Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Vs Instax Mini 11: What's The Difference?

Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 12 is the latest in the company’s phenomenally successful range of instant cameras. But, how does it differ from the well-established Instax Mini 11? Which model should you buy, and is it worth upgrading?

As an evolution of the previous Instax Mini 11 model, the Instax Mini 12 features an updated design available in a range of new colors. More importantly, it offers a few significant internal upgrades that could help you take better photos.

Here’s all the important info you need to understand the differences between the Instax Mini 12 and the Instax Mini11(Hint: the Instax Mini 12 is significantly better at shooting selfies and close-ups.)

At A Glance: New Design, New Features, Same Price

I’ll go into more detail below, but here are the main differences between the Instax Mini 12 and the Instax Mini 11 at a glance:

The new model brings

1. An updated, “inflatable-style” design in a range of new colors
2. An upgraded viewfinder, now with parallax correction (see below)
3. The built-in flash has been updated, offering more even illumination and variable power output for better-looking close-ups, but with slightly reduced range.
4. New physical controls operate with a twist of the lens barrel rather than push-buttons
5. Speedier printing
6. Selfie mode is renamed ‘close-up mode’ (but you can still take selfies! See below)

What’s unchanged

As an evolution of the Instax Mini 11, the new Instax Mini 12 retains the core features of the previous model. These include:

• Takes Instax Mini film, producing 86mm x 54mm prints that develop in around 90 seconds
• Fully automatic operation, no settings to adjust other than selecting close-up mode as required
• Roughly the same size and weight (although there are slight differences. See below)
• Built-in selfie mirror
• Two focus settings: Normal - 0.3m to infinity and close-up/selfie 0.3m to 0.5m
• Fixed ISO setting of 800 (determined by the film)
• Fixed 60mm f/12.7 lens
• Powered by 2x AA batteries

Now let’s take a deeper look at these changes and see how they affect the overall experience of using the cameras.

Updated design and new controls

The new Instax mini 12 has a somewhat curvier look than the Instax mini 11, featuring what Fujifilm calls an ‘inflatable’ look. However, the most important design change is the introduction of a new twistable barrel that’s used to extend the lens and turn on the camera. This replaces the Instax mini 11’s separate power button.

Twisting the barrel a second time will switch the Instax Mini 12 into close-up mode—also used for taking selfies. This is a change from the older model, where the mode is engaged by manually extending the lens into position by pulling it outward from the camera body.

Size and weight remain roughly the same, although the Instax mini 12 is 13g heavier at 306g and a little shorter, wider and thicker. However, these are all minor differences that will hardly be noticed in day-to-day use.

New Colors

Rather more noticeable is the new range of colors available to the Instax Mini 12, which currently comes in Lilac Purple, Clay White, Pastel Blue, Blossom Pink and Mint Green. Of these, only Lilac Purple is retained from the Instax mini 11 range which is also available in Sky Blue, Blush Pink, Charcoal Gray, Pastel Green and Ice White.

The lack of a Charcoal Gray or black model in the Instax Mini 12 may be an important factor to those wishing to use the Instax Mini 12 in a professional or serious context where Blossom Pink, for example, might not feel appropriate and the Clay White option is more likely to reveal any dirty marks that may accumulate over time.

Upgraded Viewfinder

One of the most important upgrades to the Instax Mini 12 is its new viewfinder with parallax correction. On both the Instax Mini 12 and the Instax Mini 11, the viewfinder is offset slightly from the lens. On the Instax Mini 11, this makes it hard to frame close-up subjects correctly as their position in the viewfinder doesn’t line up with what you get in the final photo.

The Instax Mini 12 gets around this problem by automatically adjusting the viewfinder whenever close-up mode is selected. This means you can be confident that what you see through the viewfinder will line up properly with your final print.

Redesigned Flash

This is the second big upgrade, and possibly the most important in that it will actually change the way some of your photos look. Unlike its predecessor, the Instax Mini 12 will automatically reduce the power of the flash when close-up mode is selected. This is to prevent the flash from overpowering the image at close range.

Furthermore, Fujifilm has adjusted the flash output to spread light more evenly across the image, resulting in a softer, more-flattering look. Where the flash output from the Instax Mini 11 is more concentrated in the center of the image, the Instax Mini 12 spreads some of the light out towards the edges using a new diffuser. This reduces the ‘brightness of the center of your image, making it more balanced against the background.

A side-effect of this change is that the maximum range of the flash is reduced to 2.2m on the Instax Mini 12, down from 2.7m on the Instax Mini 11. This means flash photos taken at longer distances may appear less bright on the newer camera.

Speedier Printing

The Instax Mini 12 delivers a print in around five seconds, whereas the Instax Mini 11 takes closer to 7 seconds. This doesn’t include the time taken for the picture to fully develop, which remains the same on both models, but it does mean the Instax Mini 12 is ready to take another picture sooner.

The Bottom Line

The New Instax Mini 12 is a worthy successor to the popular Instax Mini 11, but it’s probably not worth trading in your older model unless you take a lot of selfies/close-ups, and especially if you feel they may be coming out too bright. Another reason to upgrade would be if you find yourself struggling to get your close-up subjects framed accurately with the old-style viewfinder of the Instax Mini 11. Fans of the current charcoal gray version have a good reason to stick with the Mini 11, as the option is not currently available in the new model.

If you’re planning on buying your first Instax Mini it’s definitely worth going for the Mini 12 unless you really need maximum flash power at long distances or you find a really great deal on a Mini 11.

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