Fujifilm’s X Half is an $850 digital digicam with an analog movie aesthetic

Fujifilm has already launched one uncommon digicam this 12 months within the GFX100 RF medium format compact, nevertheless it’s newest mannequin would be the most offbeat but. The $850 X Half is an 18-megapixel digital compact digicam, nevertheless it makes use of half of a 1-inch sensor to shoot 3:4 vertical photographs. To drive house the retro vibe, it has a rear display devoted to displaying the digicam’s 13 movie simulation modes and might solely shoot JPEG and never RAW photographs.

The title comes from “half-frame” cameras fashionable within the ’60s, just like the well-known Olympus Pen F, that use a 35mm movie body sawed in half (18mm x 24mm in dimension). The backside-illuminated sensor on Fujifilm’s X Half is, effectively, half that dimension in each dimensions (8.8mm x 13.3mm) or 1 / 4 the world. It is also the smallest sensor on any latest Fujifilm digital digicam, because the X-series makes use of the APS-C format and GFX fashions medium format. In actual fact, the X Half has the identical 3:4 vertical ratio as Fuji’s Instax Mini prompt cameras — so you can also make prints utilizing an Instax Mini printer through the brand new devoted X Half smartphone app.

The X Half naturally makes use of Fujifilm’s movie simulation and grain impact modes. Among the many new ones are “gentle leak” for a blown-out high quality that occurs when movie get uncovered to gentle inadvertently, “expired movie” and “halation,” an impact brought on by gentle bouncing off movie emulsion layers. To essentially get you into that analog movie temper, you’ll be able to change to the brand new Movie Digital camera Mode that limits your view to the optical viewfinder, makes you pull a body advance lever for every new shot and solely helps you to see the photographs as soon as they’re “developed” by way of the X Half app. It even produces a “contact sheet” structure for 36, 54 or 72 photographs.

One other characteristic is 2-in-1 photographs that allow you to mix two nonetheless photographs or motion pictures into one composition in-camera for further creative prospects (utilizing the movie advance lever once more). That additionally means the X Half can shoot video in addition to photographs, with a vertical or sq. dimension (as much as 2,160 x 2,160) that appears ideally suited for social media — particularly with movie simulations utilized. Additionally exuding nostalgic vibes is the “Date Stamp” operate that permits you to imprint dates within the backside proper of photographs, similar to on old-school Kodak-style movie digicam.

On high of the primary rear 2.40inch LCD 3:4 monitor, the X Half has an optical relatively than an digital viewfinder, including one other analog contact (and the accompanying parallax distortion errors). The digicam itself is sufficiently small to slip right into a pocket and weighs simply 210 grams (7.4 ounces). Different options embrace a built-in flash, huge 880 body battery life and SD UHS-I card slot.

The X Half appears to be like prefer it might be coveted by social media customers or anybody in search of a enjoyable get together or trip digicam. Nevertheless, it is costly contemplating which you can simply get an Instax (or common movie digicam and lots of movie) for lots much less. Fujifilm has undoubtedly captured the pictures zeitgeist earlier than with fashions just like the X100 VI, although, so I would not be shocked if it turns into a success. The X Half is now on preorder for $850 (in black, charcoal silver and silver) with transport set to begin on June 12.