instax Mini 11 Camera Accessory Kit, Sky Blue

Product Information

Again as before, the camera can focus between about half a meter to infinity, but twist the lens into selfie / close-up mode and the range adjusts to between 30 and 50cm.

As for exposure, the Mini 12 remains fully automatic, like the 11 before it. Both employ a fixed aperture and automatic shutter speeds between 1/250 and half a second. Speaking of selfies, now giving the lens barrel an extra pull extends the lens ready for close-up shooting. It's a much simpler system than the Mini 9's easily forgotten clip-on attachment, though you have to grip the lens barrel awkwardly to close it up again, otherwise you end up turning the camera off completely. Overall the INSTAX Mini 12 becomes the best budget INSTAX to date, especially if you’re into selfies or portraits. The print quality may be essentially the same as previous models but by reducing the flash power and adjusting the viewfinder when set to close-up mode, the 12 minimises washed-out subjects and inaccurate framing.

Summary

Constant firing flash (automatic light adjustment), recycle time: 6.5 seconds or less (when using new batteries), effective flash range: 0.3 to 2.7 m Compare it to the previous Mini 11 seen here, where you’d push a large button to extend the lens and power up the camera, before then manually yanking out the lens further for selfies or close-ups. There's no way to manually disable the flash, which fires automatically with every shot – whether it's really needed or not.

As for the lens, it’s the same as before: 60mm which on the Mini format delivers coverage equivalent to around 34mm, capturing a mild wide angle, that’s ideal for general use from portraits and selfies to buildings and landscapes. To show it in action, I’ve filmed the view through the Mini 12’s viewfinder where you can see the old SQ1 camera positioned in the middle. This is with the lens set to the normal distance, but here’s the actual photo taken with this framing, where you can see the subject is off to one side. This is due to the parallax effect at close range where the viewfinder and lens are not showing the same thing. It's because the auto exposure system can now vary the shutter speed between 1/2 and 1/250, so it should be able to capture the right amount of light in all shooting scenarios. This is a big step up from the Mini 9's fixed 1/60 shutter speed, and helps massively when shooting indoors. It's an issue we've seen in other instant cameras, though, so it's more of a learning curve for the photographer than a failing of the camera. To frame your shot, you can either use the simple optical viewfinder when you’re behind the camera, or a small mirror to the left of the lens when you’re shooting selfies.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 improves on the previous generation Instax Mini in meaningful ways, making instant photography more accessible than ever with a largely accurate auto exposure system and an adjustable lens that works for close-ups and selfies as well as portraits and landscapes.