Your friends might still call them Polaroids, but most of the instant photos taken by millennials and Gen Z are made with Fujifilm gear, including its most popular Mini format. The low cost of entry, ease of use, and instantly shareable physical photos have made this format the populist choice. The Instax Mini 11 ($69.95), Fuji's latest entry-level offering, finally brings fully automatic exposure and improved selfie capability, without losing the charm of the previous model, the Mini 9, which makes it our new Editors' Choice.

Choose your color

Fujifilm sells the Mini 11 in a virtual palette of finishes. We received the Ice White version, but you can opt for Blush Pink, Charcoal Gray, Lilac Purple or Sky Blue if you prefer.

It's a plastic device, as you'd expect at this price, with rounded surfaces all around – no sharp edges here. This is great for kids and teens, who are sure to have fun snapping a photo and seeing the print develop right before their eyes, and even for students who use instant photos to capture photos. memories they don't want to see disappear into the clouds.

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It measures 4.8 x 4.2 x 2.7 inches (HWD) and weighs about 10.3 ounces. The device is powered by two AA batteries, and it will be nothing but a fashion accessory without a loaded pack of Instax Mini film. You can get it in color or black and white, and you'll have to remember to buy some with the camera as neither is included.

The design is as basic as possible. Film packs load from the back, and the number of photos remaining (out of 10 total) is shown in a cut-out window. A fixed optical viewfinder is there to frame the shots, and the shutter button is the only control. The previous model, the Mini 9, had you set the exposure manually, but here it's all automatic.

The camera turns on when the lens extends – a push button next to it does the trick. You'll need to pull it out a bit further to focus for selfies, as well as other close-up shots. A mirror located on the ring bordering the lens will help you frame. When you're ready, simply snap the lens back on to turn off the camera.

To take a picture, just press the shutter. The flash fires and your photo pops out the top. At first it will be all white, but an image will appear within minutes. It's more natural to hold the camera in portrait orientation than landscape, so you'll take more photos tall than wide.

Fujifilm provides a pair of rubber shutters with the camera. You can try them out and see if they make the device more comfortable to use – they are definitely softer to the touch. Personally, I didn't find them very useful, but your opinion may vary.

There's no tripod socket, but there's also no long exposure mode, and the Mini 11 can be stood upright on a flat surface. You can upgrade to the Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic or the Lomo'Instant Automat if you want the option of using a tripod.

Flash required

The lens covers a moderate wide angle, similar to that of a 35mm prime lens on a full-frame camera. It's not very bright though – the Instax Mini film is large, with an image area of ​​1.8 x 2.4 inches, and to keep it small and affordable, the optics are limited to a meager f aperture. /12.7.

That means you'll need the flash for any type of indoor or dim light shooting. It does a good job in most cases, but I did notice some overexposure in difficult situations, like when trying to get a close-up shot of a white cat in a fairly dark room. You end up with a slightly overexposed cat. Nevertheless, for an instant camera, it works quite well.

You will more often get overexposed images when working in very bright conditions, such as sunny days. As the lenses of Instax cameras do not capture a lot of light, the film is very sensitive (ISO 800). Expect to see shallow colors when things get very bright, and if you catch the sun in a photo it will usually show up as a black dot.

As for the image quality, it is as good as you would expect from this format. The Mini 11 uses the same lens as many other Fujifilm cameras. It has glass elements, and the shots are quite successful.

Smaller images can fit in a wallet, so they don't have as much impact as Instax Wide, Instax Square, or Polaroid I-Type, all of which are physically larger. You'll spend more on these, but they're worth investigating if you're beyond basic photography. To learn more about the different film formats, check out our getting started guide to instant photography.

The Basic Instax

Whether you're looking for an instant camera for yourself, to initiate a budding Diane Arbus, or as a gift for a friend, it's hard to go wrong with the Instax Mini 11. It's inexpensive, works with the same AA batteries you already have at home and offers one-button operation.

Instax Mini film is easy to find commercially, relatively affordable to buy (about $6 a pack, depending on how many you buy at a time), and you can be artistic and get it in black and white if desired.

Considering its price and one-touch operation, we named the Mini 11 our Editors' Choice for buyers looking for a basic instant camera. You'll have to buy film to get started, but the price is unbeatable. You can still find the Mini 9 at retail for a few bucks less, but most people will be happier with the newer edition.

If you're looking for an instant camera with more advanced features, like multiple exposures in a single frame, long exposures for light painting or other artistic effects, or maybe a lens with a wider view, you've got it. the choice. We like the Mini 90 and the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass in Mini format.

For Instax Wide, check out the Lomo'Instant Wide, and for Instax Square, the Fujifilm SQ6 and Lomography's Lomo'Instant Square are worth a look. Finally, if you're a Polaroid fan, you can use its I-Type film in the Polaroid OneStep+.

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Conclusion of our review

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is fun, inexpensive and a selfie machine. This may interest you: Razer Blade 15 Advanced Edition review: Full test and review 2021. If you're looking for an instant camera and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is the one for you.