Instax Mini 12vs Nikon Z9
Fujifilm
Instax Mini 12 (2023)
Starting from £80 new
Best for Beginners, parties & gifting
View Instax Mini 12
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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.
Professional Sports & Wildlife — Nikon Z9 (2021): The Z9 redefined what professional mirrorless could be — no mechanical shutter, 45MP stacked BSI, and 8K RAW in the most rugged Z body.
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
Nikon Z9 (2021)
- Professional sports, wildlife and photojournalism photographers
- Nikon D6 or D850 users making the final switch to mirrorless
- Those who need the fastest, most reliable AF Nikon has ever made
- Professionals who need a flagship body with no mechanical shutter
Quick take: The instax mini 12 is the most affordable; only the nikon z9 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Instax Mini 12 (2023) | Nikon Z9 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £80 | £5,499 |
| Sensor | Instax Mini film (62 × 46mm image area) | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS |
| Resolution | — | 45.7MP |
| Video | N/A — instant film camera | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW |
| Autofocus | Fixed focus (0.3m–∞ standard; 0.3–0.5m in close-up mode) | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | N/A | 6-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | N/A | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG |
| Battery Life | 2× AA alkaline batteries (~100 shots) | 740 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~293g (with batteries, without film) | 1340g body only |
| Dimensions | 107.6 × 121.7 × 67.3mm | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Real-image optical viewfinder (0.37×) | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps |
| Screen | N/A | 3.2" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Instax Mini film pack (10 shots per pack) | Nikon Z-mount |
| Memory Cards | N/A — instant film only | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Instax Mini 12 | Nikon Z9 |
|---|---|---|
| Parties & Events | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | — | |
| Everyday | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
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