Fujifilm teases launch of new Instax camera with rear LCD display
Rumored Instax Mini LiPlay could arrive June 12
Fujifilm’s mantra of “never stop” is being reflected by a tweet the Japanese manufacturer's Instax team posted just days after the launch of the GFX 100. The tweet teases the announcement of a brand-new instant camera on June 12.
No details of the camera have been officially released bar one – the upcoming Instax will feature an LCD screen, making it “perfect for the new age”, according to Fujifilm.
Introducing the new instax, perfect for the new age. All of the highly anticipated details will be revealed in full on the 12th June, but we’re giving you a sneak peak of one of the new instax’s very special features - an LCD screen. #instax #neweranewinstax #newinstax pic.twitter.com/xrPuO1vdDoMay 27, 2019
The company claims that this instant camera will usher in a “new era” of Instax snappers that boast “very special features”. Exactly what those features are is as yet unknown, but rumors of an Instax Mini LiPlay have been unearthed.
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Let’s LiPlay
In April, Nokishita leaked the manual of a camera called the Instax Mini LiPlay. It showed off a hybrid instant camera with printing capabilities and an integrated rear LCD display.
According to the manual, photos taken on the Mini LiPlay get saved to the camera’s internal memory or on a microSD card. These can then be selected for printing on the LiPlay on Instax Mini instant film.
This wouldn’t be the first time an Instax camera boasts live view – the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 and the Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic have a small built-in screens.
To stand apart from the crowd, the LiPlay’s manual reveals that it has the ability to record audio via a dedicated Sound button located on the front of the camera. The audio clip is converted into a QR code which is printed onto the photo. The audio can then be played when the code is scanned using the associated LiPlay smartphone app (which is currently not available on either Apple’s App Store on the Google Play Store).
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The LiPlay app, according to the leaked manual, can also be used to trigger the shutter remotely or make minor edits to the image prior to printing.
Images reveal that the LiPlay has three shortcut buttons on the left edge of the camera that allow users to choose a frame for the images, but a neat trick up the camera’s sleeve is the ability to assign custom templates to these buttons.
If these features are real, it would make the upcoming Instax a truly innovative instant camera and we can’t wait to see what the big reveal will bring on June 12.
While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta's main priority is being TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she's also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she's also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom's Guide and T3.