Fujifilm is no stranger to retro designs and dials – but the company’s newest camera adds a dial that feels ripped not from a vintage camera, but from science fiction. The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema is an 8mm-cine-inspired camera with a decade dial that allows the compact camera to replicate cameras from earlier eras.
Originally announced only in Japan, Fujifilm has now bestowed the strange camera on the rest of the world in a January 13 announcement. US and Canada shipping is slated to begin in early February 2026, and UK and Australia retailers list availability as early as January 28. Besides the unusual decade dial, it’s also the first Instax camera to shoot video.
I tried the new Evo Cinema, and I'm torn between the fun of the decade dial and its flaws, which include a high price, low resolution, and some bugs. I haven't had this much fun with a retro camera in a long time. But the price is higher than the original Evo, and the camera froze up on me a few times.
The camera’s name feels a bit oxymoron-ish. Instax is associated with affordable instant film cameras, while Cinema tends to delineate a high-end video camera (such as the Fujifilm Eterna). The Instax Mini Evo Cinema definitely skews towards the Instax side, with a small 5MP sensor and 600x800 pixel videos across most modes. There’s a high-quality mode that’s 1080 x 1440, but that’s exclusive to the Year 2020 mode (and even then is off by default and needs to be switched on in the settings).
The other key shortcoming is that the Evo Cinema is meant for short clips and can take video for only about 15 seconds. The short clips from the decade camera feel more like living photos than videos because of that brevity (although there is still sound). I understand that the Super 8 style camera isn’t meant for hours-long videos, but I feel like a 90-second limit similar to Instagram Reels would be more useful.
Like the original Instax Mini Evo, the Evo Cinema favors a retro shooting experience over megapixels. In an industry still very much engaged in the megapixel race, the Evo Cinema is a weirdo – but delightfully so. I couldn’t help but smile as I “time-traveled” back to the home VHS tapes of the Nineties to 8mm home cine films of the Sixties to the old color films of the Forties.
The camera industry tends to focus on final results over the actual shooting process. But the Evo Cinema is a reminder that photography and videography are supposed to be fun. The Evo Cinema prioritizes entertaining retro design over technical specifications.
Perhaps in keeping with the retro theme, I did come across a few annoying bugs. My screen would glitch on occasion, and halfway through testing, I lost sound and haven’t been able to get it back yet.
Serious creators may roll their eyes at the 5MP photos, the 15-second video recording time, and the tiny sensor. But retro compact cameras are trending in a big way – and I suspect the nostalgia factor will spark a lot of demand for this weird little camera.
As fun as the Evo Cinema was to use, my biggest wish is that I could also turn back time and go back to the camera prices of the 1990s or even the 2010s. The Evo Cinema will retail for $409.95 / £329 / AU$599 / CA$479, with pre-orders already open.
That’s nearly twice the cost of the Instax Mini Evo. A higher price point is expected with the video capabilities and decade dial, but that’s a fairly steep price for a camera with 5MP.
While I found the price disappointing, I haven’t had this much fun with a camera in a while – I suspect the retro charm may make the Evo Cinema a trendy option.
Read more on my experience with the decade camera in the Instax Mini Evo Cinema review.
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