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Instant Cameras

instax mini 12 vs mini 99

Same film, same print, same 85 cents a shot. One of these cameras has two controls and the other has six. That is the entire decision.

By Selena H.Last checked How we pick

Buy the mini 12 unless the recipient will genuinely use manual controls. Both shoot instax mini film at about 85 cents a shot with the same 60 mm f/12.7 lens. The mini 99 adds a color-effect dial, vignette switch, double exposure, bulb mode and exposure compensation — at roughly twice the price.

Hands adjusting a dial on an instant camera

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#ProductBest forCost per shotPrice
1
Hands holding a small instant camera, framing a shotFujifilm instax mini 12Two controls, no decisions, and half the price for the same photograph.
Best for most buyers$0.85Check price
2
Hands holding a small instant camera, framing a shotFujifilm instax mini 99The only instax with controls an enthusiast will actually reach for.
Best for someone who wants to tinker$0.85Check price
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. The price column goes straight to Amazon.

What is identical

Start here, because it is most of the camera. Both shoot instax mini film at 62 x 46 mm, both use a 60 mm f/12.7 two-element lens, both develop in about 90 seconds, and both cost exactly the same to feed at about 85 cents a shot. No photograph taken on a mini 99 is sharper or larger than one taken on a mini 12.

What actually differs

The two cameras on the fields where they genuinely diverge.
 Fujifilm instax mini 12Fujifilm instax mini 99
Film or mediainstax miniinstax mini
Print size2.4 x 1.8 in (62 x 46 mm)2.4 x 1.8 in (62 x 46 mm)
Cost per shot$0.85$0.85
Shots per pack20 per $16.99 pack20 per $16.99 pack
Rough first-year costHardware price not publishedHardware price not published
PowerTwo AA batteriesRechargeable battery (NP-70S)
Prints from a phone?NoNo
FlashConstant firing, automatic; effective 0.3-2.2 mAuto with indoor/slow-synchro, fill-in, red-eye reduction; effective 0.3-2.7 m
Selfie mirrorYesNo
Easy for a beginner?Very easy — effectively one buttonModerate — there are dials to learn
Best forThe hardest instant camera in the world to get wrong: twist the lens to turn it on, press the button, done. Still the safest gift in the category.The one for someone who already likes photography: color-effect dial, vignette switch, double exposure, bulb mode, and a rechargeable battery.
The two cameras on the fields where they genuinely diverge.
The control and specification differences in full
mini 12mini 99
Shutter1/2 to 1/250 sec1.8 to 1/400 sec, plus bulb to 10 sec
Exposure controlAutomatic only, Lv 5.0-14.5Auto Lv 5.0-14.8 plus -5/3EV to +1EV compensation
FocusFixed, with Close-Up Mode for 0.3-0.5 mManual 3-point switching, plus macro
Flash reach0.3 to 2.2 m0.3 to 2.7 m, with fill-in and red-eye reduction
Creative modesNoneColor-effect dial, vignette switch, double exposure, brightness dial
Power2 x AA alkalineRechargeable NP-70S
Battery lifeAbout 10 film packsAbout 10 film packs
Weight306 g340 g
LensFixedRetractable
The control and specification differences in full

Who the mini 99 is genuinely for

There is a real case for it, and it is not just "more features". Three of those controls change the photographs in ways a keen user will notice.

  • Exposure compensation fixes the single most common instant-film complaint: faces blown out by flash indoors, or dark subjects against a bright window. On a fully automatic camera you cannot do anything about either.
  • The longer flash reach — 2.7 m against 2.2 m — is half a meter that matters across a dinner table.
  • Bulb mode to 10 seconds makes light painting and night shots possible, which is a genuinely different kind of photograph.
  • The color-effect and vignette controls are in-camera effects rather than filters applied after the fact, which some people find more satisfying and others find gimmicky.

The batteries, which cut both ways

The mini 99's rechargeable NP-70S is more convenient day to day and cheaper over time. The mini 12's AAs are more convenient in the one situation that matters most: when the camera is dead and the party is now. A set of AAs is available in any shop in the world; a charged NP-70S is not.

For a camera that mostly lives at home, rechargeable wins. For a camera that goes to weddings and on trips, AA is the one that never strands you.

What neither of them does

Neither has a self-timer. If that matters — and at a gathering it usually does — the instax mini 13 is the one to look at: it is the mini 12 with a 2- or 10-second timer added, at the mini 12's end of the price range.

Neither lets you see the photograph before you print it either. If wasting 85-cent frames is the concern, that is the instax mini Evo, which is a different and arguably better answer to "I want more control".

Questions people ask

Is the instax mini 99 worth the extra money?

Only if the controls will be used. The photographs are identical in size and the film costs the same, so you are paying purely for exposure compensation, manual focus switching, bulb mode, double exposure, the color and vignette controls, and a slightly longer flash reach. For a casual user, none of that gets touched.

Which instax mini is best?

The mini 12 for simplicity and value, the mini 13 if you want a self-timer, the mini 41 for a more grown-up body, and the mini 99 if manual controls matter. All four shoot the same film at the same 85 cents a shot and produce the same 62 x 46 mm print.

Does the mini 99 take better photos than the mini 12?

Not inherently — same lens, same film, same print size. In the hands of someone who uses exposure compensation it will produce better-exposed photographs in awkward light, and its flash reaches half a meter further. In auto, on an ordinary subject, the two are the same.

Does the instax mini 12 have a self-timer?

No, and neither does the mini 99 or the mini 41. The instax mini 13 is the only simple instax with one, offering about 2 or 10 seconds. The instax WIDE 400 includes a self-timer lever, and the Polaroid Go and Now both have self-timer modes.

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