The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema is unusual as far as cameras go – for starters, it has a “time travel” dial that recalls styles of past decades, and it’s an instant film camera that “prints” videos. But the retro camera’s design is unusual enough that the camera just earned a new title: A Time Magazine Best Inventions of 2026.
When I tried out the Evo Cinema earlier this year, I called it the “strangest camera that I’ve ever used” based on the camera’s incredibly fun decade dial that calls up a specific video style from the past. That’s not the only unusual part, though – the Evo Cinema also feels like a modern, miniature remake of an old Super 8 video camera with its trigger-style recording.
The editorial staff at Time must have agreed. The Best Inventions awards are given out based on four key factors: originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact. The Evo Cinema’s originality is obvious in the unusual design, and creating a video camera built around the Instax still photo system also certainly feels ambitious.
Time writes that the Instax Mini Evo Cinema “offers oodles of analog charm in a digital-friendly package.”
While the Evo Cinema is a unique camera, it shares several features in common with other Instax digital hybrids, including a 5MP 1/5-inch sensor and a built-in printer that uses Instax Mini film. Last year, Time also gave a Best Invention title to the Instax Wide Evo.
The Instax Mini Evo Cinema wasn’t the only camera on TIME’s list of 300 inventions. The Nikon ZR also earned recognition for its compact design mixed with a full-frame sensor and RED color science. GoPro’s first mirrorless camera, the Mission 1 Pro ILS, also earned honors.
Along with those cameras, TIME's Invention of the Year also recognized gear like the HooverAir Aqua waterproof drone, Aura’s e-Ink digital picture frame, Honor’s gimbal-clad Robot Phone, and even a light meter, the Lit Duo 1.
It feels entirely appropriate that the time-traveling Instax Mini Evo Cinema has also earned a place in modern tech history as one of the Best Inventions of 2026.
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Take a look at the best hybrid digital instant cameras for more inspiration, or check out another camera made to look like an old Super 8, the Camp Snap CS-8.
