Fujifilm X half Review: A Digital Half-Frame Camera That Shoots Like Film
The Fujifilm X half is a pocket camera built around one idea: make a digital camera that feels like a half-frame film camera. Fujifilm announced it on May 22, 2025 at $849.99, and it shipped in late June. It weighs 240 grams with battery and card.
The sensor is a 1-inch, 17.74MP chip mounted on its side, so every picture comes out in a vertical 3:4 shape, like a half-frame negative. The fixed lens is a 10.8mm f/2.8, equivalent to 32mm, with a real aperture ring. There’s a small optical tunnel viewfinder and a vertical 2.4-inch touchscreen on the back.
This is a camera for walking around a city and shooting what’s in front of you. Busy streets, people passing, quick frames you don’t overthink.
Photo: Pixel Effects
DPReview TV’s first impressions video shows how the camera handles in practice, including the film camera mode.
Video review: DPReview TV
The film-camera features
The X half has 13 film simulations, and they’re the main reason to buy it. There’s also a Film Camera Mode that locks you into a roll of 36, 48 or 72 frames. You can’t review shots until the roll is done, which is exactly the point.
A small advance lever on the top plate does a few jobs. In the 2-in-1 mode, pulling it pairs two vertical shots side by side into a diptych, the classic half-frame look. A narrow “film window” display on the back shows which simulation is loaded, like the memo slot on an old film camera.
Battery life is good, rated at 880 shots on the NP-W126S, and it charges over USB-C. Video is limited to vertical Full HD at 24p.
The limits
It shoots JPEG only. There’s no raw file at all, which every review flagged. If a JPEG is off, you live with it. Maximum shutter speed is 1/2000 sec, so f/2.8 in bright sun can be tight.
DPReview found the autofocus slow and unreliable, and the screens laggy, with slow playback. The advance lever has no real resistance and there’s a lag after each shot. Amateur Photographer found image quality mediocre when you look closely. There’s no stabilization and no weather sealing.
The price is the other problem. At $849.99 the specs look thin. Wait for a discount if you can.
Who should buy it
People who want a fun second camera and love Fujifilm color, and who’d otherwise shoot film. The Pentax 17 half-frame film camera inspired it, and it scratches the same itch without the cost of developing.
If you want image quality and raw files, look at the Fujifilm X-M5 with a small prime like the TTArtisan AF 27mm F2.8, or the Fujifilm X100VI if budget allows. For a pocket camera aimed at video, the Canon PowerShot V1 is the better tool.