Today, the folks at Fujifilm have given an existing Instax camera a rather fetching glow-up. My colleague, Gareth Bevan, called the Instax Mini 99 the “best-looking Instax camera,” and the newly released silver paint job has only increased the desirability of this already charming instant camera.
For a brand known for its wide range of pastel Instax Mini cameras, in hindsight, it was perhaps a little surprising that the Instax Mini 99 was only ever available in black. The new silver look retains a strip of black leatherette, while the top and bottom plates and power ring (situated around the lens) are all silver, as well as a few decorative accents. The result is a classy retro SLR aesthetic that will sit alongside Fujifilm’s coveted X-Series cameras perfectly.
What is the Instax Mini 99?
The Instax Mini 99 is Fujifilm’s flagship Instax Mini camera, ahead of the Instax Mini 12, Instax Mini 13, and Instax Mini 41. As such, the Instax Mini 99 has a rather packed featureset. You have two shutter buttons, strategically positioned for comfortable landscape- and portrait-orientation shooting. Three focusing modes for sharp subjects at long distances, medium distances, and close-ups. A Colour Effect Dial, allowing you to select between six different color effects, including Sepia, Light Leak, and Warm Tone.
A Manual Vignette Switch also narrows the aperture to force a retro vignette, but perhaps the most useful feature on the Mini 99 is Exposure Control, which is essentially an exposure compensation dial with five levels of brightness. The camera also comes with five shooting modes: Auto, Indoor, Sports, Double Exposure, and Bulb, so you can capture a range of subjects. And of course, there’s a self-timer for hands-free selfies and a built-in flash.
The Instax Mini 99 retails for £174.99 / $234.95 / AU$279, with the Silver edition available from July 29.
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