Instax Mini 12vs A6500
Fujifilm
Instax Mini 12 (2023)
Starting from £80 new
Best for Beginners, parties & gifting
View Instax Mini 12
Sony
A6500 (2016)
Starting from £649 new
Best for Travel, street & versatile everyday photography
View A6500
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.
Travel, Street & Versatile Everyday Photography — A6500 (2016): The first Sony APS-C with IBIS — the A6500 added in-body stabilisation, touch AF, and a far deeper buffer to the A6300's already strong formula.
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
A6500 (2016)
- Travel photographers who want IBIS in a compact weather-sealed E-mount body
- A6300 owners who need the stabilisation or touch AF the A6300 lacked
- Street and documentary photographers who want a capable compact with weather sealing
- Sony E-mount shooters looking for a capable used body at an accessible price
Quick take: The instax mini 12 is the most affordable; only the a6500 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Instax Mini 12 (2023) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £80 | £649 |
| Sensor | Instax Mini film (62 × 46mm image area) | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | — | 24.2MP |
| Video | N/A — instant film camera | 4K/30p (full pixel readout), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Fixed focus (0.3m–∞ standard; 0.3–0.5m in close-up mode) | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points, face/eye detection |
| Stabilisation | N/A | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops (first Sony APS-C with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | N/A | 11fps |
| Battery Life | 2× AA alkaline batteries (~100 shots) | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~293g (with batteries, without film) | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 107.6 × 121.7 × 67.3mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Real-image optical viewfinder (0.37×) | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | N/A | 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | Instax Mini film pack (10 shots per pack) | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | N/A — instant film only | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Instax Mini 12 | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| Parties & Events | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Landscape | — | |
| Street | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Sports & Action | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with Instax Mini 12
Camera family history