I will rag on every gadget that uses Micro-USB instead of USB-C - get with the times. There are a few small things I do not like about the Instax Mini Evo. There’s a cute animation of the photo rolling off the screen and “into” your print as it comes out of the film slot on top.
Pulling it back to print a photo is a mini triumph every time. And, of course, the glorious print lever - I can't gush about this thing enough. The features that do matter are all present: flash, selfie mirror, dual shutter buttons for portrait and landscape orientation (just like on the Mini 90), a built-in timer, ¾-inch tripod mount, 3-inch display (non-touchscreen unfortunately), the lens dial that switches between 10 effects with every rotation, a film dial that changes between 10 film effects, the cold shoe mount, and an effect reset button (that little silver button to the right of the cold shoe).
Remember: the instant film aesthetic is not tack sharpness, it's imperfection and slight fuzziness, and that's okay. They simply don't factor into the fun and joy of shooting with the Instax Mini Evo. And they don’t matter on the Instax Mini Evo. The glorious print lever - I can't gush about this thing enough. The lens has a 28mm equivalent focal length with an f/2.0 aperture with a focus range of 0.1 meters to infinity. In fact, the images are such low-resolution by today's standards (2,560 x 1,920) that Fujifilm doesn't even total its megapixels on its website (4.92 megapixels if you're wondering).
The Instax Mini Evo's built-in camera doesn't hold a candle to an iPhone 13 Pro or Galaxy S21 Ultra or Pixel 6 Pro. Like any digital instant camera, if you drill in on the image sensor specs, you're going to be disappointed. (I might have a small addiction there are worse vices.) Shooting with the Instax Mini Evo is, by far, a lot more fun than any Instax camera - I'm not exaggerating when I say I've tried them all and own many of them. The Instax Mini Evo’s camera has 4.92 megapixels. We only include products that have been independently selected by Input's editorial team. Input may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. The Instax Mini Evo is a beautiful homage to film cameras and one that nobody would be embarrassed to pull out at any event.
If there was ever an Instax Mini camera deserving of being called "pro," the Instax Mini Evo is it. The price makes more sense when you realize the Instax Mini Evo also prints photos onto Mini film from a smartphone, it's got a 3-inch display, there are a variety of really neat filters and effects controlled with the lens ring and dial, there's a cold shoe mount for accessories, and two shutter buttons. The Instax Mini Evo is a beautiful homage to film cameras.Īt $200, the Instax Mini Evo seems pricey for an Instax camera, especially when Fujifilm's Instax Mini 11 retails for $70 and the Instax Mini 40 I reviewed last year goes for $100. The silver and faux black leather design is heavily influenced by film cameras like Fujifilm’s Fujica Compact 35, as are the dials and the film advance lever on the rear that prints photos instead (an extremely satisfying function that is a showstopper). While the majority of Instax Mini cameras are usually bubble-shaped and toy-like, the Instax Mini Evo borrows from 35mm film heritage. Turns out dimensions that fit in wallets are a very important aspect to making Instax Mini prints so attractive (and giftable). And for good reason: Instax Mini film is the cheapest and the most shareable. In over two decades, Fujifilm has experimented with a variety of different Instax formats from wide to square (mini Polaroid knockoff), but the mini format has remained the most popular. The Instax Mini Evo is the culmination of 23 years worth of Instax instant cameras. I am not being hyperbolic when I say Fujifilm’s Instax Mini Evo is the greatest instant camera ever made.