Redesigning the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema for them.

[Clark Nikolai]

So, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema is about to come out and there are showcases of it on YouTube by the usual influencers. What do you think about it? It appears to be for rich kids to play with and make their cool vertical videos for TikTok, etc. but how would you design it differently to make "real" art with?

In redesigning it, I would keep the same shape as it's good. I would have it record in square format in ProRes. Have the ability to add one's own film effects, such as to use OFX plugins like Dehancer and others (if this is possible in real-time) and put them on the dial. Remove the printer to make the whole thing smaller.

For me, it's part gimmick and part useful. I can see how in fifteen years, long after it's been discontinued, it being a thing for artists to make art with (much like the Fisher Price Pxlvision camera is now).

[Andrew - EOSHD]

Absolutely love the form factor, hate the image quality. If they'd do an X-mount Bolex with 1" sensor, we could put some proper Bolex 16mm glass on it.

Actually the Evo is a fun toy. And for 350 euros, it's never going to be an XF camera in terms of optics or the sensor, is it?

But the concept itself deserves so much more.

The eras dial, the loupe on the little screen, the grip and shape, the looks, I love everything about it.

But the digital images that come out of it really very bad... ProCCD on a smartphone is much better at replicating the analogue look or y2k digicams.

Also the 15 second limit on video clips sucks... It would have been nice to have an option to turn that off. It's there for the Fuji cloud storage feature, for quick uploads, quick downloads with the printed QR code, and there to prevent Fuji needing to spend more than 10 dollars on their server!

I really, really, hope they do an enthusiast level version of the concept, even if that means it has to be without the Instax printer built in.

Also EVERY camera manufacturer should be trying new form factors.

There's such a lack of variety.

The Bolex form factor is wonderful and there are others that should be making a come back as well. From the MiniDV era there's the Sony PCe1 handycam, there's the Canon Tx digicam which was like a tiny aluminium Bolex, just beautiful, and of course there's the Digital Bolex form factor and that Kodak sensor... These are the cameras I'd like to see modern versions of, and in the case of the Digital Bolex, maybe not so modern but we have to be realistic about CCD... it ain't coming back to a Canon or Sony!

There's also a massive gap in the market for a Micro Four Thirds or Super 16mm size sensor Handycam with a proper camcorder lens that can crash zoom and take fisheye adapters, yet remain as small as a MiniDV cam from the early 00s.

These lenses had very small sensors behind them... but if someone would even slightly upgrade the lens and sensor size whilst keeping the same zoom and autofocus characteristics we had in the MiniDV era, including the variable speed zoom rocker switch, it'd be a winning combo with the modern image processing we have now and RAW codecs.

Perhaps Nikon can be brave and try something?

There's a 'video' lens for the Fuji X mount camera, but it's really very large and bulky by MiniDV or Handycam standards. So I wouldn't mind a smaller sensor than APS-C if it gave us a modern 4K RAW shooting "Sony Handycam" the same size as we had in 2003.