#Instax WIDE Evo Hybrid Instant Camera Brings adds modern conveniences to a retro experience

Just like turntables, instant cameras have become quite the trend in recent years. Seeing a photo you may or may not have perfectly taken printed out immediately brings a kind of joy that was lost with digital cameras, smartphones, and the social Web. Those joys don’t always last long, however, as the limitations of these analog media, though delightful, eventually become chains that drag people’s creativity.

Thankfully, you can have the best of both worlds, and Fujifilm is more than happy to prove it. By combining the flexibility of a digital camera and the immediacy of a smartphone printer, the Instax WIDE Evo offers the simple joys of an instant camera when you want it, but also provides filters and effects when you want them. Best of all, it still comes wrapped in a premium analog aesthetic that makes the modern instant camera still unmistakably retro in spirit.

Designer: Fujifilm

Although instant cameras already have their own visual flavor, sometimes that isn’t enough for the budding photographer or content creator. Filters and effects are all the rage these days, but such results are only possible with smartphones or digital cameras and only seen on social media. That’s the kind of variety and creativity that the Instax WIDE Evo tries to offer without complicating the experience with menus and apps.

You have, in practice, 10 lens effects and 10 film effects that can drastically change the way your photos look. Plus you get to choose the degree of the lens effect, opening the door to dozens of possible combinations. The best part is that you control these using analog dials and buttons that match the retro theme of the instant camera. For example, you twist the camera lens to change the degree of the effect, and you turn a dial to cycle through the different film effects.

The retro nostalgia doesn’t end there. Instead of a button, the shutter comes in the form of a lever that gives a satisfying click for every shot you take. And yes, you can still half-press the lever to lock the focus first. Want to take in more of the view? Switching to a wider angle doesn’t involve tapping on a screen (which you can’t do anyway) and instead requires pushing a manual switch. You even have to turn a crank to print a photo These analog controls perfectly match the black and gray motif of the camera, making it look like you squashed a DSLR into a square.

The Instax WIDE Evo definitely has plenty of other modern amenities to delight shutterbugs and creators, like a 3.5-inch LCD screen that lets you see the final result even before it gets printed. There’s also a Bluetooth connection with a paired smartphone to get the most out of the companion app, which lets you not only see what others have taken but even copy the combination of effects they used. And, of course, you get a printout as soon as you want, using Fujifilm’s special wide film format, allowing you to instantly share your masterpieces as many times as you need.