Fujifilm’s X Half is a Gen Z camera with a Boomer price tag

Fujifilm just announced the new compact digital X Half camera. The company says the camera will help people rediscover and reinvent the charm of film photography in a digital format. Evolving from the concept of classic half-frame cameras, this one lets you take photos as one would back in the day, but always in portrait mode.

Fujifilm’s X Half is the latest model in the X series. With a lightweight 240g body, this compact camera can shoot at half the size of 35mm film. Available in Charcoal Silver, Silver, and Black, it uses a 3:4 aspect ratio, instead of the 3:2, 4:3, and 16:9 ratios commonly used in digital cameras.

It has a vertical optical viewfinder and LCD monitor, perfect for vertical composition photography. The camera also has a 2-in-1 function, which lets you combine two vertically composed photos into one image. Fujifilm also includes “Film Simulations” to add various color tone expressions, photographic films, and shooting filters.

Image source: Fujifilm

Interestingly, the images can only be viewed after the specified number of shots have been taken, which Fujifilm says adds an “element of excitement and anticipation for the captured images.”

Fujifilm’s X Half includes the following features:

• Attached battery and memory card.
• The 35mm half-frame camera was released by Fujifilm in 1963.
• A photo collage composed by dividing the 3:2 aspect ratio screen at the center and arranging still images with a 3:4 vertical composition on the left and right.
• Three newly developed filters, including Light Leak, Halation, and Expired Film, will be included. Eight popular filters from Instax products will also be available.

Image source: Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s app offers users a range of extra features, enhancing the overall experience.

Wrap up

Riding the wave of Gen Z’s nostalgia for disposable cameras and early 2000s aesthetics, the company has introduced a clever new concept—the Fujifilm X Half. But while the idea is undeniably cool, its $850 price tag is a tough pill to swallow.

If you are willing to spend that money, you can guarantee yours in late June.