Instax Mini 12vs M11 Monochrom
Fujifilm
Instax Mini 12 (2023)
Starting from £80 new
Best for Beginners, parties & gifting
View Instax Mini 12
Leica
M11 Monochrom (2023)
Starting from £8300 new
Best for Black & White Photography
View M11 Monochrom
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Beginners, Parties & Gifting — Instax Mini 12 (2023): The perfect starter instant camera — effortless to use, great colours, and comes in beautiful pastel shades.
Black & White Photography — M11 Monochrom (2023): The M11 Monochrom is the finest black-and-white camera in the world. A 60MP sensor with no colour filter array produces sharpness and tonal depth no colour camera can match — combined with extended high-ISO performance. Manual focus, no video, and an extraordinary price make it a specialist instrument, but for dedicated B&W photographers it is unmatched.
Who should buy what
Instax Mini 12 (2023)
- Complete beginners wanting their first instant camera
- Anyone buying an instant camera as a gift
- Party hosts who want to hand out physical prints on the night
- Kids and teenagers who want a fun, colourful camera
M11 Monochrom (2023)
- Dedicated black-and-white photographers who demand the finest possible monochrome files
- Fine art and documentary photographers who work exclusively in B&W
- Leica M system users who want maximum monochrome image quality
- Astrophotographers — monochrome sensors excel at capturing fine star detail
Quick take: The instax mini 12 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Instax Mini 12 (2023) | M11 Monochrom (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £80 | £8,300 |
| Sensor | Instax Mini film (62 × 46mm image area) | 60.3MP Full-Frame Monochrome BSI CMOS (no colour filter array) |
| Resolution | — | 60.3MP |
| Video | N/A — instant film camera | — |
| Autofocus | Fixed focus (0.3m–∞ standard; 0.3–0.5m in close-up mode) | Manual focus rangefinder (no autofocus) |
| Stabilisation | N/A | — |
| Burst Rate | N/A | 5fps |
| Battery Life | 2× AA alkaline batteries (~100 shots) | ~700 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~293g (with batteries, without film) | 530g (body only) |
| Dimensions | 107.6 × 121.7 × 67.3mm | 138.6 × 80.0 × 38.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | No |
| Viewfinder | Real-image optical viewfinder (0.37×) | Optical rangefinder, 0.73× magnification |
| Screen | N/A | 2.3" touchscreen LCD, 2.33M dots |
| Mount | Instax Mini film pack (10 shots per pack) | Leica M-mount |
| Memory Cards | N/A — instant film only | Single SD UHS-II slot + 64GB internal storage |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Instax Mini 12 | M11 Monochrom |
|---|---|---|
| Parties & Events | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Street | — | |
| Astrophotography | — | |
| Casual | — | |
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
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Camera family history