Last Updated on 01/11/2013 by Chris Gampat
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 was announced a while back and the company for sure said that it would be making its world-wide debut around CES 2013. They held true to their promise, and the new Instax is just as fun and awesome as the previous versions were.
We decided to have a little fun at CES after walking through the visual and audio assault that was LG’s booth, and so we played with the new Mini 8 a bit.
Tech Specs
Specs taken from the Fujifilm website.
Specifications
Instant Film | Fujifilm Instant Color Film “instax mini” |
---|---|
Picture size | 62 x 46mm |
Shooting range / Focusing range | 0.6m – ∞ |
Shutter | Shutter speed: 1/60 sec. |
Exposure control | Manual switching system (LED indicator in exposure meter) |
Flash | Constant firing flash (automatic light adjustment) Recycle time: 0.2 sec. to 6 sec. (when using new batteries), Effective flash range: 0.6m – 2.7 m |
Power Supply | Two LR6/AA-size 1.5V alkaline batteries Capacity: 10 film packs (based on our company research) |
Others | Exposure counter (number of unexposed films), film pack confirmation window |
Dimensions & Weight | 116mm x 118.3mm x 68.2mm / 307g (without batteries, strap and film pack) |
Ergonomics
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 is mostly devoid of controls. They are very much targeted at those that just want to point, shoot, and get their fun little print. The older cameras were really quite fun to use despite some really subpar optics.
Once again, the camera features the shutter release on the grip, a flash, and a collapsible lens.
To activate the camera, you’ll need to press this little button that seems like it would release the lens. Instead, it pops it out. Once you press it, you’re ready to shoot.
Former Instax cameras had their controls on the back. The new Instax places them right around the lens and easily marks them for the appropriate area. In practice, I like this control better.
The back of the little party snapper contains the viewfinder and the loading bay for your Instax Mini film. That’s all.
And up top is where you get your print out.
Build Quality
The camera is one of the best built toy cameras I’ve ever used. With that in mind, it still does have toy like aesthetics to it and it doesn’t feel like there is any lot of metal inside at all.
Autofocus
Autofocus? Ha! There is none.
Image Quality
I tried shooting some indoor shots with this camera and was actually very pleased with the image quality and how it balanced the ambient light with the flash output. It’s a camera I might even consider getting just for fun. All of my personal work is done on film, and this is no exception.
First Impressions
All I can say is fun, fun, fun! I loved the simplicity and the freedom that the instax cameras represented; and they were also incredibly fun to carry around at parties. The Instax Mini 8 should continue that tradition with better settings and better image quality. We’re going to be calling in a review unit for sure.
And I’m sure that no matter how hard I try, I will not be able to avoid duck lips.
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