If you mostly print photos from your phone, the new instax mini Evo 2 adds less than its $289.95 price suggests. Fujifilm announced the hybrid camera on October 26 and expects it in US stores at the end of November. The original mini Evo stays on Fujifilm’s US site at $234.95, so the new one costs $55 more.
What changes on the camera side
The back is now a 4.5-inch touchscreen. A new Expanded View shows more of the scene than the lens records. On screen, a frame guide marks the part that ends up on the print. There’s also a new video feature that keeps the four seconds before each shot as a short clip you can replay in the app.
Those clips need a microSD card, and none comes in the box. Fujifilm’s spec sheet says they can’t record to the internal memory, which holds only about 45 photos anyway. If the clips are why you want the Evo 2, add a card to the price.
The lens is f/2.0, and sensitivity runs up to ISO 1600. Two physical dials pick from 10 lens effects and 10 film effects.
Phone prints get half the dots
Fujifilm sells the Evo 2 on 600 dpi prints. Its spec sheet shows that figure applies to photos taken with the camera, which print at 635 by 318 dpi. Photos sent from the phone app print at 318 dpi both ways.
So a phone photo gets half as many dots along the long side of the print. That’s fine for a party snapshot. It’s a reason not to buy the Evo 2 mainly as a phone printer. The original Evo and the LiPlay both print from your phone too.
Our take
The extra $55 pays off only if you’ll shoot with the Evo 2, since its new features are all on the camera side. As a holiday gift, we’d hold off. Fujifilm only says it expects the camera at the end of November, which leaves little room if that date slips.
