Thoughts about the Fuji X-Half
May 22, 2025
Tags: cameras fujix xhalf x10 gallery
My Fuji X Journey
I went on youtube today for some reason - I find myself doing anything I can to avoid that website because I find the ecosystem it has created is, in large part, some of what is very wrong with the internet at large. I can’t even remember why I was there but in the recommended tab I saw a bunch of preview videos for something called the Fuji X-Half… apparently I am out of the loop - I need to keep up on Fuji news more often. Somewhere around 2015 I sold my Canon 6D, a camera I very much enjoyed - the files were gorgeous - and bought a Fuji XE2 and a Fuji X-Pro 1. I really coveted those two cameras and as much as I liked the 6D, I never took the full kit out of the house. I wanted something that was portable and the money from trading out of the Canon meant I could try two. Eventually the XE2, along with the beautiful 35mm f1.2 lens, were stolen out of the center console of my truck. Literally, I swear, the only time I had ever left it in there - a mistake I would never make again - but it only takes once and it was gone. I didn’t like the X-Pro 1 as much as I hoped so I sold that and some accessories, but kept the 27mm f2.8, and shopped around. Eventually, I ended up with a very well used, cheap to procure XT-1 off facebook marketplace (god, this was so long ago I haven’t had a facebook in years) and the rest is history - the XT line has been my cameras of choice ever since (currently still using the XT-3 for any of our studio work and some on-location stuff).
But I’m a film shooter, as you may know, and I love playing with cameras and film, so the idea that Fuji was possibly making a half-frame camera was VERY interesting to me. I watched the review from PetaPixel which shed more light on the offering. No, unfortunately, it wasn’t a new aperture priority fixed-lens half-frame 35mm but instead its a weird experiment, a small pocketable camera that takes portait oriented photos and has a bizarre film camera simulation mode which, I have to admit, really triggered the part of my primitive brain that collects and uses cameras. But as I was watching this, I realized that another part of my brain was being triggered, and it was the part that is still desperately in love with another camera that I had along the way, the Fuji X-10.
Remember earlier when I said I hated taking the Canon 6D out of the house? I wasn’t joking, it was big, I had some big fat lenses for it (a macro lens that was such a great portrait shooter) and it was by and far the most expensive thing I owned - I was scared! I didn’t want to lose it or break it (or leave it in my glovebox like a fucking idiot). So I wanted a pocket shooter. I was traveling a bit for work and wanted something better than my phone or a point and shoot but didn’t want it cost a lot. What I really wanted was the Fuji X100 but I couldn’t afford it. What I could afford, it turns out, was an Amazon open box Fuji X-10.
Loveletter to the X-10
On the front of the camera was a toggle to switch between two autofocus modes and manual focus. The manual focus was done by a ring around the lens, and it’s by wire, and it was maybe my least favorite feature. I liked that they tried, but I found it slow and unresponsive. But again, nice that it was there because it let you dial things in, especially shooting close. And because of the smaller sensor, the focus distance - much like the X-Half - allows you to get PRETTY close.
For me, there was nothing better than setting this to one of the great black and white film simulations, setting the crop to 1:1 and throwing it in my bag. Using it in aperture priority with the screen turned off was the best. It had the feeling of shooting with a tiny rangefinder and the included leaf shutter made sure it was quiet and incognito.
At night you could get away with some slow exposures if you were steady, the 2/3 inch sensor was small so you could handhold some shots, but the included built-in flash had just enough of a kiss that you could take some nice black and white portraits.
Unfortunately for me, my devil-may-care attitude was its downfall. The camera turned on with a flick of the zoom lens and mine flat out broke. I opened it up and attempted to fix it but it never worked again. The camera was discontinued pretty fast and replaced the X-20 and eventually the X-30, neither of which I owned but never wanted to. Looking at the prices of these on the used market I wish I had bought another one back then, because they demand a stupid price 10 or so years later. One day I’ll find a pocketable digital camera that will scratch the same itch.
Enter the X-Half
I’m looking at the X-Half almost as a spiritual successor to the X10, though the leaf shutter seems to be the only feature they share. The previews I watched all talked about the film-camera simulation mode as a way to slow down, focus on shooting, getting excited to see their film develop. Putting the X10’s SD card into my computer and reviewing the photos was similar. From what I can tell, the X-Frame is a less serious of a camera than the X10; a fixed lens as opposed to zoom, an LED flash instead of a traditional xenon (why put in a leaf shutter if you can’t high-speed sync a flash?), small led screen and few physical controls (most is done through the touch screen). I appreciate the simplicity approach, but in searching for that simplicity they fell into the trap of making a touch-screen do too much, and that’s never simple.
Final thoughts
I almost pre-ordered the X-Half. But I slowed down and finished watching the petapixel review. My excitement slowly subsided but I’m still intrigued. Today, however, due to the forces that seek to make imports into the US as expensive as possible - for their own gain, mind you - I think the camera is too expensive. B&H has it listed for 849. That’s a lot of money for what is being described to me as something that lets you experience the joy and fun of photography. Don’t I already experience that? It’s also been described as light and less than premium feeling, that’s something I wouldn’t expect from a camera that will cost 1000$ after sales tax. I should probably just fork over the dough and finally by a new X100 - whichever is the newest model, because I think its only twice the price but 10 times the camera. After all you get the film simulation modes, the excellent prime lens, the APS-C sized sensor. But… there isn’t a film winder… hmmm…? I’m still intrigued, but I’m going to wait to see more, or maybe see a price drop.
