If we weren’t so certain it’s the year 2022, we would’ve thought it may be the ‘80s. Not because of the resurgence of synthwave, but rather because of Fujifilm’s wondrous little Instax cameras, which have reawakened everyone’s love for holding something tangible in hand like a film picture.
Enter the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo portable camera. It takes everything we love about the Instax range, crams it into a retro body and adds some non-retro features.
Best of both formats
The only thing we’ll fault the traditional Instax cameras on is their inability to preview a picture before it prints. Which is definitely part of the charm, we agree. But sometimes a picture looks miff and you’ve wasted a film on it. Those go for around R100 for a pack of 10 – which means you’ve discarded about R10 in printing a crappy picture.
With the Mini Evo, however, you’ll be able to store, share and print your images on the fly.
You’re spoilt for shooting options with ten integrated lens modes and a further 10 filter effect options. Connect the camera to the smartphone app via Bluetooth to transfer images captured to your mobile. There are also remote shooting options, a tiny selfie mirror to help with framing, plus a Micro-SD card slot ensuring there’s plenty of storage.
The Mini Evo doubles up as a printer allowing you to reproduce any photos from your camera roll. It feeds on Instax Mini Instant film which is capable of creating high-quality prints (600dpi).
Powered by a lithium-ion battery, it can take up to 100 shots on one charge and it’ll take 2-3 hours until it’s ready for the next ton. Going against its retro forebears, you’ll find a 3in LCD screen to select images, add frames, edit and print photos.
Instax Mini Evo verdict
For not much more than the base models, you can gain a plethora of digital features and a radical retro design with the Mini Evo. Of course, you’ll have to invest in copious amounts of film, which could bankrupt you eventually. But it’s a small price to pay for your picture collection that’ll live at the bottom of that one drawer.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo is now available from local retailers for R2,500.