Fujifilm Australia has released details of its anticipated ‘half frame’ compact digital camera, the X half, which features a retro design to attract young creatives and nostalgia enthusiasts.
The new Fujifilm X half camera replicates the look and feel of a traditional half-frame film camera but is built for the social-media age. (Source: Fujifilm.)
Targeted primarily at the Instagrammer market, the new camera comes with a 1-inch (13.3 x 8.8 mm) CMOS sensor with an effective resolution of 17.74 megapixels and a primary colour filter. However, instead of the typical horizontal orientation, the sensor is aligned vertically to make it ideal for recording with a 3:4 aspect ratio. This makes it easy for users to record vertical images and videos for sharing on social media platforms. Fujifilm has developed a special dedicated X half app that enables users to upload images directly to social media. They can also view still images and movies directly in the camera as if they were in albums and print selected frames directly to an instax Link series printer of order a range of photo products online.
The camera itself has a built-in 32mm (effective) f/2.8 lens that covers the same shooting angle as a typical single-use camera. In another nod to tradition, it has a very basic optical viewfinder with a frame coverage of approximately 90% and 0.38x magnification plus a vertical 2.4-inch LCD touch screen with 920,000 dots. A second, slim vertical screen to the left of the monitor displays the selected Film Simulation mode. Users can access a limited range of camera settings, with the lens-integrated mechanical shutter mechanism enabling exposures from 30 seconds to 1/200 second in P and A modes and long exposures to 15 minutes in S and M modes. Continuous shooting is not supported. There’s a flash in the standard compact camera position, which is sure to produce red-eye in portrait shots. The camera has a single SD slot, which supports UHS-1 cards and records only JPEG stills. Movie recording is limited to FHD 2160 x 1440 pixels with a maximum frame rate of 48 fps. Two cropped movie formats are available, offering 1080 x 1440 3:4 aspect ratio and 1440 x 1400 square format crops.
Fujifilm has installed 13 Film Simulations in the new camera, including REALA ACE, which was designed to provide more accurate colour reproduction and finer grain. The selection also has the same basic modes that allow users to select specific photo films for different subjects and scenes. Three new filters are also available, adding effects inspired by film photography: Light Leak, Halation and Expired Film. Users can also select eight popular filters from Fujifilm’s instax series of cameras and apply a Grain Effect filter to mimic film-like granularity or a Portrait Enhancer filter. A new Date Stamp function lets user imprint the current date on recordings of images and movies.
A replica frame advance lever on the rear of the camera’s top plate provides a number of viewing options. When taking photos, they can pull the lever to display images side by side, push the lever towards the body to see the last picture taken or enable the shutter to be released after selecting a film simulation and number of shots at the start. This setting replicated the experience of shooting on film and prevents images from being reviewed until all the shots are taken. Power is supplied by a NP-W126S lithium-ion battery, which is rated for approximately 880 frames per charge of between 85 and 95 minutes of video recording.
It is 105.8 mm wide, 64.3 mm tall and 30 mm deep and weighs approximately 240 grams with battery and card. It is supplied with a lens cap, hand strap and clip and headphone adapter. It will be available in Australia on 12 June at an RRP of AU$1349. Click here for more information.
