Fujifilm X half Review

July 10, 2025 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The X half (actual model name X-HF1) is a Fujifilm digital camera released in 2025 that's quite unlike any other model in their extensive range.

It utilises an 17.7 megapixel, 1-inch CMOS sensor orientated in the vertical format to mimic the experience of using a classic half-frame film camera, which coincidentally makes it very well-suited to sharing on social media and to phone users who by default take most of their photos in the vertical orientation.

The optical viewfinder and rear LCD screen are also in the 3:4 vertical format to match the sensor. There's a 32mm equivalent fixed prime lens on the front with a maximum aperture of f/2.8, complete with an aperture dial and manual focus ring.

You can either shoot in the default vertical format or use the 2-in-1 option to combine two images into a diptych, or side-by-side frames, either by using the Frame Advance Lever, during image playback or via the X half app.

There's a small sub-screen alongside the main 2.4inch LCD screen which provides quick access to Fujifilm's range of Film Simulations and Advanced Filters.

The Film Camera mode simulates the experience of using a proper film camera, from only being able to use the optical viewfinder to compose, then winding on between each shot using the Frame Advance Lever, to developing the images via the X half app.

The X half has a single AF point in the centre complete with Face and Eye Detection.

It can record video but only at 1080/24p quality in the 3:4 vertical format or up to 48fps slow-motion.

It supports direct connection to Instax Link series printers equipped with Bluetooth for instant, direct printing.

It has an exposure compensation dial, a cold shoe, a built-in LED flash, tripod mount, USB-C port and a single UHS-I SD card slot.

The Fujifilm X half / X-HF1 is available in three different colours - Black, Silver and Charcoal Silver. It costs £699 in the UK and $849 in the US. It is made in China.

Ease of Use

Fujifilm X half

It's probably best to start this review by considering what the X half isn't, rather than what it is, so that you can quickly decide if this camera is a good fit for you or not.

The X half is not a mini X100, despite clearly being styled to look very much like one. It has a different sized sensor that's smaller than the APS-C one in the X100 and offers a much more simplistic shooting experience with far fewer features and options.

It's not a film camera, despite clearly being modeled to act like one, from the 3:4 half-frame shooting experience to the frame advance lever and the full-on Film Camera mode (thankfully optional).

It's not a toy camera, despite being made entirely of plastic and weighing in at a mere 240g including the battery and memory card. The build quality is mostly fine given the materials used in its construction, although it's certainly not on a par with an equivalently priced regular camera from the Fujifilm range.

It's not a mirrorless/interchangeable lens camera, with the fixed 32mm equivalent lens and 1-inch sensor making it a digital compact camera, albeit one that shoots vertically rather than horizontally.

Fujifilm X half

It's not going to be most people's main camera, whether they are coming from a phone-only background or are a more serious enthusiast. The X half will likely be an additional companion to whatever device you usually use to take photos.

It's not a camera for serious enthusiasts, lacking more advanced features like continuous shooting, RAW file support, AI-driven autofocus, weather-proofing, image stabilisation and some common external controls.

It's not a video camera, with the extremely modest specs looking somewhat out of place on any photographic device from 2025, even one that's so stills-focused.

It's not a camera for pixel-peepers, with much more of a focus on creativity and sharing rather than delivering the best image quality.

It's not an Instax camera, although in my view this is the device that the X half most closely resembles, offering a very similar experience that focuses on fun rather than features and out-and-out quality.

Fujifilm X half

It's not particularly good value. The asking price seems rather too high, pushing it out of being an impulse buy into a much more considered purchase.

So what is the Fujifilm X half? It's a very unique, well-realised and stylish camera that blends together a little something from all of the above "isn't" categories into a surpisingly cohesive whole. There's quite simply nothing else like it on the market.

The X half is a very small, lightweight camera, measuring 105.8 v 64.3 x 45.8mm and weighing 191g body only. You can easily carry it around in a small bag or large pocket without noticing it and it won't draw too much attention thanks to its diminutive stature, making it well suited to every-day and travel photography.

It is entirely constructed from plastic, right down to the tripod mount, hence the low weight. Despite this, it feels well constructed enough, although certainly not on a par with the other X-series Fuji cameras. It's not weather-proof so you'll need to protect it in anything other than a light shower.

There's no hand or thumb grip, just a fairly grippy leatherette textured surface to hold on to, but given the lightweight nature of the X half, that's enough to make it feel secure in your hand.

Fujifilm X half

Everything is geared towards the vertical, half-frame film format, digitally replicating half-frame film cameras that split a 36mm x 24mm frame into two 18mm x 24mm frames in order to yield more exposures from a roll of film.

Fujifilm have taken the concept beyond simply cost-cutting to making it easier to share on social media - most photos from cameraphones are vertical, so why not those taken with a "proper" camera?

You can take horizontal photos and videos by tilting the X half on its short side, but this feels rather strange given many years of doing the opposite, and also defeats the main purpose of using this particular camera in the first place.

In addition to the vertical sensor, there are two main ways of composing your images that are also vertically orientated.

There's a very simple optical viewfinder, rather than an electronic viewfinder or no viewfinder at all. It's pretty dim, has no markings of any kind, isn't particularly accurate, and suffers from barrel distortion, making it something to use in a pinch rather than all the time.

Fujifilm X half

There is an eye-sensor alongside it that automatically switches between the OVF and the LCD screen and a small LED that flashes green to indicate successful focusing.

On the rear is a 2.4-inch LCD screen with 0.92million dot resolution in the 3:4 aspect ratio. It's also small, not very bright and rather low resolution, but does at least show a 100% accurate view of the scene and a preview of any film simulations or effects that you've chosen.

Alongside the main LCD screen is a much smaller lozenge-shaped sub-screen that by default shows an icon-based representation of the current film simulation. You can actually interact with it to scroll through the various film simulations and filter effects and to move through the main menu system. It's quite a neat, tactile dual-screen setup that adds to the camera's charm.

Rather surprisingly given the X half's modest video capabilities and Fujifilm's history of burying it away on previous cameras, there's a dedicated button on the rear for switching between stills and movies, alongside the Playback button.

Most things are accomplished by swiping up, down, left and right on the touchscreen LCD, from accessing the Quick menu and Main menu to toggling between film simulations and filters to pairing the camera with a smartphone and accessing the the Film Camera mode.

Fujifilm X half

The X half doesn't actually have that many options compared to a regular digital camera so it quickly becomes second nature to use.

On top is a cold shoe which doesn't accept a flashgun or support a mic, making it rather redundant, alonsgide the chunky exposure compensation dial into which is set the threaded shutter release button. This will accept a screw-in soft release but not a cable remote release, as you can't use any form of remote release with the X half, not even through the dedicated app.

Towards the front of the exposure compensation dial is a knurled On/Off switch that has a distinctive click and there's a very retro film advance lever at the rear.

As there's no actual film, this is predominantly used to engage the 2-in-1 mode. Simply take a photo, pull the lever, take the second photo and voila!, the X half will automatically create a composite horizontal image containing both images side-by-side, with the camera also storing the two vertical images seperately on the memory card.

You can combine two stills, one still and one video, and even two videos, and if you don't want to do it in-camera, the X half app also allows you to create 2-in-1s.

Fujifilm X half

If you press and hold the film advance lever inwards, the last image that you took is displayed until you let go of the lever. In the film camera mode, the lever almost lives up to its name by digitally winding-on after evey shot is taken.

As its name suggests, the film camera mode turns the X half into a fully-fledged film camera, albeit one with no actual film inside it.

The LCD screen is turned off, instead displaying the remaining frames, so you can only use the rudimentary optical viewfinder for composition and your images aren't displayed, you have 36, 54 or 72 exposures with the settings fixed at the first frame, and you use the app to "develop" a contact sheet of your photos when the film is complete.

You can cheat and interrupt the film camera mode by removing the battery or memory card, and the images that you take are accessible from the meory card, so you're not completely locked out of the digital experience!

The 32mm-equivalent focal length lens is encircled by a physical aperture ring whith whole-stops running from f2.8 to f/11, complete with an A (Auto) setting if you want the camera to take control and a knurled lever which makes it easy to locate and change even when looking through the optical viewfinder.

There's also a generously sized manual focus ring at the end of the lens barrel, although given how low-resolution the LCD screen is, we're not sure that relying on anything other than auto-focus is a particularly good idea.

Fujifilm X half

Disappointingly there's no filter thread on the end of the lens barrel and the lens is protected by a rather simple push-on rubber cap that can be attached to the camera eyelets with a thin strap, as can the supplied wrist strap.

The AF system is pretty basic, being just a Single Point AF 3×3 system locked to the middle of the frame with Face and Eye Detection on hand for human subjects. It's pretty fast and reliable, but the inability to track a moving subject, detect something other than humans or even move the AF point is rather startling on a 2025 camera.

Above the lens is the LED flash unit, activated by a sliding switch on the left-flank of the camera that sits above the covered USB-C port. The flash isn't very powerful at all but might prove useful close-up in a very dark environment.

The USB-C port is the only one on the camera and as well as letting you recharge it from mains or a powerbank and transfer images to another device, it also doubles up as a headphone connection for monitoring the sound.

A familar NP-W126S battery that provides 880 frames of CIPA-rated life sits inside the shared compartment on the bottom of the camera alongside the single UHS-I speed SD card slot. Next to this in-line with the lens is a standard plastic tripod mount.

As this is a camera with film leanings, Fujifilm have added the ability to directly print to an Instax Link printer, something that X-series users have been asking for for ages. The currently supported models are: instax mini Link 2, instax mini Link 3, instax SQUARE Link, instax Link WIDE.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 17.74 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

The Fujifilm X half produced images of above average quality. It records noise-free images from ISO 200 up to ISO 800, with a little noise at ISO 1600 and progressively more visible noise at the faster settings of ISO 3200 and 6400 (ISO 12800 is best avoided).

The extensive range of Film Simulation modes hark back to a bygone era, the Advanced Filters allow you to have a little fun in-camera, and the Grain Effect adds film-like grain to your images.

Noise

There are 7 full ISO settings available on the Fujifilm X half, ranging from ISO 200 to ISO 25600. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

 
 
ISO 200
iso200.jpg
ISO 400
iso400.jpg
ISO 800
iso800.jpg
ISO 1600
iso1600.jpg
ISO 3200
iso3200.jpg
 
ISO 6400
iso6400.jpg
 
ISO 12800
iso12800.jpg
 

Film Simulations

The Fujifilm X half offers 13 different film simulation modes to help replicate the look of your favourite film stock from the past.

film_simulation_01.jpgProvia / Standard

film_simulation_02.jpgVelvia / Vivid

film_simulation_03.jpgAstia / Soft

film_simulation_04.jpgClassic Chrome

film_simulation_05.jpgReala Ace

film_simulation_06.jpgClassic Neg.

film_simulation_07.jpgNostalgic Neg.

film_simulation_08.jpgEterna / Cinema

film_simulation_09.jpgAcros

film_simulation_10.jpgAcros + Yellow

film_simulation_11.jpgAcros + Red

film_simulation_12.jpgAcros + Green

film_simulation_13.jpgSepia

Advanced Filters

The Fujifilm X half offers 19 different creative filter effects with some having several options.

filters_01.jpgToy Camera

filters_02.jpgMiniature

filters_03.jpgPop Color

filters_04.jpgHigh-Key

filters_05.jpgLow-Key

filters_06.jpgDynamic Tone

filters_07.jpgSoft Focus

filters_08.jpgPartial Color (Red)

filters_09.jpgPartial Color (Orange)

filters_10.jpgPartial Color (Yellow)

filters_11.jpgPartial Color (Green)

filters_12.jpgPartial Color (Blue)

filters_13.jpgPartial Color (Purple)

filters_14.jpgCanvas

filters_15.jpgRetro

filters_16.jpgVignette

filters_17.jpgBlur

filters_18.jpgFisheye

filters_19.jpgColor Shift

filters_20.jpgMirror

filters_26.jpgDouble Exposure

filters_21.jpgLight Leak

filters_22.jpgHalation

filters_23.jpgExpired Film / Green

filters_23.jpgExpired Film / Red

filters_25.jpgExpired Film / Neutral

Grain Effect

grain_01.jpgOff

grain_02.jpgWeak / Small

grain_03.jpgWeak / Large

grain_04.jpgStrong / Small

grain_05.jpgStrong / Large

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm X half camera, which were all taken using the 17.74 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movies & Video

Product Images

Fujifilm X half

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Fujifilm X half

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Fujifilm X half

Fujifilm X half

Fujifilm X half

Fujifilm X half

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Fujifilm X half

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Conclusion

The Fujifilm X half is an endearingly charming blend of old and new that clearly costs too much but is eminently desirable none-the-less.

Unlike anything else on the market, film or digital, past or present, it successfully blends all of those into one surprisingly coherent whole that is genuinely a lot of fun to use.

The X half bridges the gap between the disparate worlds of Instax and mirrorless, building on the social sharing aspects of the former and combining them with the retro styling of the latter.

After a while you forget about megapixels, screen resolutions, noise levels and even the half-film format itself, instead enjoying the film simulations, filter effects and sharing your creativity via the polished app.

Which is a good thing, because taken individually the building blocks of the X half aren't all that. The image quality from the 1-inch sensor falls short of other comparable fixed lens compacts from Sony and Canon, the optical viewfinder is nigh on difficult to use, the build quality falls into the satisfactory rather than stellar camp, the hotshoe and flash are largely redundant, the LCD screen is small and low resolution, and modern features like continuous shooting, RAW file support, AI-driven autofocus, weather-proofing, image stabilisation and some common external controls are all absent.

Somehow, though, despite all of those drawbacks, the X half is a delight to use as a creative addition to your main photo-taking device, be that phone or camera. Which makes it a real shame that the whopping £699 / $849 price-tag will surely put off a lot of those would-be second camera owners who will simply opt for no purchase at all.

If you can afford it, though, the one-of-a-kind X half could add another string to your creative bow whilst also successfully expanding the Fujifilm universe to encompass a wider range of users, both of which are surely good things in a time of incremental camera upgrades...

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4
Features 4
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 3
Value for money 3

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Fujifilm X half.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo

The new Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo combines a digital camera with an Instax printer to enable you to take photos and make instant prints from the same device. It also offers the ability to print images from your smartphone onto the Instax Mini film. Read our in-depth Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo review, complete with downloadable sample images, to find out if it's worth the £174.99 / S199.99 asking price...

Fujifilm X-M5

The Fujifilm X-M5 is a tiny, stylishly retro and attractively priced camera for vloggers, content creators, smartphone upgraders and stills photographers alike. Can it really meet the needs of all those users? Find out now by reading our Fuji XM5 review, complete with sample images and videos...

Fujifilm X-T30 II

The X-T30 II is the latest mid-range mirrorless camera from Fujifilm, boasting a 26 megapixel APS-C sensor, 4K/30p video recording, 30fps burst shooting and a stylish retro look and feel. Is the replacement for the two-year-old X-T30 worth considering? Find out now by reading our XT30 II review complete with full size sample photos...

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII

Sony's venerable RX100 compact camera series has now reached its seventh iteration with the launch of the RX100 VII. What could Sony have possibly added to make this already excellent camera even better? Find out now by reading our in-depth Sony RX100 VII review, complete with a huge gallery of full-size sample images and videos.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Fujifilm X half from around the web.

cameralabs.com »

The X half is certainly an interesting camera, more about having fun and worrying less about specifications. It’s less a mini-X100 and more a maxi-EVO with the promise of better quality and some fun shooting modes. In fact I was struck by how similar the experience felt to a mini Evo with the vertical screen and wealth of effects.
Read the full review »

digitalcameraworld.com »

If you are just looking to take the best quality images, Fujifilm has a ton of those cameras. Instead, the X Half is designed for those just having fun with photography, and after spending some time with the Fujifilm X Half, I can confirm – mission accomplished.
Read the full review »

amateurphotographer.com »

The Fujifilm X half does a great job of emulating the experience of shooting film, without the ongoing costs. Yes it’s pricey, but it’s packed full of creative features, making it a lot of fun to use.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Model Name

FUJIFILM X half (FUJIFILM X-HF1)

Image Sensor

13.3mm x 8.8mm (1 inch) with primary color filter

Number Of Effective Pixels

17.74 million pixels

Storage Media

SD Card (-2GB)

SDHC Card (-32GB) SDXC Card (-2TB) UHS-I *Please see the Fujifilm website (https://fujifilm-x.com/support/compatibility/cameras/) to check memory card compatibility.

File Format Of Still Image

DCF

Compliant with Design rule for Camera File system (DCF2.0) JPEG Exif Ver.2.31

Number Of Recorded Pixels

[L]

3:2: 7296 x 4864 2in1
1:1: 4864 x 4864 
        7296 x 7296 2in1
        *1:1 FRAME COMBINED
3:4: 3648 x 4864 

[M]

3:2: 4320 x 2880 2in1
1:1: 2880 x 2880
        4320 x 4320 2in1
        *1:1 FRAME COMBINED
3:4: 2160 x 2880

[S]

3:2: 2160 x 1440 2in1
1:1: 1440 x 1440
        2160 x 2160 2in1
        *1:1 FRAME COMBINED
3:4: 1080 x 1440

Lens

Type

FUJINON single focal length lens Focal Length f=10.8mm (35mm format equivalent : 32mm) Max. Aperture F2.8 Lens Configuration 6 elements in 5 groups (includes 3 aspherical elements)

Aperture

F2 .8- F11 1/3EV step (controlled with 3-blade aperture diaphragm)

Minimum focus distance (measured from the front of the lens)

Approx. 0.1m

Sensitivity

Still Image

Standard Output

AUTO1

AUTO2 AUTO3 ISO200~12800 (1/3 step)

Movie

Standard Output

AUTO

ISO200~12800 (1/3 step)

Exposure Control

TTL 256-zone metering
Multi

Exposure Mode

P (Program AE)
A (Aperture Priority AE)
S (Shutter Speed Priority AE)
M (Manual Exposure)

Exposure Compensation

Still

-3.0EV~+3.0EV 1/3EV step Movie -2.0EV~+2.0EV 1/3EV step

Shutter Type

Lens Shutter

Shutter Speed

Mechanical Shutter
P Mode 1/4sec. to 1/2000sec.
A Mode

30sec. to 1/2000sec.

S/M Mode

15min. to 1/2000sec.

Movie
FHD 1/2000sec. to 1/24 sec.
Notes

*Cannot choose slower shutter speed than framerate for some settings.

Drive Mode

Advanced Filter

Toy camera
Miniature
Pop color
High-key
Low-key
Dynamic tone
Soft focus
Partial color (Red / Orange / Yellow / Green / Blue / Purple)
LIGHT LEAK
HALATION
EXPIRED FILM (Green / Red/ Neutral)
Canvas
Retro
Vignette
Blur
Fisheye
ColorShift
Mirror
Double Ex.

Focus

Mode

Single AF
Continuous AF
MF

Type

TTL contrast AF

AF Frame Selection
Single Point AF 3×3
Face/Eye Detection

Yes

Flash

Built-In Flash
Built-in Flash LED

Hot Shoe

Yes (Cold shoe)

Viewfinder

OVF
OVF Reverse Galilean viewfinder
Coverage Of Frame Area V.s. Capturing Area

approx. 90%

Magnification

approx x0.38

LCD Monitor

LCD Monitor

2.4 inch Touch Screen Color LCD Monitor

Aspect Ratio

4:3

Dots

Approx. 0.92 million dots

Touch Screen Mode

Shooting Mode
Focus Area

Double Tap Setting (ON/OFF) Playback Mode

Swipe

Pinch-in / Pinch-out Double-tap Drag

Movie Recording

File Format

MOV

MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Linear PCM (Stereo sound 16bit / 48KHz sampling)
MP4

MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, AAC

Movie Compression
Long GOP
Full HD(3:2)
File Size 2160 x 1440 2in1
Frame Rate

24p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Full HD(3:4)
File Size 1080 x 1440
Frame Rate

24p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Full HD(1:1)
File Size 1440 x 1440
2160 x 2160 2in1
*1:1 FRAME COMBINED
Frame Rate

24p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Full HD(3:2)High Speed Rec.
File Size 2160 x 1440 2in1
Frame Rate

48p
36p
28p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Full HD(3:4)High Speed Rec.
File Size 1080 x 1440
Frame Rate

48p
36p
28p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Full HD(1:1)High Speed Rec.
File Size 1440 x 1440
2160 x 2160 2in1
*1:1 FRAME COMBINED
Frame Rate

48p
36p
28p

Bitrate

50Mbps
20Mbps
10Mbps

Notes

*Selectable bitrate will be changed depends on the setting.
*Recording time can become short depending on the temperature and/or shooting conditions

Film Simulation Mode

13 modes

PROVIA/Standard Velvia/Vivid ASTIA/Soft Classic Chrome REALA ACE Classic Neg. Nostalgic Neg. ETERNA/Cinema ACROS ACROS + Ye Filter ACROS + R Filter ACROS + G Filter Sepia

Grain Effect

Roughness

STRONG, WEAK, OFF Size LARGE, SMALL

Portrait Enhancer Lv

STRONG, MEDIUM, WEAK, OFF

White Balance

Auto

Auto

Color Temperature Selection

2500K~10000K

Preset

Daylight
Shade
Fluorescent Light-1
Fluorescent Light-2
Fluorescent Light-3
Incandescent Light
Underwater

Self-timer

Still

10sec.
2sec. Movie 10sec.
5sec.
3sec.

Wireless Transmitter

Standard

IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac (standard wireless protocol) Encryption WPA/WPA2 mixed mode, WPA3 Access Mode Infrastructure

Bluetooth®

Standartd

Bluetooth Ver. 5.2 (Bluetooth low energy) Operating Frequency (Center Frequency) 2402 ~2480MHz

Terminal

Digital Interface

USB Type-C USB2.0 Others Cold shoe

Power Supply

Power Supply

NP-W126S Li-ion battery (included)

Battery Life For Still Images
Normal Mode Approx. 880 frames
Actual Battery Life Of Movie Capture
Full HD Approx. 95min. (24p)、Approx. 85min. (48p)
Notes

*Face detection is set to OFF

Continuance Battery Life Of Movie Capture
Full HD Approx. 165min. (24p)
Notes

*Face detection is set to OFF
*Approximate number of frames or movie recording time that can be taken with a fully-charged based on CIPA Standard.

Dimensions

Width

105.8mm

Height

64.3mm

Depth

45.8mm

(Minimum Depth)

30.0mm

Weight

Including Battery And Memory Card

Approx. 240g Excluding Battery And Memory Card Approx. 191g

Operation Environment

Operating Temperature

0℃~+40℃ Operating Humidity 10%~80% (no condensation)

Starting up period

Approx. 1.7sec.

Accessories Included

Li-ion battery NP-W126S
Headphone adapter
Hand Strap
Metal strap clip
Protective cover
Lens cap
Cold shoe cover

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