Which Instax camera should you buy?

Other Instax cameras and printers

Fujifilm is constantly refreshing its Instax series, adding new features such as parallax correction and faster USB-C charging, which is now available in almost all Instax cameras. In some cases, although the company has not stopped selling older models. Usually, we recommend sticking to the latest models, but sometimes you will find discounts on older models. Here are other other models worth considering.

Instax Pal, $80: Late last year, Fujipai introduced PAL, a mini digital camera, and you can also buy the Instax Mini Link 2 smartphone printer and a 10-pack of Instax Mini Film bundle. I haven’t tried PAL yet, but I have a hard time understanding who needs it. You can get many of the same features in Mini Evo, but maybe EVO is unlikely to live in the hands of a child? I will test this as soon as possible and will report it.

The Instax SQ 6 costs $150-$200: This is my head grabbing. As mentioned above, the SQ 6 is a better camera than the SQ 1 or SQ 40, and it seems to have collectively replaced the SQ 6. Anyway, Fujifilm no longer lists SQ 6 on its Instax website. However, if you like the square format, the SQ 6 is a great camera. It has other other manual features – especially I like the lightweight and darkened modes that can be used like exposure compensation, except for the SQ 40’s fully automatic mode. There are also some nice Extras like selfie timers that turn off schedules and are able to turn off the flash. There still seems to be a lot of new and old stocks out there, so if you can find it for $100-150 and you like this Square Film, I would say.

Instax Mini 11, $80-$120: This is covered above, but if you missed it, the Mini 11 is almost never worth buying. It’s only a few dollars cheaper than the new Mini 12 and lacks most of the features that make the Mini 12 such a good purchase. If you can find this for under $50, maybe it’s worth it, but otherwise avoiding the Mini 11.

$145 Instax Mini Link Printer: Fujifilm’s Instax Mini link was replaced by Mini Link 2, but the upgrade is small and honestly I can’t tell any difference in print quality. If you can find the original mini link for less than Link 2, keep going. Link 2 is sold for $100 most of the time, so if you can find a link for less, grab one. They are all great printers.

Instax 7s/8/9: These are older low-end Instax models. They all use a fixed 1/60 shutter speed, while the comparable-priced Mini 12 auto exposure can choose between 1/2 to 1/250 second shutter speeds, making it more flexible. Given that most of them are hard to find, give them a pass.