Fujifilm X half

Fujifilm's 'digital half-frame' compact is endearingly fun, says Andy Westlake - just don't necessarily expect it to be a 'serious' camera

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Fujifilm's X half is a fixed-lens digital compact camera that aims to recreate the experience of shooting film.

Not just any kind of film either, but as its name suggests, specifically half-frame 35mm. It's small, lightweight and pocketable, and it's a lot of fun to use.

Let's get one thing straight from the start, though. If you're hoping for a more affordable version of the firm's popular X100VI, then despite any family resemblance between the two, that's simply not what you get. Instead, the X half is a very different kind of camera that leans more towards the snapshot brigade. It doesn't shoot raw files, and it barely panders to video at all.

At £699, the X half certainly isn't cheap. If you really want the film experience, you could buy a basic 35mm half-frame camera like the Kodak Ektar H35N, shoot at least 25 rolls of Kodak Gold, and then get them developed and scanned, all for less money.

That's perhaps not an entirely fair comparison, as the X half is a much more sophisticated camera. But even so, is it really worth the money?

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