Fujifilm South Africa has announced its latest entry-level Instax instant camera – the stylish Instax Mini 41. This is the follow-up to 2021’s Mini 40, an analogue camera with a classic look.
The new Mini 41 takes the retro feel of its predecessor and modernises it through a number of sleek stylistic touches. As a start, the Mini 41 incorporates black and dark-toned silver as the base colours, accented with a splash of orange. The lower part of the camera is finely textured for an easy grip, while a textured thumb grip at the back helps with keeping the Mini 41 stable during composition.
As an analogue instant camera, the Mini 41 prints a photo as soon as the shutter button is pressed, with the film developing in approx. 90 seconds. As with other cameras in the Mini line-up (printing 62 mm × 46 mm photos), the Mini 41 is highly portable, weighing only 433g with batteries and a pack of Instax Mini film loaded.
To make shooting easier and to help capture beautiful images, the Mini 41 incorporates both Automatic Light Adjustment and a Close-up Mode.
Firstly, the Automatic Light Adjustment function senses the level of ambient light when the shutter button is pressed to help optimise the shutter speed and flash output. Photos are optimally exposed to both the main subject and the background, ensuring the best prints for a variety of situations, including for bright outdoors, low-light indoors, close-ups and selfies.
Regarding the latter, the Mini 41 features a Close-up Mode that is activated by rotating the lens by one step. This prevents discrepancies between the viewfinder field and the actual printout area in close-ups. The Close-up Mode works best for images taken between 0.3m to 0.5m, while there is also a selfie mirror at the front of the lens to help compose the perfect picture.
The Mini 41 is powered by two AA-size alkaline batteries, which should provide enough charge to print ten packs of Instax Mini film. The camera comes with a hand-strap, while a camera case with shoulder strap is available as an optional accessory.
As always, users can scan their printed photos using the Instax UP! App on a smartphone. This allows high quality scans of photos, which can be edited, arranged and shared, complete with the prints’ iconic borders.
The sleek and stylish Instax Mini 41 will be available in South Africa from next week, and is set to retail for a suggested R2 249 incl. VAT.
