Instax Mini 99 is a multi-functional Instax device with manual control and fun effects: product review WIRED.jp

The new instax mini 99 from Fujifilm is a camera for people who love manual control and creative effects. It's not the sharpest camera I've tried (the Instax Mini Evo was sharper), but it's probably the most analogue camera that can do the most.

$200 (in Japan35,700 yen), which is much higher than the entry-level Instax camera. But it also comes with exposure and shutter controls, a wide range of color effects, and even the ability to recreate the kind of light leaks you get from shooting with a used camera that's sitting on your shelf at home collecting dust.

Manual control power

Fujifilm's instax series camera bodies, with the exception of the color and pop insert model, feature a retro-style design. The same goes for the Instax Mini 99. The Instax Mini 90 had a silver and black design, but the Instax Mini 99 was all black. However, other than the colour, it is quite similar to the previous model. Fujifilm has not officially announced that the instax mini 99 is a successor to the instax mini 90. However, the two models are so similar that it is hard to believe that the instax Mini 90 will continue to be offered in the future.

The instax mini 99 is equipped with the same 60mm plastic lens as the instax mini 90. The angle of view of this lens is approximately the same as a 35mm lens on a 35mm film camera (or the equivalent of an angle of view between 1x and 2x on the iPhone). The camera's F value is fixed at 12.7, so you'll need a flash when shooting outside in bright, sunny conditions. However, unlike many other Instax series cameras, the Instax Mini 99 allows you to turn off the flash when shooting in bright light.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Instax Mini 99, a first in the Instax series, is manual focus. However, it does not have the traditional manual focus function that allows you to focus precisely by turning the dial on the lens. Instead, the instax mini 99 has three focus zones: close (0.3-0.6m), mid-range (0.6-3m), and long distance (3m to infinity). This isn't as precise as traditional manual focus, but it gives you more control over focus than regular Instax cameras.

However, when using manual focus, I found it to be a bit inconsistent. The results were not as dramatic as expected. Given that the F value is 12.7, even if you can adjust the focus area, the depth of field is very wide. The instax mini 99 can produce bokeh (out-of-focus areas in an image), but only in very limited cases, such as when taking portraits. In this case, you still need to use the shortest focusing distance, and the subject's face will fill the frame anyway. However, the ability to adjust focus is an improvement over most Instax cameras, which have fixed focus. The instax mini 99's macro mode lets you do things like macro photography. Also, unlike some Instax cameras, the viewfinder has a parallax correction function, so the scene you see through the viewfinder and the captured image are very similar.