A Camera in Search of a Time Machine – The Fujifilm X-hAlf
Every now and then, I make an effort to step out of my comfort zone. I love the way I practice photography, and I’m pretty set in my habits, but it feels healthy to try something new once in a while — like recalibrating your taste buds. So when Mike’s Camera in Menlo Park hosted a Fujifilm demo day, I signed up and spent a couple of hours walking around with the new Fujifilm X-Half.
It was pretty darn close to what I thought it would be, but also… not at all what I need.
A Camera Built on Nostalgia
If there’s one word I kept circling back to, it’s skeuomorph.
The whole camera feels like it’s trying to be something from another era. The styling, the film simulations, the vertical half-frame format… it’s all an echo of film photography without actually being film photography. There’s a certain charm in that, but it also made the camera feel like it was wearing a costume. Like it desperately wants to smell like 1978, but was born in 2025 and is built from plastic materials that show it.
There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia, but nostalgia alone can’t take a great photo for you.
Handling the X-Half: Fun, But Very Point-and-Shoot
During the demo day, a small group of us took a short photo walk from the Mike’s Camera store downtown to the Menlo Park Civic Center and back. It gave me just enough time to understand the X-Half’s personality.
This camera is, in every sense, a point-and-shoot. It wants you to stop thinking and start clicking… and “winding” another skeuomorphic lever. While you can, there’s no need fussing with settings. No massaging RAW files later – it only shoots JPEGs. No “serious workflow.” It’s made for people who want a cute camera, not a craft.
And honestly? That’s fine. A high schooler or college student would have a blast with this thing. Maybe even as a present for a boyfriend of girlfriend, maybe even suitable for newly weds. Someone who wants to take photos and immediately have something Instagram-ready. Someone who isn’t trying to fight for the last 5% of image quality or control.
It Made Me Shoot Differently — But Not in a Way I Want
I appreciate any camera that changes the way I see. The X-Half did that, but mostly because it took so much of the process away. With my Leica, I’m intentional. Quiet. Patient. The act of photographing is half the joy.
With the X-Half, everything happened fast. Too fast. Frame, click, done. It reminded me of tossing disposable cameras around back in high school — fun, carefree, a little chaotic. But the quickness also worked against me as the camera is pretty slow and delayed in many facets.
But that’s the thing: I’m not trying to shoot like an entry-level photo hobbyist trying to gain Instagram followers anymore.
The Good, the Bad, and the Honest
To be fair: the camera isn’t bad. It’s just not for me.
And I don’t think it’s pretending otherwise.
The Good
Super accessible for beginners
Film simulations are playful and attractive
No editing required — what you see is what you get
Light (in weight), compact, and unintimidating
The Not-So-Good
Everything feels like an imitation of film rather than a reinterpretation
Oversimplified controls for anyone who wants manual involvement
The nostalgia angle feels like a gimmick
Price point – $850+tax (for this?)
Hard to justify in 2025 when phones can already fill this role
If someone asked me whether they should buy it, I’d honestly ask them what they want out of photography. If the answer is simplicity, fun, and no editing, then sure — this could be the perfect camera. But if they want involvement… craft… growth… then this thing will hit its ceiling very quickly. It could potentially make a nice Christmas present, but it’s going to be an expensive Christmas present that if taken seriously, will lead to the user picking up more advanced cameras, leaving this to be an expensive paperweight or tree ornament for next year.
Where I Landed
After two hours, I handed the camera back and felt… satisfied, actually. Not because I wanted one, but because trying it reminded me why I shoot the way I do. Why I prefer a viewfinder pressed to my face. Why I like wrestling with light and exposure and the imperfections of my own timing. It also reminded me a little bit of how I used to shoot on something like the Ricoh GR. Being able to carry it one handed, using the back LCD as the viewfinder, snapping away and anything and everything.
The Fujifilm X-Half is a time capsule built for people who want to remember photography, not necessarily practice it.
And in 2025, that’s a perfectly valid lane — just not mine.
