When I initially reviewed the original Mini LiPlay back in 2019, I was a little dismissive of the sound recordings, but I’ve come to really like these little snippets of ambient sound. I have about two dozen of them that I’ve downloaded over the years, and while I’ve mostly lost the Instax prints that go with them, I can still remember the photo just by listening to the sound. The Sound Album feature hasn’t wowed me so far, but I’m withholding judgment for a few years to see how I get on with them. I’d still like to see Fujifilm expand the QR capabilities to be able to embed links, enabling me, for example, to shoot a portrait of someone and then print them a link (on their portrait) to a gallery where they could find higher-resolution images. Alas, so far as I know, there is no way to do this.
Dream features aside, the LiPlay+ is a solid upgrade, and I especially like the layered images mode. It’s Instax at its best, not taking itself too seriously, enabling fun, creative options that allow you to play with images and experiment in ways you might not otherwise do.
Mini LiPlay+ vs. Mini Evo
If you want both an Instax mini-sized camera and printer, there are two options: the Mini LiPlay+ and the older, but still very capable Mini Evo.
The Mini Evo has a retro, film camera-inspired design, with functions like a rotating lens ring to switch lens effects and an ISO-style dial control for film effects. To print, you pull the film winder. It’s all very clever and fun, but also functional. Like the LiPlay+, the Evo has an f/2 lens, can store about 45 images (expandable to 1 GB with a microSD card), and offers quite a few fun borders and effects.
In the end, I’d say the choice comes down to whether you want the rear selfie camera and layered photos of the LiPlay+ or the retro looks of the Evo.
