When I laid eyes on the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay, it was love at first sight. This was a cool looking camera – and to this day, I still think it's one of the coolest looking cameras you can buy.
However, the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay was originally launched back in 2019 – although a refreshed version, in new colors, was launched last year. But the best instant cameras have come a long way in that time, so does this little looker still hold up today?
Yeah, I think it does. Certainly the newer instants give it a run for its money; the Instax Mini 99 has it licked for features, and the Instax Mini Evo is a more conventional-looking kind of cool.
But in terms of what it actually does, and the pictures – and sounds – it actually takes, the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay still packs a mighty punch.
Crucially, the image quality is pretty much identical to the newer digital instant camera hybrids (which have an image sensor and take digital images, unlike analog cameras like the Instax Mini 12).
In fact, the LiPlay has incrementally more resolution than the Evo, though at 5MP compared to 4.9MP this is more testament to the fact that the quality is similar than it is a claim to technical supremacy.
While the LiPlay's Frames function (essentially overlaying digital stickers on your shots) is more remedial than the Lens and Film modes in newer bodies, I never use any of these functions anyway as I feel they're a bit tacky.
Another party trick is that you can beam images from your phone and print them out as real Instax Mini prints. And this is something I use a lot, as I love giving friends a physical memento of selfies and snaps taken on my phone – or even making Instax prints of studio shots taken on my "proper camera"!
And there's one thing the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay does that no other Instax offers: sound recording. The camera has a microphone, so you can record a few seconds of audio and add a QR code to your prints so that the sound can be played back.
Why is this useful? Well, if you have a photo of a loved one in your wallet, you can look at the photo and hear them say "I love you" or "I miss you". Or you can share a holiday photo with a friend with an audio caption telling them where it was taken, or what you were doing.
In short, the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay is still a great little camera that offers cool looks as well as cool tricks – and it's one that I'm glad I have in my camera bag.
You might also like…
Wondering what type of instant film you need? Take a look at the different instant camera film sizes. And check out my Instax vs Polaroid guide to see how the two big brands differ!
