The recent resurgence of film and instant cameras never really interested me until a few months ago. I loved shooting digital, mostly because I could keep going until I was satisfied, but that was until I discovered this gem of an instant camera.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo It gives me more than just a quick snap and print; it gives me a hybrid solution where I can take photos and then decide if I want to print them or not. For me, this is a step up from other Instax or Polaroid cameras.
Reason
For a recent wedding, I wanted to try something new outside of my traditional photography. I wanted to do something fun and different, while also surprising the bride and groom with something they could cherish until the proper wedding photos were edited and sent out.
After a lot of research, I decided to use a Polaroid style camera to get the beautiful aesthetic effect of film and have the opportunity to capture some interesting images on the spot, but the thing I was most worried about was the waste.
What if all the pictures I take and print out are trash right away? Polaroid film can be expensive, especially if you’re an avid photographer.
So I needed a solution and that’s when I discovered Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo.
Benefits
There are two main reasons why I decided to buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo, the first is the digital LCD screen on the back of the camera. This feature allows me to preview the image before taking it as well as review the photos afterwards to see what I have taken before deciding whether to print it or not.
That’s the second big benefit for me. With traditional instant film cameras, as soon as you take a photo, it’s printed, so even if your photos are trash, you’re still wasting a lot of film. With the Instax Mini Evo, you can delete the images you don’t like from the Micro SD card in the camera, then print the ones you do like.
You can print photos weeks later if you want, it doesn’t matter. Having a Micro SD card in your camera gives you a lot more flexibility, which is great! You can even print the same photo multiple times if you want, which means you can share copies with different family members for them to cherish.
Bluetooth
The Instax Mini Evo comes with Bluetooth, which means you can download the Mini Evo app on your phone and connect it to the camera. There are various functions available to you through the app, such as Direct Print, Remote Shooting, and Photo Transfer.
The Direct Print option is cool. With this option, I can send any image I want to the app. I can send an image I took with my phone or maybe an image I took with my main camera body, then I edit it and transfer it to my phone and print it using this feature. You can do some additional rough editing in the app if you want, like cropping, filters like Mono, Sepia and Auto or do some basic adjustments like Brightness, Contrast and Saturation.
The Remote Shutter option is not something I have used. You can have the live view screen and place the camera on a stable surface or tripod if you want and use this to take photos. I have heard that it can be quite slow, but at this point it is not a feature I care about.
Finally, we have the Transferred Images section. This has its benefits and drawbacks for me. For any images you have printed, you can send them from your camera to the Transferred Images section and then download them to your phone to share on social media. This is a great feature, but for me, I find it inconvenient that you can only transfer images from your camera that you have printed.
I would love to be able to easily transfer all the images to my phone so I can edit in Lightroom Mobile or another app, then send them back to Print directly. This would be great when on the go, like at a wedding or event.
MicroSD memory card
As I mentioned earlier, Instax Mini EVO It has a Micro SD card slot, and this allows me to download the images to my laptop, where I can do a little editing if I want. When I download the images, they have no frames, etc. and just appear normal.
The file size is around 2MB JPEG, so not the biggest by any means, but I wouldn’t expect them to be that big either. Having this flexibility is a nice touch and gives you the opportunity to provide different versions of the image.
Other features
The camera has a flash, although I used the camera in bright light so I didn’t test it. There is also the option to choose from 10 different lens effects and 10 different film effects, which you can combine. This gives you the potential to create 100 different photo styles to experiment with.
Another cool feature is the small selfie mirror on the front, which makes it easy to frame yourself and your loved ones in photos.
The latest version of the Instax Mini Evo is USB-C compatible, so it’s easy to charge and the battery life is pretty good, lasting about 100 shots, which is pretty much enough in my opinion.
What I like
- Fun factor: Using the Instax Mini Evo at events like weddings alongside your regular camera gear brings something different and creates excitement for the bride and groom as well as the guests. You can think outside the box a little more and bring something unique to your style.
- No waste: this is the main selling point for me. Being able to use a Micro SD card and not having to print immediately after each shot means you don’t have to go through film after film anymore. You can delete the bad shots and focus on the great ones!
- This camera is lightweight: the camera is nice and light, can easily fit into a camera bag and also has a handy strap for you to carry it with you.
- Rear LCD screen: great. While not the best resolution, you can review your images at any time and it’s easy to frame your subject before you shoot, and if you’re using different effects you’ll see them before you press the shutter button.
- App: works very well and connects quickly to your camera via Bluetooth. There are a lot of little options available to you, such as Direct Print and saving the transferred Photos to your phone, you can send them to anyone you want.
What I don’t like
- App: I like the app, but I really want to be able to transfer pictures from my camera that I haven’t printed yet to the app on the go at events. Right now you can only transfer pictures that you’ve printed, which is great, but it would be nice to be able to transfer them all.
Summary
There is a lot to love about Instax Mini EVO. I never thought I would be the one to buy one, but it brings something different to shooting weddings or other events. It’s something fun, authentic, and interesting.
I’m going on vacation to Las Vegas in November and I’m definitely bringing my camera to take some fun pictures.
For $199, it’s worth it if you want to do something different. It’s not a waste, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on film, and you can take as many pictures as you want and just delete the bad ones when you have time.
I think this camera is great and a must buy for anyone who loves this style of camera or wants to try something different.
