Fujifilm X Half's mystery lever gets an explanation in latest leaks as release date for compact X100VI alternative approaches
There have been plenty of leaks leading up to the imminent launch of the Fujifilm X Half compact camera, divulging everything from the sensor size and lens specifications to the physical dimensions and the experimental new diptych feature that will seemingly be used to justify the vertical image sensor orientation.
Across all of these leaks, though, questions have remained about what looks like a film advance lever on the back of the Fujifilm X Half. According to a new leak from Fuji Rumors, though, it seems as though we now have an explanation for how the winder lever works.
Fujifilm X Half thumb winder function
According to the prolific leaker, the lever, or winder, on the back of the Fujifilm X Half will be directly tied to the aforementioned Diptych feature, but it may also work in tandem with the film-style shooting mode we previously reported on. Supposedly, when shooting images, users will be able to pull the thumb lever to display the images side-by-side in diptych mode. In the display-less analogue mode, the thumb lever can be pulled to take a new image, and in regular shooting mode, it can be used to view the previous image.
Except for using the lever to advance to the next image in analogue mode, these use cases seem to make sense, especially considering how important the dual-image diptych mode will apparently be for the X Half. Of course, these are merely leaks, so they should be taken with a grain of salt, but Fuji Rumors generally has a good track record for accuracy.
Judging by the previously leaked images of the X Half, the only other analogue controls on the new compact camera will be an exposure dial and the shutter button, so this seems to be a rather experimental camera from Fuji. It wouldn't be Fuji's first time experimenting with oddball controls, with the recent film simulation dial from the X-T50 (curr. $1,399 on Amazon) also making it to the X-M5, even after the somewhat mixed reception generated by the feature.
Current rumours predict that the Fujifilm X Half will launch on May 22, and Fujifilm has already teased the new compact camera a number of times ahead of the launch, most recently effectively confirming the aforementioned launch date.
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