Fujifilm X half

What this X100VI lookalike lacks in specs, it makes up for in fun

- 

As a film photography fanatic who gave up that hobby due to the rising cost of film, I've often dreamed of owning a digital camera that provides a film-like experience. In the X half, Fujifilm might have just achieved that.

Also known as the X-HF1, the Fujifilm X half is an attempt at making a digital version of a half-frame film camera. Such cameras, like the Pentax 17, use regular 35mm film, but to get more out of a roll, they only shoot half the frame, which stretches a 36-exposure roll to 72. To maximise space on the roll, half-frame film cameras shoot portrait images when the camera is in landscape, giving it a native 3:4 vertical ratio. This is what Fujifilm has done with the X half by putting a 1-inch cropped sensor on its side and adding film simulations and effects to make something that looks like film. Is it mad? Is it brilliant? It's probably a little of both.

At £699 ($849), the X half is in the same price bracket as the Fujifilm X-M5, which has a larger APS-C sensor, zoom lens, snappier autofocus, 6K video and flip screen, but that isn't really the point. The X half is a unique prospect that, for now, doesn't have any other rivals.

In the battle of specs versus experience, the X half isn’t for everyone. If you're thinking that it sounds like an expensive toy, you're not entirely wrong. But the X half is designed to appeal to the photography enthusiasts who value it for what it is and those who are willing to pay for its unique skills - and for those people, it might be worth every penny.

Build and handling