Analog instant cameras are incredibly fun, especially in our increasingly digital day and age. However, the toy-like design of many models don’t exactly inspire those who prefer more elegant aesthetics. A couple years back, the outfit released the Mini 40 to appeal to that particular crowd. This time around, they’re following it up with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 41.
Like other cameras in the Instax range, this is all about instant photography, allowing you to capture a scene and immediately get a physical reproduction in the form of Instax Mini photo prints. This one, however, gets a stylish design based on classic retro camera aesthetics, all while bringing a few interesting features to your instant photography arsenal.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 is an analog instant camera, which means the image is exposed directly to the instant film, with no digital processing or storage. That means, every shot you take matters, much like the classic Polaroids of old, since everything will get printed soon after you finish pressing the shutter. Because of this, there’s neither an LCD in the back or a memory card slot, making it feel like a true retro camera, especially when combined with its textured lower body, metal-like finish (the body’s unabashedly plastic, though), and overall vintage feel.
The big update for this camera is automatic exposure, which adjusts the shutter speed and flash output on the fly depending on the prevailing ambient light. This ensures perfectly balanced shots that provide optimal exposure for both the main subjects and backgrounds, whether you’re shooting in bright outdoor settings, low-light indoor environments, or selfies. As you can imagine, this will ensure optimal exposures for every shot you take, which can prove to be an even more valuable feature in an analog camera like this one.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 also has a new “close-up mode,” which adjusts the viewfinder’s field of view to match the actual photographic area in the print. Doing so ensures the subject is always at the center of the shot, which should make it a lot easier to frame subjects up close (they recommend using it for distances between 12 and 20 inches) even for more inexperienced photographers. This comes in especially handy during selfies when the user, who has no access to the viewfinder, also serves as the subject. To help selfie shooters get a decent idea of what the shot will look like, though, they did add a small selfie mirror beside the lens to help you compose the shot, which users will definitely appreciate. Activating the close-up mode is done by simply twisting the lens.
The camera uses Fujifilm’s own Instax Mini instant film, which produces physical prints measuring 62 x 46 mm, while running on two AA LR6 batteries, which a fresh pair giving it enough charge to go through up to 10 Instax Mini film packs. Alongside the camera, the outfit is also releasing an optional camera case sized to accommodate it, which comes with an accessory pocket for photo print storage and an adjustable shoulder strap.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 comes out April 17th. It will retail for £94.99 in the UK, although US pricing has not been confirmed.
