Best fixed prime lens cameras in 2025

Updated October 1, 2025

Fixed lens cameras may be a bit niche, but there's a reason they're so popular amongst photographers. They often come with small, bright lenses that offer better image quality than most compact zooms, in a variety of focal lengths, matched to relatively large sensors to give you the perfect field of view for your style of shooting.

Our picks range from pocketable models to larger cameras that you'll have to you'll have to consciously decide to take with you. They also cover a wide range of prices; while there sadly aren't any budget options, some come with much higher price tags than others, reaching well into the thousands of dollars.

Our picks:

• Best fixed lens camera for patient people: Fujifilm X100 VI
• The super X100: Sony DSC-RX1R III
• Best pocketable fixed lens camera: Ricoh GR IV
• The Rolls-Royce of fixed lens camera: Leica Q3 43
• The just-for-fun fixed lens: Fujifilm X half

Best fixed lens camera for patient people: Fujifilm X100VI

40MP BSI CMOS APS-C X-Trans sensor | 35mm equiv F2 lens | Hybrid viewfinder

Image: Richard Butler

The X100VI is a relatively small camera with a 35mm equiv. F2 lens that focuses on producing great JPEGs and having tactile controls. It adds to that experience with a hybrid viewfinder that you can use in optical mode with or without projected framelines, similar to a traditional rangefinder, or as an electronic viewfinder, ideal for close-ups.

All of that was also true of its predecessor, but the VI is a significant upgrade despite its identical appearance; it gains in-body image stabilization rated at up to 6EV of correction and a 40MP BSI CMOS APS-C X-Trans sensor and subject-recognition autofocus, which gives it the ability to recognize animals, birds, automobiles, motorcycles and bikes, airplanes, and trains. However, human (face/eye) detection is a separate mode.

The lens is not the fastest to autofocus, prioritizing sharpness over speed, though that's not necessarily unique in this category.

The elephant in the room is that the X100VI has been quite hard to get since its initial release, though that slowly appears to be changing if you're willing to sign up for waitlists or are lucky enough to live in countries where demand for it is lower.

It's probably worth the wait. While the X100VI has more dials and functions than previous versions, it still offers one of the most engaging photographic experiences out there. It's easy to see why it became so frustratingly unobtainable: It's an even better follow-up to a camera that was already popular with photographers of all kinds, and that had already sold out after going viral.

However, if you like the X100VI and want a camera that does much of what it does, but even more so, read on for our next pick.

Click here to read our review of the Fujifilm X100VI

Click here to see the Fujifilm X100VI studio scene

The super X100: Sony DSC-RX1R III

60.2MP Full-frame BSI CMOS sensor | 35mm F2 lens | Compact body with direct controls

Photo: Richard Butler

If you're attracted to the X100's combination of a 35mm equiv lens in a small body with great image quality, you might find you really love the Sony RX1R III. It takes a 35mm F2 lens and pairs it with a 61MP full-frame sensor, delivering the most image quality you can get from a camera this small.

Its autofocus also outperforms the Fujifilm, thanks to some excellent subject recognition algorithms and a faster-focusing lens.

It comes at a serious price and, on paper, you can out-spec it for less money by buying the interchangeable lens Sony a7CR, with which it shares many components. But the ILC's controls aren't as engaging, it ends up being a fair bit larger than the RX1 if you add a comparable lens and it just doesn't have the build quality or desirability of a small, focused, dedicated photographers' compact.

If you don't get why people like the X100 series (or simply don't value the things it offers), walk away. If you understand the appeal, then this is the cost-no-object step up from that concept.

Click here to read our review of the Sony RX1R III

Click here to see the RX1R III studio scene

What about larger formats?

Fujifilm also makes the GFX100RF, which pairs a wider, 28mm equiv. F4 lens with a 102MP medium format sensor. There's a lot to recommend it: it's beautifully designed, lets you use its large, high-resolution sensor in creative ways, and offers the best image quality of any fixed-lens camera we've seen in the right conditions. But we feel it doesn't quite excel enough in any one area to beat out the rest of the competition on this list. It's small for what it is, but still not particularly compact, and the relatively slow lens and no image stabilization limit the number of situations you can use it in while still getting the most out of its sensor. If you mainly shoot in good light, though, the GFX100RF offers image quality unparalleled for its size.

Best pocketable fixed lens camera: Ricoh GR IV

24MP APS-C sensor | 28mm equiv. F2.8 lens | Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

Photo: Richard Butler

Aside from the X half, the GR IV is the lightest and most compact camera on this list by some margin, thanks to its retracting lens and lack of a viewfinder. If size is a major concern for you, it's definitely the fixed lens option to look at.

Click here to read our review of the Ricoh GR IV

Click here to see the Ricoh GR IV studio scene

A different perspective

Ricoh also sells the GR IIIx, which is the same great camera as the now-discontinued GR III but with a 40mm equiv. lens instead. If you prefer the 'normal' field of view to a wider one, it's the option Ricoh provides, though it won't include the upgrades brought along by the IV, such as the bigger battery, improved IBIS and updated controls (not to mention the better processing engine, with JPEG colors that we much prefer).

The Rolls-Royce of fixed lens cameras: Leica Q3 43

43mm F2 stabilized lens | 60MP BSI CMOS full-frame sensor | 5.76M dot OLED EVF

Photo: Richard Butler

Built around the same sensor and even higher price tags, the Leica Q3 and Q3 43 are 28 and 43mm equiv rivals to the Sony RX1R III. They're both appreciably larger than the Sony, but offer a similarly-focused photographic experience with more refined menus and interfaces. Both have sharper lenses and offer image stabilization, so you're getting more for your extra money than simply the cachet of that famous red dot on the front.

While we've chosen the Q3 43 for its excellent control layout that puts photography first, the camera is also available with a 28mm F1.7 lens. There are minor cosmetic differences between the two Q3 models, such as the color of the leatherette wrap, but they're otherwise the same camera. There's also a price difference, with the 43 coming at a $600 premium.

Click here to read our review of the Leica Q3 43

Click here to see the Leica Q3 43 studio scene

The just-for-fun fixed lens: Fujifilm X half

18MP Type 1 sensor | 32mm equiv F2.8 lens | Film Camera simulation mode

Photo: Richard Butler

This camera is very different from the others on this list because its entire reason for being is fun; it doesn't hold up as a competitor if you're looking for a camera to take seriously. From its separate film simulation window, built-in dyptic feature and film camera mode, the X half is designed to encourage you to play with your photography. If you find yourself scrutinizing its image quality, thinking about it as a miniature X100, or are at all annoyed that it doesn't shoot Raw, you should treat it like a rod of cobalt-60: drop and run. (Or, less dramatically, simply don't buy it).

Click here to read our review of the Fujifilm X half

Why should you trust us?

Our Buying Guides are based on extensive use and testing of the cameras included. We only recommend cameras once we know how they compare to their peers in a variety of shooting situations. All selections are made solely by our editorial and video teams and are the models we'd buy or recommend to friends and family. We gain no financial advantage from recommending one camera over another, either as individuals or as a business.