This Camera Lets You 'Time Travel' Through Photography's Most Iconic Eras

Film photography and retro capture keep returning to vogue. From dedicated Hasselblad mode on OnePlus phones to the VSCO Capture app replicating the film grain effect, there are a variety of ways to get that vintage feel in your pictures. Fujifilm is hopping on to that bandwagon with the instax mini Evo Cinema, an instant camera that comes with built-in retro filters and can print those photos, as well. Fujifilm sells a whole range of Instax-branded mini cameras and wireless printers that capture the spirit of film capture. But its latest offering dives straight into the 1960s era to revive the charm of vintage cameras.

The standout aspect of Fujifilm's latest camera is the Eras Dial, which you can rotate and pick between ten different capture modes, each with a unique color composition to capture the essence of retro cameras. Each era preset can be set across ten different intensity levels to give each image a unique look. It can also capture videos with vintage camera filters applied. Alternatively, you can also connect it to a phone via the companion app and get photos printed from the camera kit. Simply put, it's a 3-in-1 hybrid kit that can be used for standalone capture as well as photo printing.

Fujifilm says the vertical grip design is inspired by the FUJICA Single-8 (8mm) camera that was launched back in 1965. In addition to the main kit, you also get a dedicated viewfinder and a grip attachment with the device. The device also has a rear mirror screen where you can see the captured video and instantly turn your favorite frames into instax-formatted photo prints. Each capture is generated with a QR code, which can be scanned to revive the clip.

The real charm of Fujifilm's instax mini Evo Cinema is the Eras Dial. Starting in 1930, and leaping at the stops worth a full decade, the dial takes inspiration from a different subjects. From Fujifilm's own 8mm camera to the visuals on a CRT TV, each color filter is tuned with a specific level of noise and tape flutter to recreate the signature visuals. In addition to the Eras dial, the camera lens has its own ring. Usually, such rings allow for focus adjustment — or even zoom level, as is the case with Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition. But on Fujifilm's latest camera-printer hybrid, the lens ring actually lets you adjust the intensity of each Era filter.

Interestingly, the Eras dial not only sets the color tone, but it also plays unique sounds befitting each preset, such as the filter of a moving film reel. Or as the company puts it, the goal is to create " an immersive experience that feels like stepping back in time." So, whether you are going with the three-color film process of the 1940s, or the 35mm color negative films that were popular in the 1980s, you get the whole vibe of clicking pictures with a camera belonging to that era.

The handheld camera even has a dedicated print level, which mirrors the engineering behind manual film winding on analog cameras. The accompanying mobile app goes a step further by letting users pick between poster templates to achieve a film poster-inspired look on their printed photos. As far as the specs go, it's not going toe-to-toe against a heavy hitter like the GFX100RF. You get a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor that captures stills at HD+ quality. The internal storage can store up to 50 shots, but you can use a microSD card.