- Retro compact with distinctive vertical sensor and LCD display screen
- It reimagines the half-frame movie digital camera expertise
- It’s out there globally from June 12 in three colours, priced $849 / £699 / AU$1,349
Fujifilm has outdone itself with the brand new X half – a retro compact digital camera that packs a few of its wackiest and outright funnest concepts but, all impressed by movie pictures.
There’s a clue to the X half’s inspiration within the identify – it’s a digital reimagining of half-frame movie cameras just like the Pentax 17. I’ve already tried the X half, and it was a a lot wanted dose of enjoyable – try my X half hands-on evaluation.
To facilitate half body, the X half’s 18MP JPEG images are taken in 3 x 4 vertical format, recorded onto a vertical 1-inch sensor, and composed utilizing the distinctive vertical LCD.
Alongside that fastened display screen is a secondary display screen that mimics the movie canister window you see on many movie cameras, and there’s a enjoyable shock right here – it’s contact delicate, and lets you swipe up or down to pick out one in every of Fujifilm’s Movie Simulations. If this charming function doesn’t make its means into future Fujifilm cameras, I’d be shocked.
Movie Simulation shade results are well-known – they’re impressed by Fujifilm movie inventory, and have helped to cement Fujifilm’s recognition over the past 10 years via cameras like the X100VI. The X half presents a stripped-back collection of 13 widespread Movie Simulations, together with Provia and Astia.
You’d assume all the above could be sufficient to safe the X half’s distinctive standing, however Fujifilm has actually let unfastened, with much more options for movie pictures followers to take pleasure in.
Simulating movie to a different degree
Going one step farther from that twin-screen combo and vertical capturing, there’s a Movie Digital camera mode. This locks in your chosen Movie Simulation and digital camera settings resembling ISO, and disables the display screen preview, leaving you to compose your photographs by way of the optical viewfinder as an alternative, as in the event you’re capturing with movie.
As soon as your ‘film’ is used up – both 36, 54 or 72 photographs – you may exit the mode and examine the display screen as soon as extra, and make adjustments to settings once more.
Movie Digital camera mode is such a enjoyable function, and for me is the closest expertise to movie pictures that I’ve had utilizing a digital digital camera – and it’s non-compulsory.
Then there’s what’s in impact a movie wind lever, which on this case, via ‘cranking’, is used to create diptychs – that’s two vertical photographs aspect by aspect. These are recorded individually via the vertical 1-inch sensor, however then composited afterwards and displayed similar to you’d get with a half-frame movie digital camera on a roll of 35mm movie.
Once more, you may take or depart the diptych function. I reckon it’s a pleasant to have – understanding how picture pairs complement one another stretches your artistic muscle tissue.
We additionally get some fully new image results, virtually all of that are movie photography-inspired and embrace gentle leak, expired movie and halation.
Full HD video seize can be attainable, and the diptych impact will be utilized to each images and movies, which is basically neat.
That is all packaged in a palm-sized, premium-feel compact that contains a fastened 32mm f/2.8 lens with a mechanical aperture, plus the identical battery as utilized in cameras just like the X100VI for an 880-shot life, and which weighs simply 240g.
Fujifilm has created a devoted app for the X half, which can be utilized to make diptychs, and add and examine photographs, plus the digital camera can join wirelessly to one in every of Fujifilm’s Instax printers for on-the-go printing.
The app wasn’t out there after I examined the digital camera, however might be downloadable from early June. In the meantime, the Fujifilm X half itself might be out there globally from June 12 in silver, charcoal and black, and prices $849 / £699 / AU$1,349.
I’ve been reviewing digital cameras for 15 years, and the Fujifilm X half needs to be one of many funnest but – a compact digital camera with a distinction. You possibly can configure it in a means that’s as near a movie digital camera as you’re going to get with digital, plus it packs the retro appear and feel that we’ve come to anticipate from Fujifilm.
What do you consider the Fujifilm X half? Tell us within the feedback under.
