7.5 / 10
SCORE Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay Plus $235 at Best Buy $235 at B&H Photo-Video $235 at Amazon Pros Dual-camera design works well
Doubles as a printer
Sound Prints are a neat idea Cons Necessarily a bit chunky
Odd shutter button placement
Sound clips disappear after 2 years
The Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay Plus is a hybrid instant film camera that captures digital photos and prints them. It's a great way to have something physical to remember a moment but still have a digital file for online sharing. It also means you don't waste film on bad shots. A second, rear-facing camera makes taking selfies far easier than with previous Instax models (which typically relied on a tiny mirror on the front). Via Bluetooth, it can also print photos captured with a phone or other camera. Perhaps most interesting, it can record short audio clips and, via an embedded QR code in the printed image, let your phone play them back.
While not as stylish or as adorable as some other Instax models, the Mini LiPlay Plus is small enough to fit in a purse or perhaps a large pocket. While image quality isn't the point, the photos look decent enough when printed by the camera. In all, it's a fun hybrid camera/printer that's easy to use and creates something real that you can touch, keep or gift, a rarity in the modern era.
Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay Plus Photo resolution 4.9 megapixels (1,920x2,560) front and rear Video resolution N/A Sensor size N/A Lens Front camera: 28mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.2; Rear camera: 28mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.2 Image stabilization None Screen type 3-inch LCD, fixed Storage MicroSD plus internal storage for ~45 images Weight 265 grams (0.6 pounds) not including film pack App iOS/Android
The LiPlay Plus is not what you'd call a powerful camera, at least not in the way most cameras are judged. Both the front and rear cameras take photos at a meager 4.9 megapixels. That's enough to print via the camera's built-in printer, but if you like the image and want to blow it up for larger printing, it won't look great. Likewise, really cropping in on a subject isn't wise. While the lenses are fairly fast, low-light performance is quite poor, though there's a small LED flash to help.
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