After I published Why the Upcoming Fujifilm Half-Frame Camera is Genius last week, I had some further thoughts about what this camera may or may not be. Did I have it all wrong? What if the Xhalf isn’t what I am expecting? Perhaps it is an entirely different concept.
I’m not suggesting that the Xhalf won’t be a vertically orientated 20mp 1″ sensor camera, or that it won’t be able to capture diptychs (two images side-by-side), because that’s all true. And it will indeed be a compact fixed-lens camera. There are some things we know, but there’s also a lot that we don’t know, and are just speculating.
As I’ve thought about it, I wonder if video will even be integrated into the camera. After all, it will have a small rear LCD (orientated vertically) and an OVF (not an EVF), which doesn’t seem like an ideal configuration for videography. It will apparently have a mode where you cannot review your pictures until you’ve captured a whole simulated roll of film, which sounds like a photo-centric design with the intention of a film-like experience. So it might not have video capabilities, and—if so—this isn’t going to be a camera for TikTok content creators, as I speculated it would be. My guess is that it will have some capability to record video, but there is certainly the possibility that it won’t or that it will be quite limited, and, if that is true, I definitely got the concept wrong.
There’s also the menu. It will surely need to be simplified for the vertical screen, right? In other words, it might not have all of the features that are standard on other X-series models. I don’t know what exactly, but if the idea is simplicity and a film-like experience, the UI will certainly be unlike any X-series camera. I suspect that it won’t have all of the bells and whistles that we’re accustomed to on the latest models. Which bells and which whistles are excluded will be interesting to know, and depending on just how far Fujifilm goes with this, it could certainly cripple the camera. Or maybe they’ve come up with a clever solution, and this worry is for nothing.
Most X-series cameras are announced in conjunction with an X Summit. There are a few exceptions, but the list is small, and it’s been awhile. Supposedly, the Xhalf will be announced in a little over two weeks, on May 22; however, there has been no X Summit announcement. It’s possible that Fujifilm will announce an X Summit at any moment, but if this camera comes without an X Summit event, what does that indicate? I don’t want to read too much into this, but maybe Fujifilm views the Xhalf as a bridge between Instax and the X-series. Perhaps it will even offer connectivity to Instax printers, unlike most X-series models.
In other words, the Xhalf might be the least premium X-series camera in a long, long time (…if Fujifilm even considers it to be a part of the X-series). It’s probably more in the ballpark of an X10 or XF1 than X100VI or even the X70. It might be more along the lines of the Instax Evo Wide, except with a better sensor and without a built-in printer. Or maybe like a cross between a Fujifilm Clear Shot S AF and a Fujica Mini half-frame, except digital, and also a little like the Fujica 35-SE (or similar model). I’m just wondering out loud, as I certainly don’t know—I’m just playing devil’s advocate to last week’s article.
For certain, the upcoming camera will offer a divergent camera experience. It will be unique—not just in Fujifilm’s lineup, but in all of photography. Whether this camera turns out to be the “genius” model that I initially speculated, or a lower-tier iteration, I think either way it will be lots of fun.
Or .. Maybe it will be going Leica style with no displaying of the image M11d or M10d style where you only have your mobile phone to display the images. I have already pointed out online that a half frame digital camera makes no sense, as the original (and the modern day Pentax 17) idea of a half frame camera was told get around the high cost of film and processing back in 1960s Japan, with cameras like the Pen F, FT, EE, and the Canon Demi etc.
Releasing a digital version because of its small size makes no sense when companies like Olympus and Panasonic / Lumix make M43 bodies and there is the possibility of turning the Lumix S9 into a half frame or even reintroducing a new version of the GM1 or a modified Olympus EP1 or EP1-L.
Just my thoughts….
I think, in a way, this camera could also be seen as a way to get around the high cost of photography, as it will be the least expensive entry point into the X-series (aside from some used models). Also, you’ll get twice as many images on an SD card than the 40mp cameras. I don’t believe this is the primary or even secondary purpose of the camera, but to a small degree, it echo’s the purpose of those old half-frame models you mention, but adjusted for our modern circumstances. If you squint your eyes just right, the parallel is obvious (but you do have to squint to see it).
I think the primary purposes will be: 1) the first ever digital vertical-first camera, which will especially appeal to younger people, 2) to provide the most film-like experience of any current digital camera, and 3) to be the first digital camera to make in-camera diptychs. In other words, it’s something unique, and something fun, but it’s definitely not a camera for everyone. I do think it will be quite popular, though, especially among those 30 years old and younger.
The idea of being able to create dyptychs in camera is great.
Just like the added aspect ratios of the RF, this function is just a firmware update away for photo-centric cameras for which this would make the most sense for. Charge a moderate fee for this and Fuji would probably make more profit than it would from the niche cameras that have exclusivity for these functions. Especially in view of tariffs and manufacturing bottlenecks.
Small sensor for a very small camera also a great idea. Perfect for a zoom…
And that’s where the camera starts to fall apart for me.
The x70 was very small, had a f2.8 fixed lens, and a unique screen… and a flash, and an (optional) OVF, and also an APSC sensor.
So really, what’s the excuse not to have either a zoom, or faster lens with this smartphone sized sensor (yes some smartphones are considered to over the whole sensor: Sharp, Leica Leitz), because this is already an f5 in APSC terms for DoF.
A 26mp or 40mp sensor, with the regular screen orientation could still have a vertical aspect ratio applied!
But the vertical screen makes actually creating the dyptich in camera impossible. Or if it is done blindly by simply selecting two files and pressing “go” or taking two sequentially, would require ironically the user to turn the camera vertically to see them. And if the dyptich function is done in app, what’s the point, other existing apps offer this already.
I would suggest anyone contemplating this camera – who clearly would be prioritising the artistic creation over bleeding edge IQ – just buy a used X70. It’s got one of Fuji’s most characterful sensors, for DoF 1.5 stops faster, unique functions, a sensor 4x bigger, and just create the dyptichs in post or a simply phone app. Want the odd limits of number of shots, just used retro 32MB SD cards!
A used X70 will still cost more than this thing brand-new. But, they will offer dramatically divergent experiences. Apples and oranges. Between the two, for maximum image quality, yeah, the X70 is the clear winner. But the Xhalf is not about maximizing image quality—it’s about the unique experience it offers, which is only found on that one camera and no others.
As far as the in-camera diptychs, I believe the way it might work is that, when in diptych mode, you don’t see what the two picture look like side-by-side until you review them later on your phone or computer. It’s the mystery and serendipity of not knowing until later (“the wrench” as Peter McKinnon put it) that will make it especially fun.
As far as zoom vs prime: personally, I’m a prime guy. I rarely use zooms, and just in general don’t care much for them. But that’s just me. Everyone has their preferences—different strokes for different folks. Perhaps this camera will be the first in a series with the 1″ sensor, and the others will be zooms? My guess is that if this camera does sell well enough, there is certainly a strong possibility that will happen.
Another camera that came out at roughly the same time as the Pentax 17 was the MiNT-Rollei 35AF. That one had all the specs people wanted. Full frame, 35mm f/2.8 lens, LIDAR autofocus, full manual controls.
I never had the slightest interest in it. It’s a cramped camera, cramming in features but based on a film-era camera with bad ergonomics (that absurd winder! the film loading!) that you put up with because the origial Rollei 35 models were TINY compared to SLRs and other serious cameras. This isn’t quite as tiny, digital is a fantastic compact option, and it just seems like an odd decision.
The Pentax 17 which I love took a few shortcuts in the spec sheet. Scale focus only. Program mode only (but with EV Comp and several program lines). Half frame 25mm f/3.5 lens. But I feel that the Pentax designers **put shooting experience first**. It holds well, winds naturally. The viewfinder is centerline which minimizes composition errors from parallax. The controls are automatic enough that you don’t worry, but manual enough that you still feel involved in the shooting process. Not necessarily a “camera for beginners” like a lot of folks say. Rather it’s a casual shooting experience, and that’s something that can appeal to photographers of various skill levels. I can go slow and shoot full manual and meter carefully with a TLR and fantastic 6×6 negatives. What the 17 offers instead is the “wearing pajamas all day” vibe in a camera. Click the focus ring to the right distance, wind on, snap. It’s kind of propulsive. But it also doesn’t replace a K1000 or Pentax 67, or so forth; it doesn’t even try to replace them. The Mint Rollei 35AF does attempt to replace a serious camera.
One other technical detail: The close focus is fantastic, and the included strap measures exactly for the shortest focus distance. Getting closeups of flowers or other details is so easy.
Are the results somewhat limited in image quality? Eh, kinda. But APS-C digital smokes FF 35mm film when shooting consumer color film. Maybe expensive slide films or well-handled black & white can match APS-C, but in terms of pure IQ, film is irrelevant. It’s about a mood, an aesthetic. The 17 delivers on this aesthetic with twice as many shots per roll, and good enough quality because of a nicely designed lens. Pentax always nails the color rendition.
The Mint Rollei seems to be doing well enough, but I just can’t imagine shooting it. It seems like a results-focused camera, rather than a process-focused camera, and I don’t know that film is really a results-oriented endeavour. It gets the job done, it’s fairly reliable, and the cost of autofocus compacts keeps going up, so it kinda makes sense that there’s a market for it. But it just doesn’t appeal to me at all. They built a spec sheet folks wanted, but a camera is more than just a spec sheet.
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So the Xhalf… From what I’m seeing… a lot of this looks like Fuji’s camera that puts a specific kind of shooting experience first. The rumored film-sim-lock-in option, combined with the plain OVF, seems to replicate the experience of a film camera in use. In some ways, it reminds me of what Fuji attempted with the backwards rear screen on the X-Pro3. Something designed to get you shooting with your eye and your imagination, and learning to envision the result. Maybe that was a hard ask on a camera as expensive as an X-Pro, but a compact a third of the price? Maybe that works. Getting an X-Pro is probably replacing your main camera. The Xhalf seems designed to be either a starter camera, or a serious shooter’s unserious camera. A similar vibe to a Pentax 17. It doesn’t look like Fuji is attempting to make this so that someone replaces a “real” X-Mount camera with it.
My guess is that it offers something fairly easy to newer shooters, but to oldheads, it’s the “get out of a rut” camera. I’m seriously tempted. I could wish it had a lens a bit tighter than the ~29mm it looks like it’ll have, but the size of the camera seems great, and it looks like it’ll be a fun camera to throw into a pocket and shoot when you just don’t want to get bogged down.
Sometimes less is more, for sure. And sometimes, less sells for a premium (think Leica). But I think the Xhalf will offer simplicity for an affordable price. I definitely see this as a get-out-of-a-rut type camera.
Got to separate the wheat from the xhalf.
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