Its been four years since Fujifilm released the Fujifilm Instax Mini 40, one of the best instant cameras available for under $100, but now Fujifilm are back with an update, the Mini 41. With a new design and refined features, will this camera offer enough to justify the expense, or do other options offer more?

　　Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 at a glance: 60mm f/12.7 lens 30-50cm close-up focus distance 1/2 to 1/250sec shutter speed Instax Mini Instant film (62mm x 46mm picture size) 104.5mm x 122.5mm x 67.5mm, 345g (without AA batteries) Auto exposure, built-in flash Takes 2x AA batteries Features, Handling, and Design Fujifilm offer a range of instant cameras (and printers), with the Mini 41 using Instax Mini film, but there are other, cheaper options available like the Mini 12. If you want a larger print, theres also Instax Square film, as well as Instax Wide. Whichever one you choose, youre going to get the same contrasty looking images that come with Fujifilm Instax film. If youre not interested in a Fujifilm Instax camera, you can even buy just the printer, and print smartphone (and camera) photos, with some impressive results. But, if you want an affordable, compact Instax camera, then the new Instax Mini 41 is certainly an option to look at, which some new, useful features thrown in.

　　The Mini 41 offers a 30-50cm close focusing feature. The Mini 40 also offered 30cm close focusing, however, the Mini 41 now has an improved viewfinder with parallax correction to help with framing. To activate this feature, you simply turn the ring around the lens from the ON position to the close-up position. To switch the camera off, this same ring is used, and it couldnt be simpler.

　　Loading the film into the back of the camera is also easy to do, with a yellow marker helping you line up the film, and a protective black plastic film is kept in place during the loading procedure. This shoots out when you go to take a photo, and then youre ready to go. Assuming youve put the two AA batteries in the camera, of course.

　　Theres a film counter on the back that counts down from 10 letting you know how many photos you have left, and a yellow square on the back lets you know that theres still film in the camera. A basic wrist strap is included in the box, and textured surfaces make it easy to hold on to the camera. The shutter button is a one-step button, meaning you press it to take a photo, there is no need to half-press to focus or anything fancy like that.

　　Performance and image quality The Instax film is generally very good, with good contrast, and good colour reproduction. Youll start to see the exposure coming through in just 90 seconds, but wait longer and itll continue to improve. This is much quicker than Polaroid film. Its a little frustrating that the flash cant be disabled, as this can affect photos taken through windows. Exposure is generally okay, but can appear over exposed at times, and will also struggle with very bright light sources in the frame, for example flash reflected in glasses, or the sun being in the frame, will result in a black area in the image.

　　Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 Verdict Its a nice looking camera, but the fully automatic point and shoot nature of the camera may not be to everyones liking. For those people, the Mini 90 is worth seeking out. Images look good, with nice colour and contrast, although can look over-exposed at times. The Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 is an extremely easy to use point and shoot instant camera, as if youre looking for something quick, fun and easy to use, this is a really good choice.