The Fujifilm X half preview: what do you think?

baobob said:

In the field of camera gear Fuji seems to be the regretable exception, not being able after more than 1 year what they have conceived... It is not a matter of logistics but a matter of production.

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It's not a matter of logistics or production - it's the company strategy.

With Fuji deliberately limiting the availability, it's likely poeple will be able to resell their X-half with little to no loss, maybe even profit, even if we consider the price high (I don't).

I have no opinion of the review. A review is an opinion. Since I have not actually used the camera I have no reason to dispute the review.

What do I think of the camera? It's clearly not for me. It's clearly not for a lot of people. But it is also probably a camera that is going to appeal to quite a few.

Off-hand my personal issues based on just reading listed specs are:

• JPEG only. I get that some only shoot JPEG so for them it probably works.
• Simple optical pass-through VF for framing. No EVF.
• Small 1" sensor. Apparently, this small sensor didn't keep the price low.
• Auto-focus choices seem rather limited.
• Is ISO selection limited to Auto-ISO with a few top limit options?
• There are M and S exposure modes, but I saw no description of how to choose shutter speed in those modes.
• The retro advance lever. I get the whimsy of it. But it really is just silly. Heck, they should have paired it with a film rewind crank for when you shoot in film camera mode.
• Film-camera mode. Again, I get the whimsy of it. But why 36, 54, and 72 shots? Should have been 12, 24, 36. Or just 24, 36. I assume there is a way to get out of this mode if you really need to. Like remove the battery or something.
• I think the light leak and expired film simulations are dumb. But that's just me.
• The price of $849 US. As I said, this camera is not for me. $849 for a camera with the limitations I listed above makes it a no go for me. Would I consider buying it for the sheer whimsy of it for $399? I might.

On a positive note, I applaud Fujifilm for putting in the direct print to Instax capability. Why their other (and more expensive) cameras don't support this feature is a mystery to me. Maybe the soon to be announced X-E5 will add it back.

michaeladawson said:

• Is ISO selection limited to Auto-ISO with a few top limit options?

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Yes

michaeladawson said:

• There are M and S exposure modes, but I saw no description of how to choose shutter speed in those modes.

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Via the touchscreen: tap on the shutter speed and you get a stripe of values that you can swipe and tap on.

michaeladawson said:

• Film-camera mode. Again, I get the whimsy of it. But why 36, 54, and 72 shots? Should have been 12, 24, 36. Or just 24, 36. I assume there is a way to get out of this mode if you really need to. Like remove the battery or something.

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It's meant to be a half-frame camera, so 72 is a '36 Exposure' roll, 54 is a '27 exposure' roll.

And yes, if you double tap on the film simulation window it'll ask you if you want to exit Film Camera mode, and will then 'rewind' the film before letting you use the camera normally again.

michaeladawson said:

On a positive note, I applaud Fujifilm for putting in the direct print to Instax capability. Why their other (and more expensive) cameras don't support this feature is a mystery to me. Maybe the soon to be announced X-E5 will add it back.

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tombiondo said:

I think it is yet another creative tool. In a young photographer's hands it could produce fresh new looks and inspiration for other image makers. In any event, it is all about what one puts in front of the lens and how one interprets it, isn't it?

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Exactly! And having fun while doing it too

Richard Butler said:

Richard Butler wrote.

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Richard Butler said:

And yes, if you double tap on the film simulation window it'll ask you if you want to exit Film Camera mode, and will then 'rewind' the film before letting you use the camera normally again.

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Hard to take such a gimmicky camera seriously. So, maybe it is a joke.
--
Antone

tombiondo said:

I think it is yet another creative tool. In a young photographer's hands it could produce fresh new looks and inspiration for other image makers. In any event, it is all about what one puts in front of the lens and how one interprets it, isn't it?

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I wonder why it would be not in old photographer's hands? I remember the different focus I had when working with analog and I am really intrigued to see if the X-Half could get me back into that flow again. You know, where I take a photo and ignore the camera, instead of chimping for a minute afterwards ;-)

Without bothering to read the vast amount of previous posts - I would absolutely love to have this camera, but the price would need to be at least 30% less - so maybe I'll look for a used one?

In terms of value for money, it's a pretty bad proposition.

I can see young new users enjoying the camera. But at $850 + Trump tax, I think it will be a hard sell, even to them. If it were $500 (Trump tax included) or less, I think it could sell very well.

If I gave one to my daughter I know she would get a big kick out of it. And it would serve as a gateway into more advanced photography.

I think Fuji is on the right track, but that price tag could derail it from becoming the big success it could be.

GodSpeaks said:

I can see young new users enjoying the camera. But at $850 + Trump tax, I think it will be a hard sell, even to them. If it were $500 (Trump tax included) or less, I think it could sell very well.

If I gave one to my daughter I know she would get a big kick out of it. And it would serve as a gateway into more advanced photography.

I think Fuji is on the right track, but that price tag could derail it from becoming the big success it could be.

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I think the pre-tariff US MSRP was supposed to be $699.

tombiondo said:

I think it is yet another creative tool. In a young photographer's hands it could produce fresh new looks and inspiration for other image makers. In any event, it is all about what one puts in front of the lens and how one interprets it, isn't it?

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You can for instance check out what pal2tech (who’s not so young) did in his latest video by combining diptychs and filters. If you haven’t already done so.

GodSpeaks said:

I can see young new users enjoying the camera. But at $850 + Trump tax, I think it will be a hard sell, even to them. If it were $500 (Trump tax included) or less, I think it could sell very well.

If I gave one to my daughter I know she would get a big kick out of it. And it would serve as a gateway into more advanced photography.

I think Fuji is on the right track, but that price tag could derail it from becoming the big success it could be.

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It is 850$ including the tax. Hard to imagine a camera costing less than that these days. Unless it has an even smaller sensor and a classic form factor. Perhaps Fujifilm are banking on the originality here to be asking more. The camera itself has a basic autofocus system, less than basic video capabilities, led light instead of proper flash, dumb tunnel ovf, no overlay whatsoever and a cold shoe. And mostly made of plastic so it remains very light.

Meh. I would have preferred an update of the AF system, same of the completely old fashioned menuing approach...

I think this makes a good point:

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com

I think we all can get carried away with ETTRs and MPs and lns/mm and AI assisted noise reduction and DRs and corner sharpness and NLVs and ...

This camera is precisely meant to do away without all that nonsense and just take photos.

Swerky said:

GodSpeaks said:

I can see young new users enjoying the camera. But at $850 + Trump tax, I think it will be a hard sell, even to them. If it were $500 (Trump tax included) or less, I think it could sell very well.

If I gave one to my daughter I know she would get a big kick out of it. And it would serve as a gateway into more advanced photography.

I think Fuji is on the right track, but that price tag could derail it from becoming the big success it could be.

Click to expand...

It is 850$ including the tax. Hard to imagine a camera costing less than that these days. Unless it has an even smaller sensor and a classic form factor. Perhaps Fujifilm are banking on the originality here to be asking more. The camera itself has a basic autofocus system, less than basic video capabilities, led light instead of proper flash, dumb tunnel ovf, no overlay whatsoever and a cold shoe. And mostly made of plastic so it remains very light.

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Have a look at what the 1“ Osmo Pocket 3 offers for 500,- (before tariffs and still 500,- in Europe). Completely different video oriented camera including a fantastic gimbal in the package. But what would Sony, Canon, Fuji demand for a comparable camera? 1.200,- ? Gimbal for an extra 600,-?

Chinese brands and engineers could offer such a camera as the X-Half for 300 - 400, maybe less, and their AF would probably work. One can only hope that the market is interesting enough for them to enter. Without Godox we would pay 300-400 for small flash units, instead we get fantastic innovative flashes for 30-100,-.

DirkPeh said:

Swerky said:

GodSpeaks said:

I can see young new users enjoying the camera. But at $850 + Trump tax, I think it will be a hard sell, even to them. If it were $500 (Trump tax included) or less, I think it could sell very well.

If I gave one to my daughter I know she would get a big kick out of it. And it would serve as a gateway into more advanced photography.

I think Fuji is on the right track, but that price tag could derail it from becoming the big success it could be.

Click to expand...

It is 850$ including the tax. Hard to imagine a camera costing less than that these days. Unless it has an even smaller sensor and a classic form factor. Perhaps Fujifilm are banking on the originality here to be asking more. The camera itself has a basic autofocus system, less than basic video capabilities, led light instead of proper flash, dumb tunnel ovf, no overlay whatsoever and a cold shoe. And mostly made of plastic so it remains very light.

Click to expand...

Have a look at what the 1“ Osmo Pocket 3 offers for 500,- (before tariffs and still 500,- in Europe). Completely different video oriented camera including a fantastic gimbal in the package. But what would Sony, Canon, Fuji demand for a comparable camera? 1.200,- ? Gimbal for an extra 600,-?

Chinese brands and engineers could offer such a camera as the X-Half for 300 - 400, maybe less, and their AF would probably work. One can only hope that the market is interesting enough for them to enter. Without Godox we would pay 300-400 for small flash units, instead we get fantastic innovative flashes for 30-100,-.

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I imagine it’s only a matter of time. They already started with lenses. From cheap manual focus glass, now to more polished autofocus optics. If they can find an entry in the market, they will do it.

--
Have spent most of time since 2011 worrying about what setup works best for my types of shooting. Therefore, I’m broke.

Swerky said:

If they can find an entry in the market, they will do it.

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Manufacturers may even find these efforts encouraged and supported by government. I didn’t specifically call it out in my comment on this thread, but elsewhere I made allowances for the possibility of a subsidized $500 enthusiast camera.

This is an observation, not an objection. The playing field will never be 100% level.

I think a lot of people's criticisms are missing out on a bigger issue. There is a growing movement away from the clinical perfection we can achieve with everything from an iPhone to the latest Sony-Nikon-Fuji-Canon, etc. That's one of the reasons film has had a comeback. It creates a look that a lot of 20 and 30-somethings never saw their parents or grandparents achieve with their ubiquitous digital. They want something different, something that stands out from the cookie-cutter nature of today's images. You see a good iPhone image, one that anyone from a 10-year-old to a 90-year-old can take, and you are pleased. But, there is no standing out from the crowd when you consider the process.

We should remember that we are a minority --- those of us who want to go through the process of taking a good image and making it even better through post-processsing. Most people don't give a crap about corner sharpness, which many of us obsess over.

A lot of the new buyers the X half will attract would not know a raw file from a raw vegetable. They just want something different. It could be considered their attempt at pushing back at the norm. A conversation piece with enough tech to get their pics to social media quickly, and have fun while doing so.

Sony-Canon-Nikon offer nothing close to the X half. Fuji will sell out of these things, IMHO. And remember, the cost to us seems high, but many young people will consider the cost a shrug. My son has friends who are starting their careers on Wall St. and making extraordinary bucks. We also have friends who are starting as Silicon Valley engineeers and making over $100K just out of college. Sure, that's not everyone, but in a world where the average new car in the U.S. is around $47,000, the X half price is not as crazy as we think.

We don't have to buy it, but I am glad that Fuji offers it. More people taking pics with something other than an iPhone? We should be celebrating this.

wow. Why so serious? This is a bridge camera – a direct path for the 100 million sold (from 1998) instax shooters out there to get bit by the X bug. Why not welcome the folks who grew up with and have finessed digital imaging in a way many of us will never achieve. Pictures and videos are like second nature to them – they don't sit all day at a computer processing an image that will then be downgraded by whatever sharing platform that's used – they use the tool that they have in hand, start to finish. That they're branching out and sidelining the over-processed hdr sharpened nightmares some of our phones are turning out is awesome. Can't wait to try this camera.

It is unfortunate that this release coincided with the tariff debacle. I think a lot of the angst we're seeing is a projection of that instead of a real hate of a new idea.

Jeff Biscuits said:

Dryce said:

Jeff Biscuits said:

Well, if you put wheels on your grandma, she’d be a bicycle.

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Or in this case - if you put together a 'whimsical' unicycle and charge the same price as for a small car you don't get a car but a very expensive whimsical unicycle.

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Obviously the idiom has now been stretched to a fairly tenuous analogy, but I think this is the same complaint in different clothing: “this doesn’t have half the stuff I want from a camera, yet it costs a pretty penny”. It ignores the fact that it does have some things that some people do want from a camera (and it’s also easy to overlook the undervalued point that it doesn’t have a number of things that some people don’t want in a camera).

Essentially: a whimsical unicycle looks like a duff product if what you want is a car. But if you actually want a unicycle, you’re in the market for a unicycle. And if the starter of the supply chain and the nature of product design and low-volume markets are such that unicycles seem like less value for money than cars, then that’s just how it is. If what you want is a unicycle then you have to pay what a unicycle costs. The price of a car is completely immaterial. It’s not like deciding between Car A and Car B. When you want a unicycle and not a car, and there’s only one unicycle on the market, the question is simply “am I prepared to pay this price for this unicycle?”

(And I speak as someone who, whilst having failed miserably at unicycling, has at times had bicycles worth more than my car )

Jeff Biscuits said:

My view is that at the stated price this device is cynically and horrendously over priced for what it is. The gimmick aspect risks making a joke of the X brand.

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I think it’s completely reasonable to put oneself in a potential buyer’s shoes and question the price tag. But one aspect of being in those shoes is to appreciate the unique characteristics of this (or any other) camera and what it brings to the user experience. Lots of people seem to struggle with that and still view a unicycle through the lens of wanting a car. In order to make a proper value judgement, you’ve really got to first fully grasp the appeal of the unicycle.

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Totally correct and very clearly articulated.

I LOVE the X Half!

Coming from an XE4 minimalist lover. Coming from an x100VI & xt3 owner., I love this complete departure of complexity. They literally took inspiration from disposable cameras and create a physical manifestation fo a camera app!

1) priced too high but thanks to tariffs. But overpriced scalper Xe4 and X100VI's sell all the time

2) there will be a wait list for these.
3) it should have had a hotshot. I get having a built in LED flash to reduce the space needed for a Xenon bulb capacitor, But Godox just released a touch screen iT30 Pro F TTL mini flash that would have paired PERFECTLY with this camera.

4) they should fix any delay issues like the advance dial has when triggered to "advance" the shutter.

5) they will sell boku printers with these!

Fuji really knows how to have fun!