Instax Mini 12vs A9 II
Fujifilm
Instax Mini 12 (2023)
Starting from £80 new
Best for Beginners, parties & gifting
View Instax Mini 12
Sony
A9 II (2019)
Starting from £3299 new
Best for Professional sports, wildlife & photojournalism
View A9 II
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 & Photojournalism — A9 II (2019): The A9 II polished the A9's groundbreaking formula — 20fps blackout-free, improved subject tracking, and a LAN port made it the professional sports standard.
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
A9 II (2019)
- Sports photographers who need 20fps with reliable eye and body tracking
- Photojournalists who need LAN transfer and instant wireless file delivery
- Wildlife photographers who want the fastest Sony AF in a proven body
- A9 owners who need the improved ergonomics, weather sealing, and Ethernet
Quick take: The instax mini 12 is the most affordable; only the a9 ii is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Instax Mini 12 (2023) | A9 II (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £80 | £3,299 |
| Sensor | Instax Mini film (62 × 46mm image area) | 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Exmor RS |
| Resolution | — | 24.2MP |
| Video | N/A — instant film camera | 4K/30p, 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Fixed focus (0.3m–∞ standard; 0.3–0.5m in close-up mode) | 693 phase-detect + 425 contrast-detect, real-time eye/body tracking |
| Stabilisation | N/A | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5.5 stops |
| Burst Rate | N/A | 20fps (blackout-free with full AF/AE) |
| Battery Life | 2× AA alkaline batteries (~100 shots) | ~500 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | ~293g (with batteries, without film) | 678g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 107.6 × 121.7 × 67.3mm | 128.9 × 96.4 × 77.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Real-image optical viewfinder (0.37×) | EVF, OLED 3.69M dots, 0.78× magnification |
| Screen | N/A | 3.0" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Instax Mini film pack (10 shots per pack) | Sony FE (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | N/A — instant film only | Dual SD UHS-II slots |
| Connectivity | N/A | USB-C, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth, Ethernet (LAN), HDMI |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Instax Mini 12 | A9 II |
|---|---|---|
| Parties & Events | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Everyday | — | |
| Low Light | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
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