Fujifilm’s new Instax Mini Evo Cinema, a retro-designed instant camera and video printer, aims to evoke nostalgia with its vintage look and modern features, but may struggle to find its niche in a market dominated by smartphones and genuine vintage cameras. Picture supplied.
Image: Supplied
There are tech innovations that instantly hit the mark, that is to say, they fill a segment in the market, and then there are those that don’t.
As a self-confessed tech and camera addict, I’m always tempted when a new camera is announced and I try to find a way to fit it into my always-expanding equipment list.
That’s quite true when anything from DJI is announced, as I already own two drones, one camera, and one microphone set from the tech giant.
Apple is another weak spot for me, but let’s not get into that.
However, when a press release from Fujifilm found its way into my inbox, I was left scratching my head.
To be fair, it’s a nostalgia device that I’m simply not the target market for.
But this is what you get for R7,499.
It’s called the Instax Mini Evo Cinema.
Released last week and already available in South Africa, Fujifilm describes the camera as an instant camera, a smartphone printer, and now also a video camera – complete in one package.
The big problem for me though, is the design - it looks like a smaller handheld version of an industry video camera that could have been used almost a hundred years ago. According to Fujifilm, the design is “inspired by Fujifilm’s “FUJICA Single-8”, an 8mm camera introduced in 1965.”
It’s basically a long-thing camera body, that although it has a display screen to see your image or video, it attempts to sell itself on filters that instantly make your picture or footage look like it was shot in a forgotten era.
It’s impressive that it can do all that on the device, but the fact is that any modern smartphone can do that with a filter in a standard camera or social media app. That’s not even considering what you can do with footage in any decent video editing app.
I just don’t see where this camera fits in. For true nostalgists, they would probably prefer to use a genuine camera from the 1980s instead of this new offering.
I could be wrong, in which case this camera’s sales will do great things for Fujifilm. But I highly doubt it.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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