do not need it.

While you are at it, keep your ISO low in bright light. On the X100VI, you change ISO by lifting and twisting the shutter speed dial. ISO is how sensitive the camera is to light, a bit like turning up the volume on a quiet song. Outdoors in the sun, you do not need much volume.

Step 2: Use distance, your biggest free tool

Distance costs nothing and works on every camera. Two distances matter: how far you are from your subject, and how far your subject is from the background.

Get close to your subject

The closer you stand to the thing you focus on, the thinner that slice of sharp focus becomes. Step in until your subject fills more of the frame.

This lens is a good match for that habit. PetaPixel reports the lens was redesigned on the X100V to be sharper overall and particularly better in close-up shots. Digital Camera World confirms the X100VI uses the same 23mm lens as the X100V.

Push the background far away

Now look behind your subject. If they are standing right against a brick wall, the wall will stay fairly sharp no matter what aperture you use. Move them a few big steps away from the wall, or turn so the background is a far street, a field or a distant row of trees.

Think of it like a stage. Your subject is the actor at the front. The scenery should be way at the back of the theater, not pressed against their shoulders.

A quick test you can try at home: put a mug on a table with a bookshelf right behind it and take a photo at f/2. Then move the mug to the other side of the room from the bookshelf, step close to the mug, and take the same photo. Compare the two. The difference teaches you more than any chart.

Step 3: Zoom and focal length on the X100VI

The X100VI cannot zoom optically on its own, but it does give you a few ways to change your framing. They are not all the same kind of change, so it helps to know which is which.

Option	Full-frame equivalent view	How it works
Built-in lens, no changes	35mm	Fixed 23mm f/2 lens
Digital Teleconverter 1.4x	50mm, about 20MP	Crops a portion of the 40.2MP sensor
Digital Teleconverter 2x	70mm, about 10MP	Crops a portion of the sensor
Tele Conversion Lens (optional)	50mm	Attaches to the lens, about 1.4x
Wide Conversion Lens (optional)	28mm	Attaches to the lens, about 0.8x

Digital Teleconverter: a crop, not a new lens

Fujifilm's quick start guide says the Digital Teleconverter modes zoom in on a portion of the 40.2-megapixel sensor. You rotate the control ring to switch between them, just like a zoom ring. Digital Camera World points out this is digital zoom, not optical, so the camera crops the image to a smaller pixel count.

In plain words: it is like cutting the middle out of a printed photo with scissors. The picture looks tighter, but the lens did not change how it saw the scene. Use the teleconverter when you like a tighter frame for a portrait. Keep relying on f/2 and distance for the blur itself.

The good news is that the crops still hold plenty of detail. Digital Camera World says the 50mm (20MP) and 70mm (10MP) crops still hold a lot of resolution.

Tele Conversion Lens: the optical option

If you want a real change in focal length, Fujifilm sells a dedicated Tele Conversion Lens. It multiplies the focal length by about 1.4x and converts the 23mmF2 lens to 50mm equivalent, without any discernible drop in image quality, according to Fujifilm. It is the only option in this list that changes the optics rather than cropping.

There is also a Wide Conversion Lens that turns the view into a 28mm equivalent. That is great for wide scenes, but wider framing is the opposite of what you usually want for a soft, blurry background.

Step 4: Put focus exactly where you want it

A blurry background only looks good when your subject is sharp. With a thin slice of focus at f/2, a small miss shows.

In the Q Menu, you can choose Single Point, Zone or Wide/Tracking focus using the rear command dial. Single Point is the most selective, so it is a good place to start when you want to choose exactly what stays sharp. Put that point on your subject's eye or the front of the object.

For people who move, the X100VI's autofocus recognizes faces and eyes, plus animals, birds and vehicles. You put the camera in AF-C, the continuous focus mode, with the Focus Mode selector on the left side of the body. Digital Camera World reports that in continuous focus the camera had no trouble holding focus as the camera or subject moved around the frame.

Shooting video? Fujifilm says that in AF-C the X100VI adjusts focus as you film, tracking people or subjects if Face Detection or Subject Detection is on.

You can also set up a shot from your phone. With Fujifilm's app, you can tap the image to change your focus point and adjust shutter speed, aperture and ISO from the screen.

A simple recipe to try today

Settings are like syllables in a short poem. Each one is small, but together they make the picture. Here is one combination to start with:

• Aperture ring: f/2.
• In bright sun: ND filter on.
• ISO: as low as the light allows.
• Focus: Single Point, placed on the eye or the front edge of your subject.
• Your distance: step in close until the subject fills much of the frame.
• Background: far away, and simple if you can find it, like trees, sky or a long street.
• Optional: turn the control ring to the 1.4x Digital Teleconverter if you want a tighter portrait frame.

Take one photo, look at it, and change only one thing for the next shot. Then compare. That is how the settings start to make sense.

For a broader starting point on menus and dials, see Best Fujifilm Camera Settings for Beginners. For more ideas on getting creative with one focal length, read Fujifilm X100VI: Fixed Lens, Endless Creative Potential.

When the blur still looks too gentle

Some backgrounds will stay fairly recognizable even when you do everything right. That is the nature of a wide-ish lens, and Digital Camera World's reviewer pointed to the f/2 limit when talking about shallow focus. Treat it as a style, not a mistake.

When you cannot get more blur, make the background simpler instead. A plain wall in shade, open sky, or a dark doorway will look clean even when it is not very soft. Moving your feet a few steps to the left or right often changes the background more than any setting does.

Also check your focus first. If your subject is soft, the whole photo can look blurry in the wrong way. That is a focus problem, and moving the focus point onto the subject usually fixes it.

If you also shoot a Sony ZV-E10 II, that camera has its own guide: Sony ZV-E10 II Background Defocus Button: How to Blur It.