You Don’t Need Fujifilm’s Anticipated X-Half. Kodak’s $50 EKTAR H35 Is The Real Deal

“You Don’t Need Fujifilm’s Anticipated X-Half. Kodak’s $50 EKTAR H35 is the Real Deal”

Fujifilm needs you to dream large — or somewhat, dream slim. Their much-teased, not-yet-existent X-Half digicam idea has generated loads of buzz, pixelated renders, and speculative headlines. However whereas Fujifilm crafts taglines like “Half the Size, Twice the Story”, you possibly can already get the true half-frame expertise with Kodak’s EKTAR H35 — for about $50 on Amazon. That’s not a preorder. That’s not an idea. That’s a cart-you-can-check-out sort of deal. So, earlier than you line as much as purchase Fuji’s not-quite-there vertical shooter, let’s discuss a humble little plastic digicam that already does the job — with out the drama.

Kodak EKTAR H35 camera — Kodak EKTAR H35 digicam

Purchase the Kodak EKTAR H35 digicam on Amazon | B&H | Adorama

Within the article Twice the Story, None from the Digital camera: Fujifilm’s Missed Alternative with the X-Half Idea Video, we’re reminded that Fujifilm’s slick promotional movie gives “storytelling” however not an precise digicam. It’s cinematic, positive — filled with younger creatives bathed in golden-hour mild holding… effectively, nothing. The X-Half stays a promise, an thought wrapped in a life-style advert. Kodak, however, isn’t taken with TikTok montages or filmic poetry. Their EKTAR H35 is right here, it’s actual, and it’s taking photographs — twice as many, to be precise, because of its wonderful half-frame format. For each 36-exposure roll of 35mm movie, you get 72 pictures. Kodak’s slogan? “Half the Frame, Double the Fun.” A bit much less poetic — a bit extra trustworthy.

You Don’t Need Fujifilm’s Anticipated X-Half. Kodak’s $50 EKTAR H35 is the Real Deal — You Don’t Want Fujifilm’s Anticipated X-Half. Kodak’s $50 EKTAR H35 is the Actual Deal

Half the Body, Double the Enjoyable.

-Kodak

Whereas Fuji’s workforce is busy submitting mental property for digicam our bodies optimized for vertical content material, Kodak’s already providing you with the format — no patent lawyer required. In Fujifilm’s Vertical Imaginative and prescient: Unpacking the Patent Behind the Anticipated X-Half Digital camera and the Digital Rebirth of Provia, we dive deep into the corporate’s plan to digitally reimagine a vertical taking pictures expertise alongside a resurrection of basic movie shares like Provia. It’s an bold thought, positive. However whereas Fuji tinkers with digital nostalgia, Kodak leans into the true factor. Load movie. Shoot. Wait. Repeat. The EKTAR H35 doesn’t simulate a retro really feel — it is retro. Proper all the way down to the only AAA battery it takes to energy its built-in flash.

Purchase the Kodak EKTAR H35 digicam on Amazon | B&H | Adorama

Fujifilm’s daring branding spin is totally examined in Fujifilm’s Daring Wager: How the X-Half Goals to Reinvent Pictures for a New Era. That article highlights how the X-Half aspires to create a brand new visible language tailor-made for social media platforms. And you realize what? That is smart. However let’s not fake it is a reinvention of the wheel — it’s a smaller rectangle. Kodak figured it out a long time in the past. Half-frame cameras have lengthy existed as a manner to save cash, shoot extra, and carry much less. The EKTAR H35 revives that idea in its purest type: small, inexpensive, and simply enjoyable. For college students, vacationers, nostalgic hobbyists, and sure — even influencers — this digicam makes a case for slowing down. It asks you to consider every shot. Not since you’re calculating gigabytes, however as a result of movie prices cash and errors aren’t deletable.

When you’re a dreamer, a spec-chaser, or somebody with a “Concept Cameras” Pinterest board, the X-Half would possibly nonetheless excite you. And if — sometime — Fujifilm launches it at a semi-rational value, we’ll be first in line to check it. However for those who’re somebody who likes taking photographs now, and also you benefit from the tactile pleasure of loading movie, then Kodak’s EKTAR H35 is already ready for you. No buzzwords. No firmware updates. No existential debates about vertical storytelling. Only a half-frame digicam. Twice the pictures. All of the enjoyable