Fujifilm’s well-loved retro hybrid camera is back. The Instax Mini Evo 2 brings back the hybrid camera’s much-loved creative effects with an updated sensor, oversized touchscreen, and new four-second video mode.
Announced late on October 26, the Instax Mini Evo 2 is a hybrid camera – it houses a sensor for digital photos, but also uses a built-in printer to spit out instant film prints. Unlike a fully analog camera, the hybrid design allows the camera to only print out the best shots, avoiding wasted film.
But the real reason that the Evo 2 stands out from other hybrids like the LiPlay+ is the creative tools. The Evo 2 has ten film simulations and ten different lens effects, which combine for 100 creative possibilities. Those effects include double exposures, light leaks, lens blur, half-frame diptychs, and a new after-image mode that takes a second shot just after the first and overlays the two together.
The Instax Evo 2 still falls under the cheap compact camera category with a low-fi resolution – but the sensor is upgraded from the original’s 1/5 inch to 1/2.77 inches.
But not all of that sensor is going towards the image. A new oversized 4.5-inch touchscreen dominates the back of the camera. The Evo 2 feels like a smartphone and an analog camera had a baby – there’s a film mode dial and advance lever for printing photos, but the oversized touchscreen will feel immediately familiar to a smartphone interface.
The screen shows more than what the camera is going to capture, which Instax calls “Expanded View, offering a sort of photographer’s peripheral vision and indicating what’s in the frame with a white box.
The Evo 2 also has a new wide-angle mode among its 10 different lens effects, which uses more of that sensor space and offers a higher resolution. Under the standard mode, images are around 6.13MP, but in the wide-angle mode – if a microSD card is installed – resolution is up to 12.8MP.
Considering the Expanded View and wide-angle mode, it seems the standard photo mode isn’t going to be using all of that 1/2.77-inch sensor. Image quality does feel improved a bit over the original at a slightly higher resolution – but the Instax Mini Evo 2 still sits squarely in the low-fi cheap digital camera category.
Instax also introduced a new Immersive Movie feature with the Evo 2, which takes a four-second video before the shutter is pressed and adds an Instax frame animation. It's a great tool for behind-the-scenes videos, but unfortunately, it lowers the still photos' resolution from the standard mode 2860 x 2144 down to just 616 x 464 pixels.
Most cheap cameras don’t offer creative effects like double exposure and light leaks – making the Instax Evo 2 a tempting choice not just as a hybrid instant camera but as a general cheap retro compact camera for creators looking for more options than simply pointing and shooting. While the Evo 2 is fully auto, it still has exposure compensation, white balance adjustments, a macro mode, and the option to turn the flash off.
I had the chance to fully test the Evo 2 ahead of the launch, and it packs in everything that I loved about the original, but with an overhauled screen and slightly higher resolution. The Evo 2 is the camera for the low-fi trend that doesn’t skip out on creative modes – and also doubles as a portable photo printer.
The Instax Mini Evo 2 is expected to begin shipping at the end of November. The camera will cost about $289.95 / £229.99 / CA$379.99, which converts to about AU$413. That’s notably a little higher than the original Evo’s price, but still under options like the Instax Wide Evo.
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Read the full Instax Mini Evo 2 review, or take a look at the best hybrid digital instant cameras.
