- Fujifilm teases its upcoming X-series camera with May 22 announcement
- ‘Half the Size, Twice the Story’ slogan hints at ‘X-Half’ half-frame camera
- A secondary film preview display could feature touch control
We now know the exact time and date of Fujifilm’s next X-series camera, following another teaser shared on the Fujifilm YouTube channel (see below), and there’s not long to wait for the rumored half-frame compact.
The video says ‘See you soon’, and the video caption spells out a May 22, 2025 announcement (at 1am ET / 6am BST / 3pm AEST, that’s May 21 at 10pm PT).
Having followed the rumors of the supposed X-Half for some time, I can’t wait until next week – there have been some curious features leaked that sound like a lot of fun.
Chief among those rumors, and one that Fujifilm itself has teased, is a secondary film preview-style display (you can see the ‘Provia’ film in the image above), that according to Fuji Rumors could have a touch function, meaning you could swipe to change film simulation – neat.
But that’s not even the funnest feature that’s been rumored for the half-frame camera, which Fujifilm is billing as offering ‘Half the Size, Twice the Story’. Another rumored feature that stuck out to me is one that’s sure to appeal to analog photography fans.
Roll with it
As we previously reported, there are suggestions that the X-Half will be a modern take on the half-frame format, as featured in recent analog cameras such as the Pentax 17 and Kodak Ektar H35.
Half-frame traditionally refers to an analog camera that captures two vertical exposures on a single frame of 35mm film, allowing you to get twice the number of stills from a roll – this tallies with the ‘Half the Size, Twice the Story’ tagline in the teaser.
It remains unclear how Fujifilm will achieve half-frame in its upcoming camera, but there are suggestions that the X-Half will include a 1-inch sensor that will capture two vertical images as a diptych, plus a vertical rear LCD to help the user compose those pictures.
We can also see a circular viewfinder inside the camera’s silhouette in Fujifilm’s teaser, plus a vintage design that includes a manual exposure dial – a recipe familiar to Fujifilm.
It could also be a compact camera with fixed 28mm f/2.8 (equivalent) lens – that’s one of 5 rumored features I’ve written about. However, it’s another possible feature that has truly piqued my interest – a film roll mode.
Fuji Rumors suggests that with the film roll mode active, the user will be locked into the film simulation and selected settings for a certain number of pictures, equivalent to shooting with a particular roll of film. Traditionally that would be 24 or 36 pictures, but half-frame doubles that picture count.
It could also be that the user can’t see previews of the pictures they’re taking when in film roll mode until the ‘roll’ is used up. I think the idea of such a mode sounds as wonderful as it does wacky, and I hope the rumor is true.
Responses to the various X-Half rumors suggest there’s a feeling among Fujifilm fans that the upcoming camera is one of Fujifilm’s most experimental yet. Should it be well received, some of its features could find their way into future X-series cameras.
I’d be all for the weird and the wacky – I enjoy Fujifilm cameras the most when they break from the norm, like the dedicated aspect ratio dial on the GFX100RF. So mark your calendars for May 22 – I already have.
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