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Quick Start Guide FUJIFILM X half
Congratulations on your new FUJIFILM X half! This quick start guide will introduce you to the camera’s key features and functions, helping you begin creating unique photos and videos of everyday life
Contents
- Set-up and settings
- Film Simulations and filters
- Exposure settings
- Focusing modes
- Recording video
- 2-in-1 mode
- Film Camera mode
- The X half App
Set-up and settings
You can access deeper levels of camera functionality by swiping in different directions on the rear LCD monitor.
Swipe upwards on the rear screen to access a quick menu, where you can adjust settings like the exposure mode, focus mode, self-timer and more. You can leave this menu by swiping downwards, pressing the X symbol on the secondary display or half-pressing the shutter button.
Swipe from right to left on the LCD monitor to open the settings menu. From there, you can swipe or press on the secondary display to navigate between different lists of options, such as MOVIE SETTING, AF/MF SETTING or NETWORK/USB SETTING. Swipe right on the screen or half-press the shutter button to exit.
Film Simulations and filters
Film Simulations
The X half features 13 different Film Simulations modes, allowing you to easily create using a variety of analogue-inspired colour profiles.
The currently selected Film Simulation mode is shown on the secondary display. Simply swipe up or down on the screen to change Film Simulation.
ACROS offers three different colour filter modes, which simulate the effect of attaching a coloured glass filter to the lens – a common practice in monochrome photography. When ACROS is selected on the secondary display, you can select between options for standard, yellow, red or green on the main screen. While using ACROS, tap on the secondary display to pick a different colour filter mode.
Filters
The X half also comes equipped with a variety of creative filters.
To start exploring these, swipe left to right on the rear screen and select FILTER. From there, you can navigate through the filter modes by swiping or tapping on the secondary display.
Certain filters – such as PARTIAL COLOR and EXPIRED FILM – allow you to choose between different colour modes. Select the filter on the secondary display and then pick your preferred colour mode on the main screen. To choose a different colour mode, just tap on the appropriate filter in the secondary display to bring up the options again.
You can return to the Film Simulation options by swiping right on the main screen again and pressing Film Simulation.
Exposure settings
PASM modes
The X half offers a variety of exposure control options that are accessible from both the quick menu (opened by swiping up) and the SHOOTING SETTING menu (swipe left and scroll to the camera icon on the secondary screen).
To change exposure mode, swipe up to access the quick menu and then press on the top-left option. From there, you can choose between PROGRAM AE (AUTO), SHUTTER PRIORITY AE, APERTURE PRIORITY AE and MANUAL exposure settings.
Adjusting the exposure
The current shutter speed, f-stop, exposure compensation and ISO settings are displayed along the bottom of the main LCD screen. The settings that you can adjust vary depending on your exposure mode. Adjustable settings are displayed in blue, while automatic settings are displayed in white.
- In all exposure modes, you can adjust the ISO by pressing on the current ISO value. You can either pick an auto ISO range or a specific value.
- When in SHUTTER PRIORITY or MANUAL mode, a box will appear around the current shutter speed, which you can also adjust by pressing on it.
- In APERTURE PRIORTITY AE or MANUAL mode, you can adjust the aperture width by rotating the aperture ring on the lens.
- The exposure compensation dial on the top-plate can be used to increase or decrease by up to ±3EV in all exposure modes.
X half exposure settings for beginners
If you’re new to exposure settings, and would prefer to focus on framing up your images while letting the camera pick the best options, set the exposure mode to PROGRAM AE and the ISO to AUTO3 (200-12,800). Then, if you want to make a scene lighter or darker, you can make adjustments using the exposure compensation dial.
Focusing modes
The X half includes a number of focusing modes, as well as face and eye detection autofocus, helping you make consistently great photos of people.
There are three focusing modes – MANUAL FOCUS, CONTINUOUS AF and SINGLE AF – which can be selected from either the quick menu or the AF/MF SETTING menu. Quickly change between these settings by swiping up and pressing the top-right menu option.
Intelligent Face Detection
The X half’s Intelligent Face Detection options allow the camera to automatically lock onto human faces. You can access these settings from both the quick menu and the AF/MF SETTING menu.
- FACE ON/EYE OFF enables Intelligent Face Detection only.
- FACE ON/EYE AUTO allows the camera to automatically choose which eye to focus on when a face is detected.
- FACE ON/RIGHT EYE PRIORITY focuses preferentially on the right eye of subjects.
- FACE ON/LEFT EYE PRIORITY targets the left eye of subjects.
- OFF turns both Intelligent Face Detection and eye priority off.
AF mode
You can adjust which part of the frame the camera attempts to focus on by changing the focus mode from SINGLE POINT to AREA.
- Swipe left to right on the rear LCD and navigate to the AF/MF SETTING menu using the secondary display screen, then select AF MODE.
- Press on AREA, then half-press the shutter release to exit the menu.
- You can now tap on the LCD screen to pick between nine different focus points.
X half focusing settings for beginners
If you would like the camera to handle focusing for you, set the focus mode to AF-C, set the face/eye detection setting to FACE ON/EYE AUTO and set the AF mode to AREA. With these settings, you can tap on an area of the image and the camera will automatically focus there when you half-press the shutter button. If you’re making a photo of a person, the camera will autofocus on their face.
Recording video
The X half can record videos in portrait format, making it ideal for creating social media content.
Change from stills mode to movie mode by pushing the STILL/MOVIE switch on the rear of the camera to the right-hand position.
The camera’s control system remains the same while in movie mode – you can swipe up to access the quick menu, left to right for the settings menu and right to left to change between Film Simulations and filters.
When you swipe up, you’ll notice that the quick menu has changed slightly, adding new, video-specific features.
Slow motion
The X half has a number of slow-motion options, allowing you to record smooth footage of fast-moving subjects. Swipe up on the screen and select the second option down on the left. From there, you can choose between slow-motion settings of 200%, 150%, 120% or OFF.
Bit rate
The BIT RATE setting allows you to choose how your video is encoded. A higher bit rate means that more information is stored in the file, but this means the video will take up more storage. Swipe up on the screen and select the second option down on the right. From there, you can choose between bit rates of 10, 20 or 50Mbps.
File format
The FILE FORMAT setting lets you choose between recording MOV or MP4 videos. Both options work for most applications, but you might find certain pieces of software require you to record in a specific format.
In general, MOV will provide a larger, higher-quality file – better for when you’re planning to edit the files yourself. MP4 offers smaller files with better compatibility – ideal for instant sharing.
X half video settings for beginners
To get started recording video on the X half, here are some settings you can use. Swipe up to access the quick menu, then set the exposure mode to PROGRAM AE (AUTO) and the focus mode to AF-C.
Turn slow motion OFF, set the bit rate to 10Mbps and set the file format to MP4.
These settings will allow the camera to control exposure and focus so you can focus on framing up your videos, while resulting in a small, high-quality file that’s compatible with lots of software – making it easy to share.
2-in-1 mode
In 2-in-1 mode, the X half combines two images or movies into a single file.
- Create your first photo or video in the usual manner.
- Pull the frame advance lever. (The 2-in-1 guide will appear on the screen.)
- Create the second photo or video.
- The 2-in-1 image is saved. (The still images or movies are also saved separately.)
Please note:
When creating two still images, the size of the second image will be the same as that of the first image.
When combining a still image and a movie, the image size of the 2-in-1 image will be 1440×1080.
When combining two movies, the slow-motion movie setting and bit rate of the second movie will be the same as those of the first movie. The recording time will also be the same as the recording time of the first movie. Recording will continue until the recording time elapses.
Film Camera mode
The FUJIFILM X half features Film Camera mode, which reduces distractions for a back-to-basics analogue photography experience. Select a Film Simulation or filter and the length of your roll of film; until that’s finished, you may only compose using the optical viewfinder and the images will be ‘developed’ in the X half app.
With the camera set to STILL on the STILL/MOVIE mode switch:
- Select the desired Film Simulation or filter on the secondary display.
- Swipe down on the LCD monitor and tap FILM CAMERA MODE.
- Read the precaution and press OK.
- Set your preferred number of images, turn the date stamp on or off and select an exposure mode, then press START.
In Film Camera mode, the X half shows a unique analogue-inspired display. It shows the battery level, aperture setting, flash setting, number of frames used and preset number of pictures on the film roll. There are three controls on the rear, which allow you to:
- Switch between auto and manual focus. (AF MODE is automatically set to SINGLE POINT in Film Camera mode.)
- Turn the date stamp on and off.
- Change the approximate focus distance when in manual focus mode.
You will need to pull the frame advance lever after every photograph. Check the lever status indicator on the LCD to see if the camera is ready to make a photo. When OK is displayed, press the shutter release button to make the next picture. If the shutter release button is pressed without having pulled the frame advance lever, the status icon and indicator lamp will blink.
Once you’ve finished the roll of film, the camera will exit Film Camera mode and the pictures will be saved on your memory card. You can also exit Film Camera mode mid-roll by double-tapping the secondary display. (However, once you have exited, you cannot resume using the previous roll of film.
To view the images on your finished film roll, you need to download the X half smartphone app.
The X half App
The X half App expands the functionality of the FUJIFILM X half in a number of ways. It allows you to import photos from the camera to your phone via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, develop photos created in Film Camera mode and create 2-in-1 photos in-app.
You can also share images from your gallery directly to social media or print them using instax™ print apps, as well as use the Activity Record function to review your photographic activities.
You can download the X half app from the App Store here, and from Google Play here.
Pairing the X half to your smartphone
To pair your phone with the X half, swipe down on the rear LCD and press PAIRING. A QR code is displayed that will let you download the app when scanned. Download the app to your smart device and follow the instructions to complete pairing.
Developing photos from Film Camera mode
Once connected to the X half, you can transfer single, 2-in-1 and Film Camera mode images to your phone.
To develop images made in Film Camera mode, press TRANSFER FILM IMAGES on your phone, then select the film roll you want to see and press TRANSFER FILMS.
You will then see the images from your film roll appear on your phone screen. Afterwards, you can select the images on your phone to view additional information and share.
