Fuji’s Instax Mini Link 3 turns your phone into a photobooth
Augmented reality effects and one-click collages for this pocket printer
It might use tried-and-tested tech, but that doesn’t mean the instant camera revival can’t also be cutting edge. Fujifilm has updated its most pocket-friendly instant photo printer with augmented reality, livening up your smartphone snaps before you hit that print button. The Instax Mini Link 3 also gets a fresh look and creative collage features.
Fuji hasn’t suddenly developed holographic ink or photo paper – the AR effects are built into the Instax Mini LInk phone companion app’s new AiR Studio mode. Think of ’em like 3D stickers that can wrap around your subject, adding some extra depth to your snaps. You can sprinkle confetti over your friends, shine a spotlight or shake sprinkles over food shots with just a few taps.
Click to Collage, meanwhile, lets you snap up to six shots at three second intervals, just like a photo booth. Pretty soon you’ll also be able to print video frames directly within the app, without having to screengrab it in a separate app first. The separate Instax Up! app, which lets you make digital backups of printed Instax photos, has also been updated. A new Instax Days mode automatically dates your scanned snaps and adds them to a calendar.
The Instax Mini Link 3 looks a lot like the outgoing Mini Link 2, only with the front-facing power button replaced with a giant INSTAX logo. Coloured status LEDs lurk underneath to let you know about pairing, printing and battery status. The grippable textured finish returns, and Fuji has finally made the jump to USB-C charging.
It still swallows packs of Mini Instant film, including the newly-launched SPRINKLES packs that swap the plain white border for one covered in colourful cake toppings. Each pack of 10 photos will set you back £9.
The printer itself will go on sale at the end of August. It’ll launch in Sage Green, Rose Pink and Clay White colours. Expect to pay the same £115 as the previous generation model.
Fuji has also pulled back the curtain on the Instax Mini Evo 90th Anniversary bundle, which spruces up the hybrid instant camera with new Dark Silver and Titanium Gold colourways. The bundle includes a limited edition strap, camera case and lens cap.
Underneath it’s the same digital camera-meets-Instax photo printer as before, with 100 different film and lens effect combinations to liven up your shots with, dual shutter buttons for comfortable snapping whether you’re after a portrait or landscape image, and microSD storage for digital backups of your physical photos.
The Instax Mini Evo 90th Anniversary bundle will be available in October, and should set you back £200.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
