Fujifilm Bets Bigger Screen and Pre-Shutter Video Can Revive Instant Photography

Fujifilm Bets Bigger Screen and Pre-Shutter Video Can Revive Instant Photography

A Hybrid Camera Gets a Proper Touchscreen

Fujifilm has announced the Instax Mini Evo 2, the second generation of its hybrid instant camera line that pairs a digital sensor with a built-in Instax Mini printer. The headline change is the first touchscreen ever fitted to an Instax camera: a 4.5-inch panel that fills the entire back of the body and replaces the rear buttons of the original Mini Evo. Two control dials and the signature film-advance-style print lever survive, so users can pick from 10 lens effects and 10 film effects, combinable into 100 looks, either by touch or by dial.

Immersive Movie Captures the Seconds Before

The most talked-about addition is Immersive Movie mode. With a microSD card inserted, the camera continuously buffers and saves the roughly four seconds leading up to each shutter press, much like Live Photos on phones. The resulting clips are silent vertical MP4 files at 560 by 992 pixels and 24 frames per second, viewable on the screen or exported to a computer, though they cannot be printed.

Larger Sensor and a Wide-Angle Mode

Under the hood, the upgrades are substantial. The sensor grows from a 1/5-inch chip to a 1/2.77-inch CMOS unit with about 16.3 million effective pixels, roughly tripling the imaging area. Standard stills are saved at about 6.1 megapixels, while wide-angle shots stored to a memory card reach about 12.8 megapixels, with prints rendered at 600 dpi in a choice of instax-Rich or instax-Natural color modes. The lens is nominally a 21mm-equivalent f/2.0; its standard field of view is 33mm equivalent, widening to 23mm equivalent in wide-angle mode — wider than the original's 28mm — and face-detection autofocus joins a focus range of 10 centimeters to infinity, alongside macro mode and a selfie mirror.

Price, Date and Everyday Practicalities

Fujifilm says the camera will be available at the end of November 2026 at a suggested price of 289.95 dollars in the US and 269.99 euros in Europe, launching in black only. It measures 87.5 by 125.3 by 43.7 millimeters and weighs 330 grams, up from 285 grams. Internal memory holds around 45 photos, a microSD slot covers the rest, and Bluetooth plus Wi-Fi link to a companion app for remote shooting and printing phone photos. Charging is over USB-C, with about 90 prints per charge and a full recharge taking two to three hours.

Who This Camera Is Really For

The original Mini Evo, launched in late 2021, became one of Fujifilm's most popular Instax models by courting phone-native shooters who still crave physical prints. The sequel doubles down on that bet: a big screen for cropping and filtering before printing, plus motion clips for sharing online. Purists who loved the point-and-print simplicity may find the extra digital steps a burden rather than a bonus.

November Will Render the Verdict

Whether the touchscreen workflow feels fluid and whether silent four-second clips prove more than a novelty will decide if the sequel repeats its predecessor's success. With shipments starting in late November, the market will not have to wait long for an answer.