Review: Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema Camera

Fujifilm's latest Instax camera takes the retro dial and cranks it up to 11. The Instax Mini Evo Cinema is modeled after the 1965 Fujica Single-8 cine camera, and includes a Decades dial to let you time-travel through the history of film photography by turning it.

Last year's Mini Evo Plus Instax camera featured sound clips, which makes the video in the Evo Cinema feel inevitable in hindsight. But chasing the look of 1960s cine cameras? I did not see that coming. As with all Instax cameras, nothing here is going to produce the highest quality image, but that's not the point. The point is make Instax prints you can hold in your hand, and have fun doing it. On that score, the Mini Evo Cinema succeeds.

Video Star

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The Mini Evo Cinema is the largest Instax camera I've tested, with a tall thin design that I found tough to hold without using the included extra grip. As an aside, the extra grip screws into a 1/4-inch tripod mount, something you don't always find on Instax cameras. To hold the Evo Cinema, you wrap three fingers wrap around the base, while the pointer finger rests on the shutter button.

The front of the grip has a cover that hides away the USB-C charging port and microSD card slot. There is built-in memory, but I would strongly suggest using a microSD card, because it's difficult to fully extract your images from the built-in memory. You have to use the app to first download the image, but then it's hard to save them on your phone outside of the app. Just throw a tiny microSD card in there and you'll avoid all that hassle.

The images are tiny. The 5-MP, 1/5-inch sensor records photos at 1920 x 2560 pixels and videos at 600 x 800 pixels (though there is an option to record higher resolution using the 2020 high-quality mode, which bumps video to 1080 x 1440 pixels). The sensor shares the same specs as the Mini Evo Plus, and it seems safe to assume it is the same. That means it's good enough for Instax prints and social media, but won't look that great even at 4 x 6 inches.

The shutter button, which is bit more like a trigger in this design, will record for up to 15 seconds. You can use it two ways, either like a trigger, where it shoots as long as you hold it down (up to 15 seconds anyway), or push it once to start and once to stop. Yes, it is a bit awkward to try to take a selfie video with this design, but you can connect to the app and compose and shoot using that.

The lens is a 28-mm (35-mm equivalent) f/2.0 with autofocus and face recognition. Focusing is totally automated and center weighted, though the face recognition will override this when it detects a face.

Around the lens is a focus ring that doesn't focus, but rather adjusts how strong the effect is that you're applying. Above the lens is a light that can be a flash for photos or constant for video. Just to the side of that there's a selfie mirror that is, quite frankly not much help. You're better off using the app for selfies.

The rear of the camera has a small, low-resolution screen that you can use either with the optional eyepiece or just as a screen held at arms length. I preferred using the eyepiece because I have old eyes, but it works just as well either way.

The side of the camera has a power button, and two switches, one to move between still and video modes, and the other to turn off an on the frames and overlays (which vary by which “era” effect you're using). There's also a small dial that works as a print switch and a toggle to control the digital zoom.

Time Travel

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

Then there is the Eras dial, which allows you to select various decade-themed effect presets that cover every age of film from 1930 to 2020. This is where the Evo Cinema gets fun. The effects allow you shoot in the style of jerky black-and-white video from the 1930s or the Handycam-style footage of the 1990s, as well as many more. I was fond of the 1940s era effect, which adds that strangely faded color saturation that characterized film footage from that decade.

The Generations dial is gimmicky, sure, but it's more fun than the usual menu of random effects that most Instax cameras offer. When paired with the optional borders and overlays it really does mimic the eras pretty well. I really appreciate that the 2020s are effectively the era of ... nothing. No effects are applied. Seems about right so far.

You obviously can't print a video, but this is an Instax camera, and it does indeed print Instax mini prints. The film loads on the right side of the camera, and you can print directly from the camera memory (or microSD card if you're using it) or from your phone via the app. You can pause video during playback and print that image as well. When you do, the image will get a QR code that leads to a page on Fujifilm's website where you can watch the full video. The catch is that for all this to work you have to have your phone connected to the camera (to upload the video).

The Evo Cinema is not without its annoyances. For example, at the end of each video recording the camera asks if you want to keep the clip. Given the size of the clips (very small) and the storage available, I'd much prefer to just automatically save every clip and let me decide when and what to delete. Twice I shot a clip, forgot to hit Yes, and lost my recording.

The other bummer is that any effects or overlays are permanently part of the footage. You can't get the plain video back after the fact. Battery life is going to depend a lot on what you do with the Evo Cinema, but I found it all-around disappointing. I once drained it in just over an hour shooting about 50 images and 30 videos walking my dog around the neighborhood. I came home, charged it up (about 2.5 hours to full) and then completely drained it again just transferring that data to my phone.

The Instax Evo Cinema is undeniably fun and eye catching, but it's also the most expensive Instax camera yet. Whether it's worth it depends on why you want it. If you think it looks cool and you want to print some still images and maybe share the occasional video, the Evo Cinema is a fun way to do all that. But if you really want to shoot retro video, on a device that looks and feels like a cine camera from a bygone era, the cheaper, somewhat more capable, Camp Snap CS-8 might be a better buy. It has a larger sensor, fewer recording limitations, and also features some cool retro effects (albeit only five).