“Stop checking the details on every image, start focusing on recording the moments that matter,” reads the product copy. It’s an enticing proposition for generations of people who grew up utilizing technology’s burst of forward momentum to scrutinize every detail of their endless conveyor belt of images.
It sucks a lot of the fun out of casually snapping photos. That sort of pitch, though, is something I expected from the Camp Snap. From Fujifilm? Now that I wasn’t expecting.
Teased under the tagline, “Half the Size, Twice the Fun,” we were expecting the X Half, but we didn’t know until today exactly what form it’d take.
And well, it’s awfully unique in that it shoots vertical photographs. You can’t have it right now, but you can pre-order it for $850 now to make sure that there’s one reserved for you when they begin shipping out to customers on June 17.
less obsession, more focus
The brand is leaning heavily into not just the nostalgia of shooting film, but also the focus of attention that film cameras brought. Fujifilm, like a lot of photographers, seems to feel there’s a benefit that film cameras had over digital cameras in that way.
“Analog fans will love the built-in film-inspired looks, previewed on the rear screen like vintage film labels, and the Film Camera Mode that lets you shoot with no distractions—just like a classic 35mm,” says Fujifilm.
The latter offer so much possibility of scrutiny on the LCD screen over every image just taken, it can remove the user from existing in the moment. You can still use the X Half like that, but you can also switch over to Film Camera Mode, which locks your settings (to keep you from fiddling endlessly), disables previews of just-taken photos on the LCD screen, and forces you to rely solely upon the rangefinder view for framing your shots.
And yet for all this nod to the old days, it shoots vertical photographs. You can take two vertical pictures side-by-side to either juxtapose two settings or continue them across two frames. It’s a hell of a mash-up, this heavily film-inspired camera that shoots TikTok-esque vertical photos.
Fujifilm hedges on when cameras will land in customers’ hands, saying that “shipping will begin on June 17th in limited quantities and then quickly increase to fulfill our entire pre-order list.”
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