−12%
EUR379,99 was EUR433,19
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo Black
Instax Wide Evo: this hybrid camera from Fujifilm can do more than you’d think
Fujifilm packs digital strengths into an analogue design with the Instax Wide Evo hybrid instant camera. One of the special features is the crank you rotate to print a photo.
With its integrated memory and wide-angle lens, the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo stands out among instant cameras. Fujifilm has packed various retro elements into a modern hybrid camera.
Design and possibilities: back to the future
At first glance, the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo doesn’t look like an instant camera. The design mimics an elegant analogue camera. Due to its size of a thick A6 book and a weight of almost 500 grammes, you’ll need plenty of space in your luggage. However, with the enclosed textile strap and the lens cap, it’s a great travel companion. It also prints photos twice as large as its little sister, the Instax Mini 99.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Thanks to the various buttons, levers and sliders, I love the way it feels. It’s fun to try out the countless functions. You have two side dials for different lens effects (such as colour gradient, vignette and light prism) and film modes (such as monochrome, sepia and magenta). You use the lens ring to further adjust the set effects.
You can choose an additional movie style from an oval button at the top – such as a date stamp or black film bars. Finally, to navigate through the internal memory and the menu, you can use a joystick and buttons.
Source: Michelle Brändle
If you want to shoot a subject in wide-angle mode, flip the wide-angle switch on the front. There’s a small mirror next to the lens for selfies. The camera automatically saves pictures taken in the internal memory or on the inserted microSD card. If you like a photo so much that you want to print it out, use the rewind crank. You just have turn it clockwise three times.
Source: Michelle Brändle
It takes a bit of getting used to all the different wheels, switches and buttons – you have to think about where to find what at first. However, it’s far more fun than a touchscreen could ever be. I’m happy to put up with the trial and error.
Specifications: the perfect balance of manual and automatic
An analogue viewfinder would’ve added to the retro feel, but Fujifilm uses the 3.5-inch LCD as a viewfinder. You use a joystick to navigate through photos and settings. Outside, however, you’ll notice it’s difficult to see the display in some levels of sunlight.
Source: Michelle Brändle
With the f/2.4 aperture of the lens, you can also shoot quite well in dark rooms because it lets in a lot of light. The camera automatically selects most of the settings for your snapshots to suit the scenario. For example, it regulates the sensitivity, which lies between ISO 100 and 1600. The shutter speed is also automatic between 1/4 – 1/8000 second. For close objects, it automatically activates macro mode, which usually works pretty well.
Source: Michelle Brändle
It also includes a flash – you can choose between automatic or manual. You can set the exposure compensation yourself between -2.0 EV and +2.0 EV using the dial too. This allows you to get a little more out of very dark or very bright scenarios.
The camera has an internal memory. The size isn’t visible, but there’s only room for about 45 pictures. That’s not much, so I’d recommend inserting an additional microSD card. This also makes sense, as you can’t easily load the internal memory on to the PC, more on this later.
Source: Michelle Brändle
A permanently installed Li-Ion battery provides the necessary power. Fujifilm hasn’t shared the size of it. The running time is stated as printing up to 100 images. I could just about capture my day trip without printing any images, but nothing more. Afterwards, I also had to be very patient when recharging it, since this takes over two hours.
The photos: creative results through trial and error
A huge advantage of the hybrid camera over classic instant cameras is the memory. I don’t have to hope that my result will be good, but can try my way through the many settings and modes. Only when I particularly like a photograph do I print it out.
The hybrid camera prints images at 318 dpi, which is very good. You can also choose whether the result is printed with neutral colours or a setting called «rich mode». This delivers somewhat gaudier results. The size of the photos is 6.2 × 10 centimetres. That’s twice as big as the regular Instax pictures from Fujifilm.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Printing using the rewind crank has something playful about it. By turning three times in a circle, you actually get the feeling that you’ve contributed something to the print instead of «just» pressing a button. I really like the results, especially those with the special effects. This is what a castle ruin in Pontresina would look like if it had been captured in the distant past.
Source: Michelle Brändle
The wide-angle mode is absolutely worth its weight in gold, especially when I want to capture a landscape. This also works surprisingly well with very dark subjects and night shots.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Additional apps: print, share and archive photos
What’s practical is that you can connect your Android smartphone or your iPhone to the camera using the Instax Wide Evo app. This gives you some additional options:
for one, you can use it to print smartphone photos via the instant camera. This way you don’t always have to carry the bulky Instax Wide Evo, or be annoyed by the full memory. Your phone’s photos also get a nice retro look thanks to the print.
Source: Michelle Brändle
The app also offers a remote shutter release – for group photos, for example. The app gives you a preview directly on your phone, but the quality of the final photo is far better than this preview suggests. Instead of the remote shutter release, you can also set a self-timer directly on the camera with either a two or ten second delay before the photo is taken.
The camera loads all printed images directly into this app – regardless of whether they’re phone images or Instax snapshots. You can then directly generate a social media post – including an iconic white frame around the picture, of course. A little less practical, you can only save printed images directly to the smartphone. If an image is only saved to the camera’s memory, it won’t be displayed in the app. This is quite annoying, because the pictures can’t be transferred to the PC via a USB-C cable either. So if I want to do that, using a microSD card is a must.
Source: Michelle Brändle
Nevertheless, Fujifilm offers a second app you can use to digitise pictures. It’s called Instax Up and serves as an archive of printed instant photos thanks to the scan function. You use the app on your phone to take a photo of a printed image. It then loads it into a folder. The results are pretty good, I used it to create the photo scans of the castle and Celerina shown above.
But, to be honest, it’s a bit cumbersome. Adding instant photos is often fiddly with the app. For example, it’s difficult to straighten images. If I want to do this with several pictures in one go, it feels like I’m at it forever.
In a nutshell
I love the old-school buttons and creative opportunities
The Instax Wide Evo hybrid instant camera combines analogue photography with practical digital functions such as an integrated memory and countless filters. This makes it really enjoyable to take pictures of my excursions in all sorts of different ways. The fact I can print the pictures afterwards and as often as I want is extremely practical. The feel that the manufacturer has created by including many buttons, dials and controls is rare these days and makes the camera all the more exciting.
The two additional apps are fun and provide options such as a remote shutter release and the creation of a digital archive. For me, the apps aren’t a must-have and are sometimes cumbersome. I’d rather have the option of downloading the images from the camera’s very small internal memory to a PC or smartphone instead of just being able to save the printed photos. Still, Fujifilm provides a remedy in the form of a slot for a microSD card. In general, the battery is small and just enough for a day trip.
All in all, the camera encourages creativity in a playful way, but also costs quite a lot of money. You’ll currently pay 350 francs or 380 euros for it on our shop. Then there are the expensive photo papers, of course. The Fujifilm Instax Wide 400 is currently available for 140 francs or 165 euros and offers the same image format at a much lower price. But, it has far fewer effects and no retro look.
Pro
- Many buttons, dials and controls
- Internal memory
- Various adjustable special effects
- Print photos as and when you like
- Space for a microSD card
Contra
- Very small internal memory and not transferrable to a PC
- Quite expensive, plus photo paper isn’t cheap
- Short battery life
Header image: Michelle Brändle
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In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.
