The Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 might be the big news to come out of Minato City today, but Fujifilm has quietly reached an incredible milestone: Over 100-million Instax units have been sold since the instant camera brand’s inception in 1998. Just to clarify, that does include both cameras and printers, but still, that’s a mind-blowing figure, even for a company that makes some of the best instant cameras ever.
Fujifilm launched the Instax series in 1998. Meeting the 100 million milestone in 27 years means the company has averaged an impressive 3.7 million cameras a year. In comparison, CIPA said that nearly 8.5 million cameras were shipped in 2024 from participating companies, which includes key players like Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Sony, OM System, and Panasonic. An average of over 3.7 million cameras a year suggests that instant film is not only alive and well, but quite popular.
I mean, even if you don't know how instant cameras work or even how to use an instant camera, you cannot help but appreciate Fujifilm's tenacity in the challenging camera market. And to celebrate this epic milestone, Fujifilm has released an awesome graphic showcasing Instax’s history. Just take a look at the image (below).
It starts, of course, with the camera that started it all, 1998’s Instax Mini 10, and ends with today’s brand-new release, the extremely cool-looking Instax Mini 41. I’ve enjoyed looking through the brand’s history and spotting a few oddball cameras I’d completely forgotten about, like the Instax Mini 20 from the early 2000s.
Heck, have you ever seen a more Noughties-looking device? Fujifilm actually churned out a special edition of this camera for the 2002 FIFA World Cup (of which Fujifilm was an official sponsor). Then there’s the beautifully ridiculous Instax Mini Hello Kitty from 2014, which is shaped like Hello Kitty’s head. And of course, younger Instax fans will undoubtedly remember the Instax SQUARE SQ6, released in 2018, and the limited edition Taylor Swift variant, which now goes for well above the RRP on the used market.
Fujifilm says that Instax products are sold in over 100 countries, and if you’ve been keeping up on Fujifilm news, you’ll know that all this is par for the course for Instax. Digital Camera World recently reported Fujifilm Instax sales to exceed $1 billion and according to Kyodo News: “For the year through March 2024, sales reached a record of around 150 billion yen ($1 billion).”
It’s not surprising, then, that Fujifilm CEO, Teiichi Goto, called Instax a “goldmine” back in 2023. Here’s to the next 27 years and perhaps 200-million Instax sales Fujifilm!
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Want an instant camera with mod cons? Check out the best digital instant cameras. When it comes to recent Instax releases, take a look at this Fujifilm Instax Wide 400 review. And finally, here's everything you need to know about instant camera film sizes.
