Instax Mini 12 Review: The Best Instant Camera for Newbies

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Simple to use
• Fun and fresh design
• Competitive price tag
• Photos can be uploaded to smartphones

Cons

• Struggles with very bright and very dim lighting
• Too basic for photography enthusiasts

Our Verdict

The Instax Mini 12 is the ideal choice for anyone looking for a basic point-and-shoot instant camera. It’s super easy to use, produces lovely snaps, and won’t break the bank.

Price When Reviewed

$79.99

Best Prices Today: Instax Mini 12

$73.92

Fujifilm’s latest addition to the Instax family is the Instax Mini 12. The Mini cameras are some of the most popular models on the market, and for good reason. They come with funky designs and are simple to use as point-and-shoot cameras. 

Whilst this generation’s hardware hasn’t had a huge upgrade from the last model, Instax has introduced something on the software side that could change the game for lots of users. Here’s what I think of the Instax Mini 12 after taking it for a test drive.  

Design and build 

• Five colours available
• Toy-like design
• Twistable lens for power and close-up shots

For its spring launch, Instax has gone in hard on softer shades for the Mini 12. It comes in a choice of five colours: Pastel Blue, Blossom Pink, Lilac Purple, Clay White, and Mint Green. 

I tested the green version (one of my favourite colours), which has a fresh and unique feel. The plastic body has a matt finish that’s easy to clean if it gets any marks on it.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

It has a bubbly design, which gives it a more toy-like feel. This is great for younger users, but if you want something a bit more sophisticated, it’s worth looking at the Instax Mini 40.  

The curved shape makes it ergonomic, and at a weight of just 306g it is easy to hold and port around with you for spontaneous shots. Film packs are loaded at the back, which pops off easily – though you shouldn’t do this before using up your film, as otherwise it will ruin the images. 

Instax has completely dropped the power button altogether, which was present on the Mini 11. Instead you just twist the lens and away you go, making for a much cleaner design.

Like the Mini 11, it includes a zoom lens. Instax has changed the name from ‘selfie mode’ to ‘close up mode’, and you activate it by twisting the lens one notch further (rather than manually pulling it out). Selfies are quite easy to take with the included mirror on the front.

The camera is powered by two AA batteries (included in the box), and uses Instax Mini Film. Film isn’t included with the base camera, but some retailers offer bundles. The camera can fit in a pack of ten sheets in one round. Instax also throws in an optional hand strap which is easy to attach.  

There isn’t an option to recharge this camera – you’ll just need to replace the AA batteries when they run out of juice.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Features and image quality 

• Vintage-looking images
• Daylight gives the best shots
• Instax Up! app allows you to digitally upload prints

The Instax Mini 12 produces Polaroid-style images. They have a vintage feel to them, with muted colours. The camera has a constant-firing flash and auto-exposure, and like its predecessors it performs best in the daylight. The flash can’t be turned off, so if you’re shooting under very bright sunlight, colours can be a tad too bright.  

Indoors, things look much darker than real life. However, this is common for an instant camera. It can get some usable shots at night, providing that you’ve got some vivid artificial lighting in shot. If not, things can look pretty blurry.

There are no extra features or lenses included with the Instax Mini 12. If you want something more customisable then you could check out the Polaroid Now+. However, this camera produced much more inconsistent results than Fujifilm’s snapper.

Images take around 15 seconds to print, and 90 seconds to fully develop depending on the ambient conditions. There is an ‘O’ shaped viewfinder which can help you align a shot.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

The Mini film is around the size of a credit card and includes a section on the bottom for writing on. The prints are ideal for slipping in your wallet, scrapbooking or putting on a pin board.  

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The close-up mode is intended for selfies, or things that are 0.3 m to 0.5m away from the camera. Fujifilm has now introduced parallax correction on this mode, which means that whatever your subject is will be in the centre of the frame. On the previous model, it would end up being to the side, which made getting a shot more difficult. 

Fujifilm also launched the Instax Up! app alongside this new camera, which is available on iOS and Android. For the first time ever, users can scan their physical snaps, upload them to the app and do some basic colour corrections, crops, and remove some reflections.   

This app can be used for any Instax prints, including those in the Square and Wide formats – I tested this out and it worked successfully. Your uploads are then added to a digital collage in the app, but you can also share them to your socials or download them locally.

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

Price and availability 

The Instax Mini 12 costs $79.99/£79.99. This is a $10/£10 price hike from the previous generation when it first launched, though the Mini 11 has risen in price over time – so they basically cost the same now.  

You can buy it now from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H and Target in the US, and Amazon, Fujifilm, Argos and Boots in the UK.  

Once again, Instax has managed to produce one of the most affordable and user-friendly instant cameras on the market. There are other options from the likes of Polaroid and Kodak, but they aren’t as easy to use, and don’t produce as high-quality snaps as this. 

If you’d prefer to print photos on your smartphone, you can also check out our list of the best portable printers.  

Hannah Cowton / Foundry

You should also consider the cost of Instax Mini film, which will rack up over time. Single prints work out to around 98c/75p per print. In comparison, the Zink paper used by some rivals costs 50c/50p per sheet – but of course, this isn’t real film, and the quality therefore isn’t as good. You can buy Instax film in bulk, and often you get discounts for purchasing higher amounts.  

If you want larger sized prints, then you could consider the Instax Square SQ1. Alternatively, if you want a digital camera that can also print snaps, then check out our review of the Instax Mini Evo. 

Verdict 

The Instax Mini 12 is the best instant camera you can buy right now. It has only made minor changes from the previous generation, but all of them are positives – and there isn’t really a financial advantage to going for the Mini 11 over the Mini 12. 

It’s a great gadget for those who want small, vintage-looking prints with minimal effort required. It can struggle with both extremely bright and dark lighting conditions, but this is a minor gripe with what is overall a solid, funky and reasonably priced portable camera. Once again, Fujifilm has knocked it out of the park. 

Specs  

• 104 x 66.6 x 122mm 
• 306g (without batteries, strap, and film)
• Real image finder, 0.37x, with target spot 
• Retractable lens with 2 components 
• Programmed electronic shutter, 1/2 to 1/250 sec, slow synchro for low light 
• Automatic exposure control Lv 5.0 to 14.5 (ISO 800) 
• Constant firing flash with automatic light adjustment 
• 7 seconds or less recycle time 
• 0.3m and beyond shooting range (close-up mode for 0.3 to 0.5m) 
• 2 x AA-size 1.5V alkaline batteries 
• Hand strap 
• Requires Fujifilm Instax Mini Film 
• Film Size – 86 x 54mm 
• Picture Size – 62 x 46mm 
• 90 secs approx film developing time depending on ambient temperature