Hands on: Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo review: is this the stylish instant camera we’ve been waiting for?
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Two-minute review
this Fujifilm The Instax Wide Evo immediately stands out with its retro design and extra-wide body. if you are after best instant camera For hybrid photography (i.e. the ability to print film images shot directly on the camera or sent from your smartphone) and like shooting with wide format photos, then this does look like it’s for you.
Although not cheap, the Instax Wide Evo is an upgraded version of Fujifilm’s other Instax hybrid camera. Mini Evolaunching in 2021, offers most of the same great features, including an LCD display, 10 lenses and 10 cinematic effects for 100 different creative combinations, a microSD card slot, and a few new features .
The wider film print means this instant camera is a bit bigger, but it makes use of the extra space by adding more physical buttons so you can quickly change settings. This includes a dedicated wide-angle button, which you can use to switch to a more standard field of view (FoV) if you don’t want a cinematic look.
Speaking of which, you can also use the buttons on top of the camera to switch between six different film styles, one of which places black bars to give your photos an IMAX feel. There’s also a dial on the left side of the camera that cycles through 10 different lens effects, while another dial on the right side switches between 10 different film effects. My favorite, though, is the crank that allows you to manually print photos by winding them, which is a nice twist on the crank used to wind film back on the camera. best film camera.
It gets five stars for all the creative photo editing options it offers, but what about the image quality? I only got to try out the new Instax Evo Wide for an hour on launch day, so I didn’t test out that many settings. While I did print three photos, two of them were selfies (one unedited and the other cropped and enhanced before printing), which look soft and rich with high contrast using the monochrome film effect.
The Instax Evo Wide is by no means a replacement for your dedicated digital camera – if you prefer the ‘magic’ of a purely analog instant film camera, then this may not be for you either, as your images are always digital – but it is if you want to take advantage of Photography creative and trying a bigger field of view then this is the perfect extra kit.
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: price and availability
The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo launches on January 21, 2025, priced at $349.95 in the US and £319.99 in the UK. We don’t have Australian pricing yet, but based on these preliminary figures, it could cost around AU$560.
This makes The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo is one of the most expensive instant cameras in its class” says TechRadar’s camera editor Timothy Coleman. In fact, for comparison’s sake, the only Instax camera that can shoot wide-format instant film photos is Instax wide angle 400 This costs $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.99.
The Wide Evo costs almost as much as Fujifilm’s other Instax hybrid camera, the Fuji Instax Mini Evoretailing for US$199.99/£174.99/AU$299.99. Could the extra cost explain the better, larger features in the upgraded model? We’ll have to see once I’ve had a chance to weigh in on its performance.
The Evo Wide also offers optional accessories, including a leather case, which costs $49.95 in the US and £37.99 in the UK, but this may cost extra to ensure the LCD display is protected if it gets scratched, so you won’t be able to Take, let alone see, your photos).
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Specs
| Film type: | Fuji Instax wide format film |
| Print size: | 62mm x 99mm |
| Focus range: | f = 16 mm (35 mm equivalent) |
| aperture: | f 2.4 |
| shutter speed | Automatic switching, 1/4 to 1/8,000 seconds |
| strength: | Internal lithium-ion rechargeable |
| Charging time: | 2-3 hours |
| aspect: | 138.7mm x 125mm x 62.8mm (excluding protrusions) |
| weight: | 490g |
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Design
- Hybrid instant camera that can print directly or from a photo catalog stored on Micro SD
- Tons of dials and switches to choose from a variety of cinematic effects
- Includes mirror and selfie switch
When rumors about the Instax Wide Evo began circulating, it was rumored that it would be “considered the best-looking Instax camera ever,” which got a lot of attention from enthusiasts, including TechRadar’s senior news editor Mark Wilson. Indicates: Its back indicates “The Instax Wide Evo sounds like my dream instant camera“.
Considering the only alternative to the Instax wide format camera is the big and bulky Instax Wide 400, the Wide Evo’s textured, minimalist black design is definitely more eye-catching than the plastic, dull green finish of its larger sibling. (If you choose wide format, another option is the 2024 Lomo’Instant wide glass – A very attractive instant camera that we gave it 4.5 stars in our in-depth review. ) In fact, I don’t think many people would object to carrying the Wide Evo on their shoulders for the day.
The leather case you can buy with the Wide Evo makes this very easy and can be an important accessory – not only to protect it from scratches and scratches – but also to ensure it has a long lifespan, as far as Like LCD screens, they are prone to wear and tear over time. This isn’t great for a camera without a viewfinder. Of course, I can’t say yet that this will be a problem, but it’s worth considering.
The Evo Wide is very light (it weighs about half a kilogram), so it’s very portable, but don’t expect to be able to fit the Wide Evo into any pocket. As you’d expect since it requires wide-format instant printing, it’s larger in size.
The shutter button is quite different from the Mini Evo, which has a standard button on the top of the camera. Instead, the Wide Evo has a rocker switch (like the one you use to turn on a light) located on the front of the camera, next to the lens. I initially found this position and style troublesome, especially when taking selfies, as I couldn’t immediately activate the autofocus by pressing it halfway.
To be clear, this may just be because this is my first time using it and it could get easier, but I will say it’s not intuitive initially. This is not to say that all buttons are like this. For example, the rotating dial and crank for printing photos are a nice touch and easy to use.
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Performance
- With 100s of creative combinations, there’s plenty of room to try out different looks
- The widest Instax lens ever and wide-format photos give your subjects extra breathing room
The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo’s built-in film and lens effects make it extremely easy to experiment with different styles. In fact, you can create 100 different creative combinations with these settings, which means there’s plenty of room to play.
In fact, there’s even an Instax Wide app that offers more editing options, as well as a “Discover Feed” for sharing and viewing other creations. While I haven’t had a chance to properly test these effects yet, in my brief session with the new camera I did find that the effects cover a lot of different styles.
When it comes to overall image quality, I was most interested in testing how the film prints compared to images taken with an instant camera, since the images were first digitized on the Evo Wide. This is a big thing for me because I’m divided into analog and digital, which in my opinion loses a bit of the magic.
For context, I purchased my first Instax in 2014 and of course after discarding some useless photos I quickly realized how expensive this style of photography was which made me appreciate every photo I took are more picky. My boyfriend decided to buy me an Instax printer to solve this problem, but that was the first thing I lost my love for the style. I also found the image quality to be subpar.
Could hybrid instant cameras offer the perfect middle ground? Or is it just another printer? I’ll be sure to report back once I’ve had a chance to properly test the new Instax Wide Evo.
As far as wide-angle prints go, the larger size makes them feel more premium than the smaller rectangular formats that mimic smartphone pictures, and more closely resemble the classic square instant prints that were once more popular. The Wide Evo has a dedicated button on the front that turns off wide-angle, but I personally don’t use this button very often, but it’s a nice feature that reflects its hybrid capabilities.
Can it dethrone the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo as the best hybrid instant camera? It’s impossible for me to say this without testing it, but I’ll be sure to report back with more details once I receive a sample.
How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo
- One hour practical session at UK launch
- I tried various filters, two lenses and selfie mode
My time with the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo was very brief – just a one-hour session at the UK launch event in London. During this time, though, I had a great opportunity to get a feel for the camera; how it handles regular photos and selfies, as well as the various filters and film effects achieved through the physical controls on the camera.
