FUJIFILM's beloved instant photography format instax recently surpassed 100 million cameras and printers sold, all while eyeing its 30th anniversary. While perhaps just short of the brand recognition of iconic Polaroid, instax has the people's vote and the lion's share of sales and has expanded that popularity into a full-on ecosystem of films and formats, analog and hybrid cameras, smartphone printers and digital capture devices, and, coming soon, commercial photobooths and other event-oriented products.
With such a broad and expanded line it can be hard to find your way into it. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the FUJIFILM instax ecosystem, covering formats, films, cameras, and printers.
The Formats
There are three instax sizes, or formats, which are mutually incompatible and work more like branches of the system: instax mini, instax SQUARE, and instax WIDE. Notably, they all share one dimension: 62mm, or 2.44", along each one of the image's sides.
instax mini
The first and foundational instax format, instax mini remains the most popular—and best served—branch of the instax family. As the name suggests, it's the smallest format (consistently marketed as "credit-card sized"), with an image area of 62 x 46mm (2.44 x 1.81") and a total size of 86 x 54mm (3.38 x 2.12"). It's also the most affordable format, both in film and camera, of which it has the broadest selections of both. It also has the most retail availability. Given price, availability, and size, instax mini is the best entry point into the ecosystem, and format most associated with the quick, simple fun of instantly shareable analog photos.
instax SQUARE
Thanks to Polaroid, the square, 1:1 shape is perhaps the aspect ratio most associated with instant film photography and is the youngest of the three FUJIFILM instax format. Introduced nearly 20 years after the debut of the mini, instax SQUARE offers a substantially larger imagining area at 62 x 62mm (2.44 x 2.44") and total size of 86 x 72mm (3.38 x 2.83") without requiring the much larger WIDE camera bodies. Also evocative of Instagram, it's the format best suited for those who want more creative possibility without going too big in either equipment or price. It's also the format that's most currently under-served by FUJIFILM, with the least amount of camera options currently available, even as demand for the format remains high.
instax WIDE
The instax WIDE came just a year after the mini, spending a long time as the neglected format before returning with a vengeance in recent years. It earns its name with its horizontal 62 x 99mm (2.44 x 3.90") imaging area and 86 x 108mm (3.38 x 4.25") total size, and its dimensions make it an ideal format for groups, environmental portraits, landscapes, and other wide compositions. The cameras are bigger for sure, but the result is an image whose size lends itself to display as a standalone print.
The Films
There are two main instax film stocks, each available in all three sizes: color and monochrome. Both are positive film stocks that render at ISO 800 and take about 90 seconds to develop once exposed (temperature-dependent, with development gaining speed with warmer ambient temperatures).
The color film is a glossy, daylight-balanced film that emphasizes natural skin tones and vivid color. The monochrome film is the ecosystem's black & white film option, featuring a higher-contrast disposition.
In addition to the standard white border, each format comes with border variants available for the color film stocks that offer users the opportunity for additional fun and customization.
- instax mini: White, Monochrome, Black, Soft Lavender, Pink Lemonade, Pastel Galaxy, Soft Glitter, Photo Slide, Sprinkles, Contact Sheet, Mermaid Tail, Confetti, Shiny Star, Rainbow, Macaron, Hello Kitty, Spray Art, and Heart Sketch
- instax SQUARE: White, Monochrome, Black, Rainbow, Star Illumination, Sunset
- instax WIDE: White, Monochrome, Black, Brushed Metallics
The Cameras
While instax began as pure analog instant film photography, the ecosystem has since expanded to produce several hybrid options, alongside one digital only camera. Each camera is format-specific, meaning they only work with the size film for which they're designed. As a rule, the cameras tend to favor user-friendliness over maximal photographic control.
Most of the cameras fall into two buckets, analog and hybrids, with one notable exception. In the analog cameras, the camera exposes the instax film directly; the hybrid cameras capture the image digitally and then print the digital image to instax film.
instax mini
This is the format with the broadest selection of available cameras.
Analog mini Cameras
instax mini 13
The most current everyday instax mini camera, the instax mini 13 offers easy-to-use controls for the best in-the-moment experience. Exposure and flash are both automatic, with a new self-timer mechanism and a fixed-focus, 60mm f/12.7 lens. Pair the Close-Up Mode with the front-facing selfie mirror for selfies. The camera runs on 2x AA batteries and comes in five colorways: Candy Pink, Frost Blue, Clay White, Lagoon Green, and Dreamy Purple.
instax mini 12
The instax mini 12 previous iteration is still produced and sold, and aside from the design, has the same broad feature set as the mini 13, with the notable lack of a self-timer. The mini 12 comes in Blossom Pink, Lilac Purple, and Pastel Blue.
instax mini 41
If pastel-nebular chic isn't quite your style, the instax mini 41 offers the same basic imaging stack as the mini 12 with a sleek, black, textured camera body. Keep the spontaneity, gain the classic black camera look.
instax mini 99
If you're looking for the instax mini camera that doesn't just look serious, but offers more substantial control over the final result, look no further than the instax mini 99. The premium mini camera allows for selectable focus zones, five shooting modes including Auto Exposure, built-in flash control, LED color effect options, and more. A self-timer and a tripod mount mean this camera is just as well-suited to self-portraits as selfies. The mini 99 comes in both black and silver colorways.
Hybrid mini Cameras
instax mini EVO
Sharing design cues from the mini 41 and mini 99, the instax mini EVO combines a 5MP digital sensor with an internal instax mini printing mechanism for digital capture with analog results. The camera, which comes in three colorways—Black, Brown, and Gentle Rose—features ten lens effects and ten film effects totaling 100 unique combinations and has several retro design inflections to pair with its computational variety. The instax mini EVO also has Bluetooth connectivity to pair wirelessly with its companion app and print photos from your phone, save printed images to your phone, and use your phone as a remote shutter release. It's the experimental hybrid, encouraging users to play around with many effects for creative prints.
instax mini LiPlay
The instax mini LiPlay is the mini line's compact camera/printer hybrid, with emphasis on a sleek, modern design instead of the EVO's retro inclination. It trades the lens and film effects for a unique sound recording attachment function, which it achieves through a small QR code inserted in the printed image. Otherwise, the imaging tech is the same as the EVO, as is the Bluetooth connectivity. The instax mini LiPlay comes in Deep Bronze, Matcha Green, and Misty White colorways.
instax mini LiPlay+
The instax mini LiPlay+ redesigns the camera body, making it even sleeker, while adding a front-facing selfie camera, a layered photo mode for combining multiple images, and an improved rear LCD screen. It shares the same sensor and main lens as the other hybrids and the sound recording function of its predecessor. The instax mini LiPlay+ comes in Midnight Blue and Sand Beige colorways.
instax mini Evo Cinema
The most ambitious hybrid of the bunch, the instax mini EVO Cinema blends instant photography, video capture, and advanced connectivity into a Super 8-inspired camera that captures both stills and short, 15-second video clips, printing the latter as a QR code on the final image. The Gen Dial recreates the visual and audio character of different eras in history, from the 1930s to the 2020s. The camera pushes the boundaries of the instax images as much as the concept of a hybrid itself, and rewards users who delight in mixed-media experimentation.
instax SQUARE
While instax SQUARE cameras are still active and in production from FUJIFILM, at the time of this writing, both of the format's offerings are currently unavailable at B&H. There no current hybrid options available for the instax SQUARE format.
Analog SQUARE Cameras
instax SQUARE SQ1
The SQUARE equivalent of the entry-level instax mini line, the instax SQUARE SQ1 offers simple, automatic controls for an in-the-moment shooting experience. The fixed focus lens has a similar 65mm, f/12.6 focal length, and the camera comes with a selfie mirror and Close Up Mode. The instax SQUARE SQ1 comes in Chalk White, Terracotta Orange, and Glacier Blue colorways.
instax SQUARE SQ40
Again following in the mini's footsteps, the instax SQUARE SQ40 takes the SQ1's functionality and puts it into a conventionally handsome black body with a textured finish.
instax WIDE
After lying dormant for a decade, FUJIFILM finally updated both its analog and hybrid options for the instax WIDE format, both of which pair the format's large size with expanded functionality.
Analog WIDE Cameras
instax WIDE 400
The automatic analog format for the format, the instax WIDE 400 is ideal for group photos, landscapes, or just letting subjects breathe in their environment. It has two modes—Close Up and Landscape—for taking advantage of the format's breadth. The camera is designed not just for selfies but also for arranged group shots, featuring an adjustable timer and a camera angle adjustment accessory. The instax WIDE 400 comes in Black and Green colorways.
Hybrid WIDE Cameras
instax WIDE EVO
Like the mini EVO, the instax WIDE EVO leans into the retro styling for its hybrid option. The WIDE EVO ups the ante with a larger 16MP, 1/3"-type sensor for its digital imaging, and adding six film styles to the ten lens effects and ten film effects. The camera also boasts a wide-angle mode to fully take advantage of the format's width. The retro-inflected body design has the same grace notes here as well: print crank, shutter lever, and other manual dials. Bluetooth connectivity and a companion app offer the same camera-to-phone and phone-to-camera image swapping.
Digital-Only Camera
instax Pal
The instax PAL is the platform's biggest conceptual leap: a camera for an instant photography ecosystem that doesn't print film at all. Instead, it's meant to be the affordable imaging node that connects to both instanx hybrid cameras and instax printers of all formats. It has a similar 5MP sensor to the mini hybrids, an ultra-wide lens, and a built-in flash. Bluetooth connectivity pairs it with the companion app, allowing you to apply filters and crop for the format size in which you wish to print. The camera comes in five colorways: Milky White, Gem Black, Lavender Blue, Powder Pink, and Pistachio Green.
The instax PAL is currently unavailable at B&H, but still available on FUJIFILM’s website.
There is also a wide selection of third-party instax cameras available for all three formats, many of which offer more advanced features and photographic control of the medium.
The Printers
The instax printers outsource the photography and instead focus solely on the digital exposure of real instax film. What that means: any image you can view on your phone you can print to instax.
instax mini Printers
instax mini Link 3
The instax mini Link 3 takes the platform's most fun and accessible format and makes it even more fun and accessible. This compact, mobile printer connects to both iOS and Android smartphones via Bluetooth in the companion app and prints any image you can upload. Add text, frames, filters, and stickers to the images before printing, use the instax AiR Studio to add "in-the-moment" 3D augmented reality effects, or use the Click to Collage app to create six-image collages or social media-ready animations. The instax mini Link 3 comes in three colorways: Clay White, Rose Pink, or Sage Green.
instax mini Link+
For the arts and design crowd, the instax mini Link+ offers fine text and graphic reproduction, Pinterest integration, a multi-print function for fast, sequential printing, and a modern black body design. Adjust the look of the image with Natural and Rich modes. Screenshots, art prints, magazine layouts: the Link+'s Design Print mode captures detail with impressive sharpness. The Link+ also carries over the text, frames, filters, and stickers from the Link 3, as well as the AiR Studio and Click to Collage functionality.
instax SQUARE Printers
instax SQUARE Link
Given that FUJIFILM has no current hybrid options for the instax SQUARE format, the instax SQUARE Link is the only way to print a digital image in the format. Add text, frames, filters, and stickers to the images before printing, or get the AR effects through a QR code. The instax SQUARE Link, which comes in Ash White and Midnight Green colorways, also shares the mini Link+'s Natural and Rich modes.
instax WIDE Printers
instax Link WIDE
The instax Link WIDE shares the same feature set as the SQUARE Link, making it available for the larger print format. The instax WIDE format is the best for showcasing pictures made with more advanced digital cameras—or even film scans—and the Link Wide has direct compatibility with both Windows and MacOS to print from a laptop or desktop computer.
The instax Link WIDE is currently unavailable at B&H, but still active at the FUJIFILM website.
For more information about all the instax products, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out their detailed product pages. Check out B&H Explora for content about instant photography and more.
