Fujifilm instax mini 99

The instax mini 99 becomes the most advanced and creative analogue camera in Fujifilm’s series to date. It may inherit a great deal from the discontinued mini 90, but adds some genuinely new and innovative features, most notably the vignette and colour effects, applied by a physical iris and internal LEDs respectively. Couple them with some control over exposure and you have a camera that’s not only more fun than the basic models, but capable of handling a much broader range of conditions from light to dark. Sure, composition with the basic optical viewfinder is still a weakpoint on all of Fujifilm’s analogue instax cameras, but even third-party instant SLRs like those from NONS involve compromises. If you want accurate framing on an instant camera, you’ll need to dump your fully analogue fantasy in favour of a digital model. And while it may also lack full manual exposures, I felt there was still sufficient control to achieve pretty much any effect I wanted. Do keep an eye open for discounted mini 90’s which offer a similar degree of control, but overall the 99 becomes Fujifilm’s best analogue camera to date and well worth spending the extra over a basic mini 12. It’s very welcome for anyone who wants a practical upgrade in control and creativity while maintaining a fully analogue system.