The launch of the Fujifilm X Half and its RRP of $849 / £699 / AU$1,349 makes it the cheapest X Series camera on the market right now, beating the Fujifilm X-T30 II and Fujifilm X-M5 by up to $100 / £100 / AU$100.
And bear in mind those are body-only prices, so you'll need to buy a lens on top, whereas the X Half features an integrated lens. So why are so many people bemoaning the RRP online? And are their concerns valid?
There’s no direct competitor to the Fujifilm X Half – it’s such a unique camera – but if we consider the best cheap cameras, you’re looking at the Canon EOS R100 costing around $599 / £669 / AU$1,198 mark, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV setting you back $799 / £699 / AU$949 (both with kit lenses), and the Sony ZV-1F priced at $499 / £549 / $945.
So while the X Half is in the higher end of that price bracket, it still sits roughly within the entry-level price range.
I think the naysayers are focusing on the Fujifilm X Half’s spec list – and from an enthusiast’s point of view, you could be disappointed. A 17.74MP 1-inch sensor, 2.4-inch touchscreen, vertical HD video only, optical viewfinder, and no option to shoot RAW sounds archaic in today’s climate. But you can’t review the X Half like a standard camera, because it’s not a standard camera.
Instead of focusing on the tech it doesn’t have, I’m interested in the tech it does have. Namely, that quirky half-frame rear LCD, the tiny lozenge-shaped LCD used to select and display the ‘loaded’ Film Simulation, and the ‘film’ advance lever. Plus, the Film Camera mode, which makes the device behave like a real film camera.
And on top of all that, you’ve got a new body and a new lens. In other words, the Fujifilm X Half isn’t an incremental update, it’s a whole new entry into the X Series. And that means a much more involved development process.
Another thing that might count against it is its size. Smaller cameras do tend to be more favorable, but the X Half is particularly small – so much so that pictures of the camera can seem rather twee, toy-like even.
But while I’ve yet to handle the camera myself, my colleague and Digital Camera World Reviews Editor, Gareth Bevan, called the build quality “top-notch, as per usual from Fujifilm”.
And then there’s the phenomenon that I like to call ‘Fujimania’. Over the past few years, Fujifilm cameras, such as the Fujifilm X100VI and X-M5, have become rather sought after. So much so that you can often purchase a Fujifilm camera new and it’ll either maintain its value or, in some cases, appreciate.
When you buy an X Series camera, you know you’re buying into a certain level of quality. Take Leica, for example. If a Leica M11 was reviewed purely on its RRP and specs, it would score very low. But owning a Leica is partially about the experience, the build quality and the company’s heritage.
So, to conclude, do I think the Fujifilm X Half is a bargain? No, I don’t. Do I think it’s fairly priced? Given everything I know right now, yes, I do. The talking point, then, shouldn’t be the price, but whether or not it’s the right camera for you. After all, it's not designed specifically for the camera enthusiast.
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Caught a bout of 'Fujimania'? Want more Fujifilm goodness? The Fujifilm X-T30 II would be high on my list if I started photography all over again. Plus, Fujifilm calls Instax Mini film a “mini darkroom,” I was gobsmacked when I found out why… And if you're searching for a camera that does it all, STOP! "There is no such thing as the perfect camera” says George Holden.
