'It looks like a Super 8 but it’s a hybrid instant camera': the Fujifilm Instax mini Evo Cinema joins the party with a new 'Eras dial' and 'hundreds of effects'

A black Fujifilm Instax mini Evo Cinema hybrid instant camera — (Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Tom's Guide)

This morning, January 14, Fujifilm announced the latest addition to its lineup of hybrid instant cameras, the Fujifilm Instax mini Evo Cinema. The Instax mini Evo Cinema was first announced in Japan a week ago and it has now been officially been launched worldwide.

The Instax mini Evo Cinema joins the Instax mini Evo and the Instax Wide Evo to become just the third hybrid — and it's a weird one (in the best possible way). As is the nature of hybrid instant cameras, Fuji's latest lets users shoot photos and print directly from your smartphone, and unlike the other two, you can also record video clips up to 15 seconds long, choose a frame, and print on Instax film with a QR code that plays said video on a smartphone. Given this, it feels like a cross between the Instax Evo mini and the Instax mini LiPlay+ which lets you record audio clips in the form of QR codes.

Similar to the other two cameras in the Evo family, the Instax mini Evo Cinema gives users access to over 100 effect combinations via different dials on its body. A new addition is the Gen Dial, or the 'Eras Dial' which, in my opinion, sounds catchier. This dial basically lets you time travel from the 1930s to the 2020s, enabling you to apply era-appropriate film effects to your photos and videos.

"From the grainy, pale tones of the 1930s, to the vibrant colors of the 1980s, to the sharp, rich imagery of the 2020s, each era is designed to capture the look and feel of the imagery of that time," reads Fuji's press release. You can combine these effects with the Degree Control Dial to adjust color, contrast and noise level to create "up to 10 creative variations per era."

It hasn't gone unnoticed, and when I first heard of the Instax mini Evo Cinema, I immediately clocked that it looks like a Super 8 camera from years past — a design reminiscent of the Camp Snap CS-8. This is, of course, intentional, as Fuji hopes to offer "the best of both worlds" by blending the vintage look of 8mm video cameras with "the modern functionality of a hybrid image creation tool, integrating photo, video, and print in one unique package."

And it sure looks like a camera belonging to the mid-2020s era. It looks much more premium and well-built than the Camp Snap CS-8, as a quick reference point, and it features a 1.54-inch hi-res LCD monitor, an integrated selfie mirror as well as a self-timer, face recognition autofocus (something the previous Evos don't have), and more.

The Instax mini Evo Cinema dethrones the Instax Wide Evo as the most expensive Fujifilm instant camera yet, with a retail price of $409 / £329, so it's not for those on a tight budget. Also, I fear the Instax mini Evo Cinema walks on a tightrope by blurring the lines between instant prints, photos and video.

Does it make sense or is it just a gimmick? I spent some time with the Instax mini Evo Cinema at a hands-on event in London, U.K., so check out my first impressions!

The Fujifilm Instax mini Evo Cinema comes in black. Pre-orders are now open at B&H Photo in the U.S. and London Camera Exchange in the U.K. with stock expected in late January.

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Nikita is a Senior Writer on the Reviews team at Tom's Guide. She's a lifelong gaming and photography enthusiast, always on the lookout for the latest tech. Having worked as a Sub Editor and Writer for Canon EMEA, she has interviewed photographers from all over the world and working in different genres. When she’s not working, Nikita can usually be found sinking hours into RPGs on her PS5, flying a drone (she's a licensed drone pilot), at a concert, or watching F1. Her work has appeared in several publications including Motor Sport Magazine, NME, Marriott Bonvoy, The Independent, and Metro. You can follow her photography account on Instagram here.

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