The LiPlay+ controls are all physical buttons, so kids and teens who’ve been brought up on tablets will miss having a touch screen. I think this is a slight miss on Fuji’s part. A touch screen would no doubt add some cost, but as it stands, the camera’s functions are a little convoluted to navigate, in part because Fuji squeezes two lenses and a slew of filters and features into the interface.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Don’t get me wrong, if you’re just taking normal pictures, the LiPlay+ is a one-button camera, and is pretty easy to use. But if you want to try out the picture-in-picture mode or Sound Print mode (which captures a photo with audio, a feature that is both gimmicky and a pain to use in practice), it’s easy to get lost. The LiPlay+ shows an on-screen overlay to remind you of what different buttons do, but it’s not persistent—it only shows up when you change capture modes or first power on the camera.
There are a few basic buttons that work in every mode. The shutter button (on the front) focuses the lens with a half-press and takes a picture with a full press, just like any other camera. There’s a button on the bottom of the right side panel to switch between the main front lens and rear selfie lens, also pretty straightforward and easy to find by touch. The power button is there too; it’s recessed, so you’re not likely to press it accidentally.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The LiPlay+ has a rear control wheel for menu navigation. It has four directional presses that let you add filters (up) or frames (down), toggle the flash mode (right), and set the self-timer (left). None of these is marked on the camera, so you’ll simply have to remember which is which.
You’ll press the musical note icon to toggle between the camera’s sundry capture modes, which is a confounding choice of iconography. The camera has two modes that record audio: Sound Print, which captures a few seconds of ambient noise along with your photo, and Sound Album, which takes between two and five photos and animates them in sequence, letting you choose a background color and animation style.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Both audio modes require you to pair the camera with its smartphone app (Instax LiPlay, available via the Apple App Store and Google Play) and transfer pictures over—anything with sound will automatically go to Fuji’s cloud service, along with pictures you’ve already printed. There’s no cost associated with this, but the rewards don’t seem like they’re worth the effort—here’s an example of the finished result. The actual prints you make from photos with sound have a QR coded printed in the corner so you (or anyone you give a photo to) can get to the link without typing in a URL. It’s convenient, but it detracts from the charm of an instant print. I won’t beat around the bush—I’m not enamored by the audio features, but you’re free to disagree, and you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to.
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The standard version of the LiPlay, which was reissued last year with a USB-C connector replacing the micro USB from its first run, also includes audio features. The LiPlay+ earns its “plus” status because of its twin lens design. You can swap between the main front lens and a rear selfie lens with a tap of the button, and either use the latter for selfies or picture-in-picture collages, which Fuji calls Layered Picture Mode. The collage option forces you to use the rear camera for the central part of the picture-in-picture and the front lens for the background.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
I think the selfie cam and Layered mode are useful additions for creative photographers, though I do wish the LiPlay+ let you make collages using just the front lens. Not every picture-in-picture opportunity involves a selfie. I tried taking a picture-in-picture of a statue at the botanical gardens, where I often test cameras, and managed to get it in frame with the rear camera and some trial and error.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The rear LCD is as basic as you’ll find on a new digital camera. The 3-inch display is sharp enough given the 5MP sensor (920,000 dots) and doesn’t lose contrast when viewed from a steep angle, but skips touch support and isn’t bright enough to cut through glare on a sunny day—you’ll need to use your hand to shield it from harsh light in many situations. Even though it doesn’t have touch support, the screen is an upgrade from the regular LiPlay’s 2.7-inch, 230k-dot LCD. The LiPlay+ is inexpensive as far as digital cameras go, but I think its target audience would appreciate a touch screen.
