instax mini 12 camera, LILAC PURPLE

Product Information

VALHALLA, N.Y., March 2, 2023 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Imaging Division, announced today the introduction of its INSTAX MINI 12 Instant Camera (MINI 12). Following in the footsteps of the popular INSTAX MINI 11™ Instant Camera (MINI 11) launched in 2020, MINI 12 brings a new look and enhanced features for instant photographers, including parallax correction capabilities, automatic flash control, and a convenient multi-function twist lens.

The super bubbly INSTAX mini 12 is bursting with joy, creativity, and colour. Not only is this iconic instant camera available in five eye- poppingly pleasing tones – Pastel Blue, Mint Green, Blossom Pink, Lilac Purple and Clay White – it’s fully loaded with easy-to-use modes and controls. The Instax Mini 12 is primarily designed to be used in portrait format with the built-in flash at the top. Meanwhile, the new Parallax Correction feature aligns the camera’s viewfinder with the lens whilst using the Close-Up Mode, reducing object shifts and resulting in a more aligned photo than on the previous model. The camera now has auto flash exposure, but I should stress that the flash still fires for every single picture. The theory is that the power of the flash is adjusted depending on what the camera sees, within the 0.3m to 2.7m range.The off-center viewfinder can also make light flares an issue when shooting towards the sun. What might seem well-composed can actually have direct sunlight hitting the lens. Fujifilm have greatly improved the accuracy for close up subjects, though. Now when you select the Close-up mode, your main subject will be right Maybe more importantly for this target market, Fujifilm have also refreshed the design of the Mini 12, with a more inflated, iconic bubble shape and a wide array of colourways. Overall, while the new Mini 12 may not represent a giant leap forwards for Instax cameras, it is more accomplished and more fun to use than its predecessor, and is still a great choice as your first instant photography camera. Even so, if we had a choice, the flash would be on by default but with an option of deactivating it for the picture you are about to take.

The front grip is narrower, and there's now a ridged thumb grip on the rear for easier one-handed use. Beyond the lens barrel release, which also acts as a power on switch for the built-in flash, the only other button is the shutter release. With no need to manually adjust the exposure settings every time the lighting situation changes, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 has a much greater hit-rate when it comes to correctly judging a scene than the Mini 9, although the nature of Instax film means overblown highlights are still common. There's no way to disable the flash, no self timer, and no tripod thread on the bottom. This is about as simple as instant cameras get. A second, much smaller twisting action of the lens barrel then puts the lens into Close-up mode, which changes the close focus distance to 0.3-0.5m. Otherwise, the focus range is from 0.5m to infinity.Size-wise, the Instax Mini 12 fits in the hand comfortably enough. There's not a single right-angle on the curved plastic body, which has a smooth and slippy non-textured surface. Import photos from other INSTAX Apps (the INSTAX MINI LINK App or the INSTAX LINK WIDE App, for instance) into the INSTAX Up! App

This field of view is similar to that of the main camera on a smartphone – it’s a little closer to the ‘classic’ 35mm focal length – and in selfie mode at arm's length you can fit yourself and a couple of other people in the picture, with a small mirror next to the lens giving you a rough idea of what the camera sees.

Review Roundup

The printing time is fast. Instax estimates around five seconds which I found to be accurate, though photos do take a few minutes to fully develop. Those three key improvements alone are enough to elevate the Instax Mini 12 above its predecessor and cement Fujfilm's position as the go to choice for instant photography newcomers. The super bubbly INSTAX mini 12 is bursting with joy, creativity and colour. Not only is this iconic instant camera available in five eye-poppingly pleasing tones – Pastel Blue, Mint Green, Blossom Pink, Lilac Purple and Clay White – it’s fully loaded with easy-to-use modes and controls.

Designed to offer a purely point-and-shoot experience that just delivers great results, the Mini12 introduces three new features to help achieve that aim - automatic flash control, close-up mode and a parallax correction feature. The previous Selfie mode on the Instax 11 has become the Close-up mode on the Instax 12 to better indicate what it can be used for, not just selfies but also any subject that's positioned between 0.3 m to 0.5 m away from the camera. There are a couple of design tweaks that make perfect sense. You now turn the camera on by rotating the lens, and the lens has two settings: on and close-up. It's more intuitive, and a far less clunky process than on the Instax Mini 11, where pressing a stiff button pops the lens out and turns the camera on, and pulling the lens out then engages close-up mode.Designed to keep up with life, the INSTAX mini 12 is ready to go with a simple twist of the lens. Twist again and you’re in Close-up mode, perfect for selfies. Combined with the perfectly positioned selfie mirror, automatic flash control and cheery mini prints, the mini 12 is a selfie moment-grabbing extraordinaire. I appreciated that this is a camera that's meant to be as simple as possible to use, but an option to deactivate the flash manually would be helpful for those times when you want to work with natural light only. I personally found I still had trouble centring close-ups and standard shots with the viewfinder, but then instant photography isn’t really about getting the most perfectly framed shots every time. Performance and image quality