Fujifilm has been doubling down on the vintage camera aesthetic, both in the design of their camera bodies and the film-like features they integrate into their software. If you’re a fan of those retro machinations and want the most compact dedicated camera you can throw in your bag, you’ll definitely be interested in the new Fujifilm X Half.
The smallest entry in the outfit’s X series range, the point-and-shoot camera measures just 4.2 x 2.5 x 1.8 inches (width x height x thickness) and weighs a light 8.5 ounces, making it smaller (albeit much, much thicker) than most modern smartphones. This should make it plenty pocketable, making it an excellent travel camera that you can stash in one of your pockets for keeping within easy reach at all times. Provided, of course, you’re fine with the formats that it shoots in (more on this below).
The Fujifilm X Half houses an 18.0 megapixel sensor that’s only one inch thick, which is half the size of the usual APS-C sensors found in the X series. That’s right, it gets its name from having a half-size sensor. It’s a point and shoot, by the way, so there’s no interchangeable lens system, instead coming with a fixed 32mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens. From what we can tell, everything about this camera has been geared towards being fun – from the aesthetics and the hassle-free size to the detailed features they decided to pack onto it.
It has an optical viewfinder, which, we’re guessing, really reinforces that vintage styling, although they did include a 2.4-inch touchscreen to give it that modern convenience. The touchscreen, by the way, has a portrait orientation, essentially positioning it as a mobile photography replacement for your smartphone. From what we can tell, it only offers shooting in 3:2, 1:1, and 3:4 aspect ratios, which is downright strange, but very understandable when you’re targeting a very specific audience. Additionally, it only shoots in JPEG, with no RAW format available.
The Fujifilm X Half also shoots video in the same portrait orientations, with your choice of 3:2 (2160 x 1440 pixels), 3:4 (1080 x 1440 pixels) and 1:1 (1440 x 1440 pixels), along with frame rates up to 48 fps. Like Fujifilm’s newer cameras, it has film simulation mode, so you can run a filter through the shots to make it look like an analog photo. For this one, though, the film simulation mode has its own dedicated touchscreen on the rear left side, so you can change it on the fly while framing your shot.
For those who want to live out a faux analog experience, it has a Film Camera Mode that makes things even weirder. In this mode, the camera will make you choose a roll size (36, 54, or 72), then limit you to that number of shots. You will also need to wind the Frame Advance Lever after each image, just like in vintage cameras of old. Taking it even further, the photos will need to be “developed” in the companion app, basically adding an “analog photographer simulation” game on top of the whole thing.
The Fujifilm X Half is available now.
