Fujifilm South Africa is proud to announce the flagship camera in the Instax line-up - the Instax Mini Evo. The Mini Evo is a premium hybrid camera meant for those who’ve ever wished for an Instax that can do more.

And indeed, the Mini Evo can do so much more. It starts with its hybrid capabilities, seeing that the Mini Evo provides the ability to select and edit images before printing. It does so in a highly unique fashion through a range of versatile shooting effects, tied closely to film cameras of old. Ten lens effects (including Soft Focus and Light Leak) can be combined with ten film effects (including Vivid, Monochrome or Pale) for access to a 100 different shooting effects, ideal for photographers wanting to express unique emotions through their images.

Photographers can select the lens effect by twisting the lens dial or using the scroll wheel at the back for film effects. Once the perfect combination is found, the photo can be printed by pulling the print lever at the back, harking back to the film advance lever found on 35mm film cameras. Fujifilm has ensured greater print quality on the Evo, with the resolution of the exposures now double (638 x 318 dpi) compared to previous models.  

Old school look, new school functionality

Close attention has also been paid to the Mini Evo’s design, which, much like some of its functionality, also mimics that of film cameras. With its silver coating and black leatherette elements, the Mini Evo feels like a premium camera, stylised further through the functional placement of buttons, the print lever and dial. Photographers are able to use the 3” LCD monitor to frame their shots, with easy operation allowed both horizontally and vertically. Images taken with the camera can be saved to the onboard storage with space for 45 images, or on an optional MicroSD card. 

The camera body is rounded-off by a 28mm F2.0 lens, which allows focussing as close as 10cm, making it ideal for close-ups or even selfies. This while the onboard Lithium-ion battery can print 100 pictures from a full charge.

All this and a printer too

As the flagship, the Mini Evo offers another unique feature new to the Instax range - the ability to save printed pictures to a smartphone. Called “Transferred Images”, the function works via the dedicated app. It saves pictures printed with the Mini Evo to the photographer’s phone – complete with the Instax frame – ready for sharing to social networks. Interestingly, the app can also be used to remotely shoot pictures on the camera.

There’s one final trick up the Mini Evo’s sleeve, which will come as a blessing for photographers with a collection of photos stored on their smartphone. The app provides “Direct Print” to print images directly from smartphones, turning the Mini Evo into a portable printer. Much like the recent Instax Link Wide printer, the Mini Evo offers photographers the ability to print in Instax-Natural mode for the softer tones produced by Instax prints, or Instax-Rich for enhanced saturation and bolder colours.

Meant for photographers to “Show how you see the world”, the flagship Instax Mini Evo is expected to land in South Africa during January 2022, with the retail price to be announced closer to the date. [UPDATE: The Instax Mini Evo is available for R2 499 in stores or online]

There’s also a new Instax Mini-format film being launched called Stone Gray, which provides a grey frame accentuated with metallic silver for a unique look, retailing for an expected R169 for a pack of ten sheets.