The Fujifilm X-Half brings the brand’s popular film simulations into a digital compact camera built with the intentional limitations of film – but the compact camera just got a new film-like option, thanks to a firmware update.
Part of the X-Half’s more film-like charm – beyond the screen-free film mode and advance lever – comes from the camera’s built-in filters. Firmware 2.0 brings one more option to those retro looks: Soft Glow.
The soft glow option is built to imitate the look of a diffusion filter – or the softer highlights of old film lenses. Fujifilm says this mode softens highlights to enhance the glow.
The Fujifilm X-Half already had a similar mode called halation, but halation and glow are two similar yet distinct image qualities. Halation is a subtle glow that adds a bit of warm tones. On film, this effect was simply a result of the light hitting the film and scattering.
A soft glow traditionally differs from halation because it doesn’t add warm tones and is the result of using softer lenses. A glow effect typically spreads out light sources.
I’m a big fan of using diffusion filters to get a glow, so I love that the X Half now has an option like this built in, without adding filters. The Soft Glow is part of the X Half’s filter effects, which are a separate mode and not used at the same time as the camera’s film simulations.
Along with the addition of Soft Glow, the firmware adds 12 and 24-frame options to the camera’s film mode. The X Half’s film mode locks several settings and disables previews, essentially locking the screen and creating a “screen-free” compact camera. Now photographers can choose to shoot as little as 12 images per roll, allowing for swapping settings between rolls earlier than with a roll of 36.
The firmware update also includes a handful of performance enhancements, including improving the start-up time, enhancing autofocus timing, and reducing the delay between shots.
It’s great to see Fujifilm continue to expand on the X Half’s different built-in filters – and the soft glow looks like a welcome addition. But, as with most firmware, it’s often best to wait a few days (or even weeks) to avoid any potential early bugs.
The new firmware 2.0 for the X Half is available to download directly from Fujifilm.
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