My Experiences:
For starters, this camera was loaned to me by a friend. She was given this camera by Fujifilm Malaysia, but this review and the opinions within are entirely my own. This isn’t going to be a deep-dive technical review. If you're looking for detailed specs and performance charts, there are plenty of other resources out there. Instead, this is a reflection on my experience using the camera during a short trip to Japan in April 2025. While the camera offers a wide range of features, some of which I didn’t explore fully, these are the things, both good and bad, that stood out during real-world use.
For the trip, I brought along two cameras: the Fuji and my Leica M6. It wasn’t a dedicated photo trip, just a relaxed holiday with my wife and her family. The Fuji felt like the fun, lightweight option, while the M6 was meant to be my “serious” camera. Surprisingly, I ended up using the Fuji more than I expected. Once I got used to its quirks and little mannerisms, it turned out to be a genuinely enjoyable camera to shoot with.
The camera performed well overall. I’ll get into specifics a bit later, but as a point-and-shoot, it was a fun little companion. I used it casually throughout the trip, snapping shots of the restaurants we visited, parks and cityscapes around Tokyo, and capturing a bit of the magic with my niece and nephew at Disneyland. It quickly became the perfect travel camera. Light, unobtrusive, and always hanging off my shoulder.
I found myself reaching for it often simply because it was easy, enjoyable, and didn’t take itself too seriously. As a professional photographer, I sometimes struggle to take photos “just for fun.” There’s often this pressure for everything to serve a greater purpose. Content for social media, part of a series, or something that fits neatly into the idea of capital-A “Art.” But this was different. These were just photos for the sake of remembering a good trip. The scenes, the moments, the mood.
On our final evening, I had two packs of film left and spent some time printing out photos for ourselves and for the kids. Choosing which images to print after the fact, rather than having them appear instantly like with traditional Polaroids or Instax, gave me a bit more freedom. I could focus on the moment while shooting, and revisit the experience later with fresh eyes. It also let me work the scenes a little more. A lower angle, a tighter shot, a slight composition change. Not having a print spat out immediately was actually something I appreciated.
So, with that bit of context out of the way, let’s get into the details.
Some Things I Liked and Disliked:
Likes:
Decently Portable
While it’s not the most elegant-looking camera, it’s slim and compact enough that I never felt weighed down by it. It fit comfortably into my Ona Bowery bag alongside the M6, and because I wasn’t lugging around extra film packs, space was never an issue. In the hand, it feels much more manageable than previous Instax Wide models. Noticeably less bulky, and far more practical for everyday use.
Room for Creativity
Although I didn’t spend much time using the camera’s built-in creative filters and effects, I appreciated how it encouraged a sense of play. With a dial on each side, one controlling effects, the other filters. It felt a bit like one of those children’s books where you flip different sections to create new, mismatched characters. It invited experimentation in a way that most modern cameras don't. Even without diving deep into the features, the setup made photography feel lighter, less rigid, and genuinely fun.
That Special Feeling
Despite being a little chunky, the camera had that all-important "shootability" factor that kept me reaching for it. It felt like a genuinely fun, easygoing point-and-shoot. Something I wanted to use for almost anything. Maybe it was just the excitement of a new camera, but even so, I can see it earning a permanent spot in my travel kit for casual, quick snapshots of friends, family, and the world along the way.
Fairly Handsome
Potentially divisive, but, I actually like the way it looks. And lets not pretend that this isn't an important factor, because it is. It leans heavily into a retro aesthetic, but there’s enough sharpness and clean lines to keep it feeling modern. It strikes a nice balance between nostalgic and contemporary, without trying too hard to be either.
Wide Mode Is Very Good
This ended up being a surprise favorite. Wide Mode felt like such a genuinely useful addition that I actually wish the switch for it had been placed a little more conveniently. I found myself toggling between standard and wide framing quite a lot, especially around Japan’s tighter interiors and narrow streets. It proved to be one of the most practical features on the camera. It was something that made a noticeable difference in day-to-day shooting.
Dislikes:
App Is Very Dumb
I’m not sure what they were thinking with the app. It feels half-baked at best. There’s a built-in Instagram-style feed showcasing other people’s images and “recipes” you can save, but most of it feels unnecessary, and not something I’d personally ever use. Worse still, you can only transfer images you’ve already printed, and if you’ve printed multiple copies of the same shot (say, a group photo for several people), it’ll transfer each copy individually. Once in the app, you have to manually save each image to your phone, which gets tedious quickly. It all feels like a missed opportunity. A companion app that could have been genuinely useful if it had been thought through properly. Maybe updates will fix it, but that shouldn’t be the standard: we shouldn't have to buy half-finished products and hope they get better later.
Not Very Ergonomic
While the camera looks slick, it’s not particularly comfortable to hold. The shutter button is an awkward little lever, and the square corners make it less than ideal to grip for extended periods. It’s fine for quick shots, but not something you'd want to carry in-hand all day.
Lack of Viewfinder
The biggest upgrade this camera could have used is a simple viewfinder. I found myself feeling a little awkward framing shots through the screen. Maybe that’s just the photographer in me being self-conscious, but it never quite felt natural. In bright, sunny conditions, it became even harder to see what I was doing. A basic optical viewfinder would have made a big difference, both in terms of usability and in giving the camera a bit more classic styling.
Lens Cap
The lens cap itself is actually quite nice. solid, felt-lined, and fits snugly over the lens. Unfortunately, photographers are notorious for losing these things. A built-in leash or even a flap-style design would have been a smart addition. Every time I took the cap off, I was a little paranoid it would disappear forever. A bit of extra peace of mind here would have gone a long way.
Unintuitive Design Language
It wasn’t until I sat down to write this that I discovered the function of two of the camera’s buttons and dials. One controls the “Film Style” (essentially another layer of creativity, adding film borders) and another, around the lens, adjusts the intensity of the film effects. Maybe it’s on me for not reading the manual, but the film style button is placed right on top and doesn’t look like it controls anything at all. I actually assumed it was a secondary shutter button for vertical shooting. Either way, it didn’t invite use. A dedicated button on the back, or even a small label, would have made a big difference. As for the dial on the lens, I think using it for something like exposure compensation would’ve been much more useful, especially since the camera’s metering can get a bit erratic in tricky lighting.
Print Lever Is Cool, but Gets Gimmicky
The print lever, styled like a classic film rewind knob, is a fun, retro-inspired touch. It’s satisfying for the first couple of prints, adding a bit of ceremony to the process. But once you start printing in batches, like when I ran off about 20 photos in one sitting, it quickly becomes more of a chore. It takes a few full cranks to roll each print out, and after a while, it feels less charming and more tedious. A quicker, half-crank action might have made it more practical without losing the charm.
All things considered, the camera strikes an interesting balance between clever ideas and a few frustrating missteps. It’s charming, fun, and surprisingly capable, but also weighed down by quirks that occasionally get in the way. Still, despite the imperfections, it offers a shooting experience that feels refreshingly different from the endless stream of clinical, digital tools. Which naturally leads to a bigger question: is this really film in any meaningful sense, and more importantly, does that even matter?
So, is it really film? Well, sort of.
It reminds me of electric cars that pump fake engine noise through the speakers, tofu substitutes made to taste like bacon, or jeans that come pre-weathered and worn. What you're buying here isn’t a traditional camera; it’s an object built to emulate a feeling, a look, a certain nostalgia. A friend of mine, who loaned me this camera, would shoot with it in a roundabout way: some how managing to transfer images through the app without ever printing them, just so she could have the frame and "film look" ready for posting online. And no doubt, many will use it in the same way. And, I asked myself, at that point, why not just use a template? Snap a photo with your phone, layer a filter, add a frame, and call it done.
I realised, in a way, the Instax is doing something similar itself: a filter, a frame, and a digital record on your device. So what’s the difference?
Personally, I believe it comes down to this: people still want the experience of shooting film (or at least the feeling of it) without the full commitment, financial or otherwise. And this camera does bridge that gap, at least in spirit. It’s the casual, snapshot aesthetic of film that this camera is chasing, and honestly delivers. For someone like me, coming from a traditional photography background, I didn’t feel much need for the light leaks, the double exposures, the borders, or the colorful filters. But for others, that playful experimentation is the whole point. A camera that gives you that kind of creative freedom, while still keeping things simple and approachable, will no doubt appeal to a lot of people, and that's kind of really cool.
I've always been of two minds about the influence of social media on photography. On one hand, it encourages a kind of surface-level, single-image culture. On the other, it’s inspired a whole generation to pick up cameras. To explore, to experiment, to create. For me, the Instax walks that line carefully. It’s not film in the traditional sense. It's something else. a modern reinterpretation, imperfect but undeniably fun. And like a fake-engine-noise EV, or a tofu burger, or a pair of pre-worn jeans, its worth isn’t in whether it’s "authentic." It’s in what you do with it, and the intentions you bring to it, that really matter.