Fujifilm instax mini Evo Gentle Rose

A charming, great-looking instant camera that arrives with a wealth of lens and filter options. The Instax Evo is the best hybrid camera Fujifilm has released and the added digital benefits will make it difficult to return to purely analogue options.

The mini EVO is a digital instant camera that successfully marries modern convenience with the vintage charm we desire from the INSTAX process. It’s not Fujifilm’s first instant camera to employ a digital sensor and screen to preview and adjust shots before then choosing if they’re worth printing, but it is their most fun to date. The key is the user interface with up to 100 filter and effect combinations that are adjusted with tactile dials before a twist of a lever satisfyingly prepares it for output. It also works as a wireless printer for your phone. On the downside, the actual digital images won’t match a modern smartphone and there’s an annoying restriction which only lets you wirelessly copy images to your phone which have already been printed, but you can at least access them directly from the SD card if desired. If you want the cheapest instant camera, stick with an analogue mini 11. If you want instant prints of the best quality photos, the sensible choice is to buy a wireless printer for your phone instead, and models like Fujifilm’s own mini LINK are cheaper than the EVO too. But instant cameras have rarely been about making the sensible choice. I was initially sceptical over the EVO’s digital predictability, but quickly won over by the effects and physical controls. It’s a lot of fun to use and I simply liked the images it produced, which is ultimately what a camera should be all about.