Mini M8S PRO is a contender for the title of "People's TV Box". Review with disassembly and comparison of test results. Mini M8S Pro: review of the new TV set-top box with SoC Amlogic S912 Fujifilm instax mini 8 photos
Probably everyone who was born at least before the mid-nineties remembers this miracle - the first thing that appeared after film cameras was a healthy unit called “Polaroid”. Squeak, and the white rectangle darkens before our eyes, showing the outlines of a merry company captured (usually at a festive table). Then the first “digit” appeared, but it wasn’t the same. Clean technology. But instant photo printing seemed like real second-level magic. The second - because, undoubtedly, the first was the same process of drawing the outlines of the frame on paper, but in the “red room”.
The Polaroid in the house was incredibly cool. And the footage from it - albeit blurry and “soapy” - was valued more than film footage. Of course, there can be as many as 36 frames on film, and it cost a penny compared to cassettes for 10 photos. Then, in the era digital cameras this magic was a little forgotten, but instant cameras found their second wind relatively recently, when Fujifilm, along with the company that created this technology, took up them.
A little history:
We have one American girl named Jennifer to thank for the appearance of the photograph. She was three years old, in 1944, she was walking with her dad around the town of Santa Fe and suddenly asked him why you can’t immediately see what you’re photographing. How many questions do little whys ask their parents and what do these questions usually lead to? At the most, to an explanation of this or that phenomenon, at a minimum - to an irritated “Leave me alone!” But Jenny's father was a certain Edwin Land, already a successful inventor and founder of Polaroid. What he answered to his daughter then is unknown, but three years later the first instant camera was born. Thank you Jennifer!
Edwin Land, who by the way was the idol of another technological genius, Steve Jobs, believed that patents would save, if not the world, then its exclusivity. 535 patents were recorded for him, more - only for the “inventor of the light bulb” Thomas Edison. And it was thanks to patents that Land first won a lawsuit against the Kodak company, which decided to produce its own similar cameras (even though it took 10 years to sue), and after a lawsuit with FujiFilm, he entered into a mutually beneficial deal. Thanks to Fuji, Land's company had the opportunity to produce video cassettes and floppy disks, and the history of FujiFilm began new era- the era of instant photos of the Instax line.
Now the line includes eight different models of Instax cameras, allowing you to take instant pictures in two formats: mini, the size of a regular business card, and wide, a couple of centimeters larger. This winter I got my hands on one of the most popular of Fuji’s “instant” models - Instax Mini 8.
Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Specifications:
Film used: FUJIFILM Instax Mini
Received photo size: 6.2 × 4.6 cm
Lens: fixed, two-element and two-component, f=60 mm, 1:12.7
Viewfinder: optical
Shooting distance: 60 cm - ∞
Shutter speed: 1/60
Flash: always on, recharges within 0.2-6 seconds, effective at a distance of up to 2.7 meters
Instax Mini 8 comes in seven colors, including classic black and white, as well as candy colors - pink, raspberry, purple, lemon and mint blue. To be honest, for such a hipster toy camera, I would have preferred one of these rich shades, they fit perfectly, but I still ended up with the black one.
My “hipster photography starter kit” included the camera itself and two cassettes of instant film. A small box contains the gadget itself, a couple of batteries for it, a lanyard and instructions. If you want something extra, you can purchase it separately. Fortunately, the company has enough accessories: from cute handbags and special photo albums for the size of Instax photos to lens attachments and color filters.
I’m not raising the question of necessity here; they rather created their own ecosystem with a certain philosophy: “If you have a cute camera, then why not take it with a photo album and a stylish handbag, for a complete set?” From a marketing point of view, the perfect fit target audience and the right solution is to create an entire community around the product. On the website of the Instax line you can find news about entire art projects based on instant photographs (I remember a dress made from cards;)) - but I got distracted.
The camera itself cannot be called miniature, about 12 centimeters in height and length, almost 7 in width, it seems somewhat “puffy”, plump, thanks to its streamlined design. But it is light - about 300 grams in total, if you weigh it without batteries and a cassette. The body of the Instax Mini 8 is made of matte plastic, it feels very pleasant to the touch, but alas, it is easily soiled.
We are used to cameras being shaped like rectangles “on their sides,” but this one is more extended upward, and the viewfinder looks “placed on its butt” - this decision is due to the fact that the camera is mainly used in portrait mode. When shooting in landscape orientation, you need to rotate - they even demonstrate how to do this correctly in the user manual.
The camera's shutter button is located on the front panel - also unusual for everyone who usually looks for it from above. In addition to it, there is also a viewfinder window, a flash, two round windows - sensors for measuring light levels, as well as a lens with a power button: it activates the power and extends the lens. It slides in simply by hand, and the camera turns off. If you leave the camera alone without retracting the lens, it will turn off automatically after five minutes.
The photo of the back panel of the camera clearly shows what I talked about a couple of paragraphs above - the soiling of matte plastic. I don’t know how it is on color models (I think it’s less noticeable there), but on a black camera you can literally do fingerprinting without special equipment after just a few minutes of use - fingerprints remain very clear.
Here is the cassette compartment cover with a window in which you can see the presence of a cassette inside, a viewfinder and a frame counter.
On the left edge there is only a fastening element for the strap, on the right there is also a compartment for batteries. At the top there is a slot for feeding finished photographs. There is nothing interesting at the bottom, not even a tripod mount (that’s right, why does this camera need one?).
Each model has a different color strap. Well, here again everything is banal for me :)
The camera uses regular AA batteries; according to the company, they last for 100 pictures on average. During the entire testing period, the ones included in the original package worked for me.
We come to the most interesting part: use. As a child, I somehow didn’t have the opportunity to “refill Polaroids”; our parents did this for us all the time, so here I opened the cassette compartment with great curiosity. Everything turned out to be quite boring, except that I looked at the lens from the back.
Only branded Instax Mini cassettes work with this camera, and this (or more precisely, their cost :)) is the main problem. There are only 10 pictures in a cassette, and until recently the cost was about seven hundred rubles for a package with one cassette and about one thousand three hundred for a double. The other day the company lowered prices and they promise that now a package with one cassette will cost 500 rubles, and with two - 800. Of course, 40 rubles for a photo is not 70, but it’s also noticeable.
The cassettes are stored vacuum sealed; before use, it is important to remember to remove the foil packet and not to press on the moving parts of the housing.
I place the cassette in the compartment so that the yellow mark on it matches the mark on the body. It is recommended to close the compartment immediately - otherwise there is a risk of exposing the film inside.
Those who like to change shutter speed and aperture are nervously smoking on the sidelines; the concept of ISO is generally not needed by Instax users. Here, as a maximum, you can set the shooting mode, depending on the lighting around. There are four options - home, cloudy, sunny or sunny.
The camera itself, thanks to the sensors, will tell you by blinking the diode which mode is more suitable at this particular moment, but you don’t have to listen to it - on the contrary, experienced users prefer to lower the exposure by one step... oh, sorry, choose the “darker” mode, This makes the photos more rich.
For lovers of saturation, there is also a fifth mode - Hi-Key, which allows you to take brighter and more contrasting photographs. But in any case, the best possible result is achieved by trial and error, which, unlike with a mirror (see the paragraph about the cost of the frame :)) is somehow annoying at times. However, I gave myself permission in advance to completely screw up the first cassette while training, and I advise all new Instax owners to do the same.
The Instax Mini has a number of limitations: what cannot be done with the camera and film is clearly shown in the drawings from the instructions. From the quite obvious “don’t chew photos” and “don’t force a photo out of the camera” to the common mistake of covering the light sensors with your fingers and waving the card - so that it appears faster.
I would like to note two important features in using this camera:
1. What you see in the viewfinder and what you end up with in the photo are, as they say in Odessa, two big differences. Okay, not particularly big, but it’s important to know. The viewfinder here shows the scene a little to the right and higher than the lens “sees” it, so you also need to practice lining up the frame exactly. In the end, it’s done something like this: look, move the camera yourself literally a few centimeters to the left, or move the camera a centimeter or two and shoot.
2. Does everyone remember that Instax is called a “camera for hipsters”? What are hipsters afraid of in their sneakers and short tight pants? Right, Russian winter. Fuji Instax doesn’t react very well to frost; at subzero temperatures, the photo simply won’t develop, and you’ll add “White Rectangle” to the “Black Square” masterpiece in the world’s collection. If you want to fully cosplay Malevich, you need to shoot in heat above 40 degrees - high temperatures They can, on the contrary, make a dark spot instead of a frame. For this reason, in winter, take the camera out into the cold immediately before shooting, and then promptly put it in a warm place, along with the resulting print, or shoot from a window or a warm car :)
In general, of course, I had a lot of fun taking photographs with this camera, even when I tested it on cats or tried to photograph the New Year's illumination (naive, in low light conditions we again return to Malevich. In general, the ideal use of the camera is shooting portraits or landscapes in good illumination. A fairly narrow field of application, of course, but there are several situations in which Instax will be indispensable.
First, a moment of magic - video development of photographs, and then I will tell you about them.
The first cool options for using an Instax camera that came to my mind were:
1. You take a photo hugging a departing friend at the airport. Immediately write to him in the photo good wishes and give the photo as a souvenir. Or vice versa - a selfie with a star and immediately an autograph across your happy face :)
2. A child of the 21st century, incredibly far from turning on the red lamp in the bathroom, with the help of such a camera learns to appreciate shots, build a composition and try to shoot - immediately getting results (this is important for children, you know). Maybe there's a chance that later he won't take 503 selfies in one trip to a restaurant, hmm? :)
3. Grandma is tired of asking you to print her pictures from the next family gathering. You give her a similar camera and duplicate the photo from the digital camera with a photo on it. The cassette will last for a year, I think.
4. The most favorite and interesting option is when instant photos are woven into some kind of art project, starting from the dress I already mentioned above from photographs and embroidery in photographs and ending with the use of instant photographs in further shooting.
So, one of the photographers who achieved great success on this wave is, by the way, also a Khabarovsk resident - Maxim Zavyalov on his Instagram @mzаviаlov shows very beautiful pictures in this style. His submission even received its own name and the author’s hashtag #timethroughphoto, which many others later began to use, showing similar pictures.
To sum it up, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 is undoubtedly a niche toy, but a fun toy. You shouldn’t expect super quality from these photographs (although looking at the photo of the same Maxim one can argue about this), but these photographs are valuable to others.
And you know, even though I immediately gave the camera to a friend after testing, I no longer... no, I don’t regret the gift, I love making them, but I catch myself thinking that I want one again. Or a similar one from the same line. And maybe I’ll buy it, I’d like to shoot “frame within a frame” in the summer.
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Fujifilm Instax mini 8 is a modern camera that allows you to take instant photos. This is a fairly easy-to-use device that anyone can figure out how to use. The camera is lightweight and compact in size, which is why it can be taken on trips. With its help you can take fairly high-quality photos, regardless of the ambient light. For this purpose, the device is equipped with an automatic flash.
It is also worth noting the presence of automatic adjustment, which means that the device does not need to be configured. Under certain conditions, you can select a mode based on camera prompts. If we consider the size of the pictures that are obtained using the device, they are 6.2 by 4.6 centimeters. A film cassette is enough for 10 photographs.
Device Specifications
- The viewfinder is a 0.37 x optical with a dot sight;
- The distance at which you can take photos is 60 centimeters to infinity;
- Shutter speed is 1/60;
- FUJIFILM Instax Mini film is purchased for the camera;
- Size photos created equals 6.2 by 4.6 centimeters;
- The lens is non-removable, it consists of two components, f=60 mm;
- Automatic flash, capable of recharging in 0.2-6 seconds, can fire at a distance of 0.6 to 2.7 meters;
- Auto power off 5 minutes;
- There is a frame counter;
- Dimensions and weight 116*118.3*68.2 mm, 307 g
- Automatic fingerprint output
If we talk about the design of the camera, the device seems attractive. In the store you can find the camera in 7 different colors, including black and white, as well as such interesting options as lemon, mint, raspberry and others. The choice of color depends on your preferences.
Shooting modes
- Lighting at home; "house"
- Cloudy weather; "cloud"
- Sunny weather; "Sun"
- Bright sun; "bright sun"
- Hi-key mode (high key).
If everything is very clear with the four modes, then the Hi-key mode is worth considering in more detail. Photos taken in this mode come out with more contrast, colors are softer and brighter.
Shooting Features
It is worth considering the shooting features that owners and future owners of the camera should pay attention to. For creating good pictures If you choose the right lighting, you can use automatic exposure control. Automatic flash will always fire when shooting.
The camera has the necessary options that complement the capabilities of the device. When using a special mode, you can create portraits if you want to save the image of someone important to you as a souvenir. The photographs come out with a touch of antiquity. You can compare the device with Polaroid, which is one of its main competitors. Instax mini 8 is considered lighter, more attractive.
Tricks to improve photo quality
When using a camera, you need to be extremely careful, because it is significantly different from devices that allow you to take digital photographs. So when you look through the window, you will see a different image than the one you get in the end. User experience shows that you need to position the photo a little lower and to the left. This is worth thinking about before taking a photo. Otherwise, you may end up with a photo that does not meet your expectations. That is, half of the photo that you had in mind will simply not be in the frame; in its place there will be something that should not have been included in the frame. You need to move the camera to the left by about 10 centimeters. It just takes a little getting used to and you'll soon be able to take great pictures.
Also, when creating a photo, it is worth remembering about shooting modes, which you can choose yourself, or you can entrust the choice to an automatic process. In this regard, using Fujifilm Instax mini 8 is very convenient, since the device itself tells you which shooting mode to choose. A sophisticated mode detection system tells you which mode to choose using an orange light that lights up opposite. To turn on the mode, you just need to turn the ring to it; you can also ignore the recommendation and select the mode yourself.
When choosing a mode, keep in mind that you may end up with darker or lighter photos. For example, you can use the "brightness boost" mode, which allows you to create brighter photos. You shouldn't expect perfect photos from the device, because that's not what it's designed for. The goal that manufacturers set is to provide the ability to create instant photos. Many people treat such photographs in a special way. Digital photos differ in quality, but many of them are stored on computers and flash cards. But it’s much more pleasant to look through an album with live photos.
Fujifilm Instax mini 8 price
When purchasing this model, you need to understand that the resulting images can no longer be edited. The camera provides good quality, but not everyone can take perfect pictures with its help. If we consider the issue of cost, then it is worth saying that in our country it is approximately 4,700 rubles. This is an acceptable cost for such a device, but do not forget that you will have to purchase additional components such as photo cassettes and batteries.
They are called photo cartridges. They are products slightly larger than a credit card and can be used for a variety of cameras. The cost of a cassette is approximately 600 rubles, which is quite a lot. When calculating, you can understand that the cost of one photo is 60 rubles. Therefore, you should carefully choose what exactly to photograph, because shooting is not cheap. It is worth considering the features of the cassettes that are used with the Instax mini 8; the manufacturers say that they cannot be exposed to x-rays. I use Fujifilm Instax Mini Glossy photo cartridges, price 549 rubles. It is more profitable to buy at AliExpress in large quantities, for example 70 pieces.
Is it worth buying a case?
When purchasing other accessories, you can choose a suitable case for the Instax mini 8, which can protect the device from damage and dust. Many people think that they can do without a case, but in fact this accessory can come in handy. It often happens that you have to deal with camera falls and impacts. The case will perfectly protect the device from such damage, and you also don’t have to worry about water getting into the device. You can always choose a case to match the color of the camera or choose exactly the color that suits you best. What’s especially convenient is that you can shoot without taking the camera out of your bag. All you have to do is open the case.
Which album should I choose?
Modern stores offer a wide selection of accessories for Instax mini 8, including albums. They are great for storing keepsake photos. The benefits of purchasing an album are as follows:
- This is a good solution because without an album, photos may get lost.
- At the same time, without an album, photos can become wrinkled and become unusable.
- Photos will not become dirty as they will be covered with a special protective film.
- You can create thematic albums that will allow you to collect photos from an event or photos that share the same theme.
In the store you can choose an album that will allow you to fit 10 or more photographs, and you will have the opportunity to place one of them on the cover.
Additional accessories
- Among the accessories that can be added to the Instax mini 8, it is worth highlighting a mirror attachment for a selfie lens or a macro attachment.
- You can also find unusual cassettes that, when printed, are complemented by a variety of colored frames or painted in the desired color.
- You can take photos with different shades, this is possible with additional light filters, which can also be selected among the accessories.
Conclusion
💙company: Fujifilm
💙model: Instax mini 8
💙color: blue
These cameras have gained quite a lot of popularity. They are bought for completely different purposes. For example: photographers buy for collecting. And they don’t care what kind of camera it is, even if it’s an ordinary Zenit, they buy them simply because they like various photographic equipment, it attracts them. They also buy it simply to take vintage photographs in the style of the eighties and nineties. It's fashionable now. And some even use it for the interior. I was interested in him because I really like vintage photographs, they certainly look unusual, they can be collected in an album and they will stay with you for a long time.
💙From the manufacturer:
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 instant camera allows you to print photos in size business card immediately after shooting. Featuring the same design and performance features as the INSTAX mini 7S, the INSTAX mini 9 is approximately 10% smaller in body volume than the mini 7S. Framing is made easier with a viewfinder that delivers a clear, real-time image (even when shooting at an angle) and features a more visible center mark. A “High-key” mode has been added to the shooting functions - increasing the aperture by 2/3 steps. To take a photo with the bright and soft colors that girls love so much, just scroll the dial to “High-key” mode.
The Instax camera can be used in the most different situations: at weddings and parties, for normal shooting and for self-portraits. The reason INSTAX is so popular among teenage girls and women under 20, for whom film photography is already a novelty, is the bright and soft colors of the resulting images.
Film used: Fujifilm Instax Mini
Film size: 86 mm x 54 mm
Photo size: 62 mm x 46 mm
Focus range: 0.6 m to infinity
Exposure control: manual switching system (LED indicator in the exposure meter)
Photo paper loading confirmation window
Photo output: automatic
Auto power off after 5 minutes
Exposure counter (number of unexposed sheets of photo paper)
Battery life: about 100 shots (10 film cassettes)
💙Packaging
The camera is packed in a regular bubble wrap and cardboard box. Very nice design on the box with pictures of Korean women, it looks cool. There are still a lot of instructions for it inside. The camera also came with a strap to hold it on your hand and batteries (by the way, you can buy any batteries later)
💙Device appearance
The camera itself also looks very cute, even looks a little like a children's toy. It has a very pleasant material that allows it not to slip in your hands, and the strap securely fixes it on your wrist. The blue color is a pastel shade, the device looks gentle and neat.
💙How it works
From the front we can see:
1) the lens itself
2)above the lens brightness indicator
3) viewfinder
4) shutter button
5) flash lamp
6)light sensor
7)power button
At the back we have:
2)near the eyepiece there is a charging indicator
3) frame counter
4) photo paper loading confirmation window
5) back cover where to insert cartridges
Above : photo card output hole
On right : batteries are inserted
On the sides : a lanyard is hung for the hand (or you can buy one for the neck)
You can also buy a lot of different accessories for this camera, but this is at your discretion. Finding them is not a problem, they are sold almost everywhere, you can also buy entire sets and the same cartridges on various Chinese sites, like Aliexpress.
💙Assembly
1) Unpack the cartridge, remove the protective film from it and simply insert it into the camera according to the instructions, you don’t need to do anything else with it
2)Insert batteries
💙Application
Well, you and I have assembled the camera, figured it out, all that remains is to understand how it takes photographs. To turn it on, you just need to press the button on the front under the lens. If you want to turn off the camera, you just need to press lightly, very carefully, on the lens and the camera turns off. To take a photo, you just need to aim at the subject and press the shutter button, which is located under the viewfinder. Next, a photo card will come out from above, it will be completely white at first; it’s better, of course, to remove it to a darker place and wait for it to appear. The first card will be blank, it will be empty, so when you take a photo, you can throw it away and then take normal pictures.
One cartridge contains 10 photo cards. They are usually sold either two pieces in one box or one piece. They also come in different colors, you can choose a classic one with a white frame, you can choose a colored one, with drawings, whatever you want.
💙Taking pictures
And we just have to figure out how best to take a photograph so that it is not very white (overexposed) and very dark (darkened). I'll leave some tips on photography in case it helps someone. In general, you need to get used to the camera, but at first you may have ruined pictures that end up in the trash, there’s nothing wrong with that. Then everything will be fine.
1) Light sensors. We can see with you a house, a cloud, two types of sun and Hi-key.
- Lighting at home; "house"
- Cloudy weather; "cloud"
- Sunny weather; "Sun"
- Bright sun; "bright sun"
- Hi-key mode (high key).
You can select them by simply turning the wheel. The indicator must match the picture you selected.
Or. When you turn on the camera, it will recognize the lighting conditions and highlight the option recommended for shooting. You can ignore this and choose another option for a lighter or darker photo. Hi-Key mode will make your photos more vibrant in any setting. But it’s still better not to use this mode outdoors, otherwise the photo risks being overexposed. Also avoid contact with the sun's rays because they can also ruin the photo (unless, of course, this is not your idea, leave glare)
2) It is also necessary to take into account that the quality of the photographs is not ideal, even compared to regular phones it will be somewhat worse. Poor focusing may also occur. Therefore, do not expect a miracle photo from this camera, do not have high hopes for it.
3) The range indicated on the lens is from 0.6 m to ∞. Don't pay any attention to this. Sharp images are obtained at a distance of 0.6 m - 3 m. Take this fact into account.
4) Don’t get upset after the first unsuccessful photo. Practice, try different modes with different lighting, and you yourself will understand later and get used to how the camera shoots and what modes you need to use at one time or another.
5) Don’t skimp on cartridges; better stock up on more of them. And before buying a camera, keep in mind that they are quite expensive, unless of course you find a place where you can buy them not very expensive, this is good, but still take into account the fact that they cost around 600-700 rubles in regular stores.
6) Always monitor the charging indicator and the number of shots. Carry spare batteries and an extra cartridge with you. Otherwise, one day you go out to take pictures, but it won’t turn on or you will have an empty film.
7) The camera itself is quite fragile and is not subject to falling or other deformation. Be careful with him
8) No matter how strange it may sound. Pay attention to how the lens itself and the viewfinder are positioned. Notice that they are almost in different directions? So, if you want your chosen object to be located strictly in the center, focus on the lens. Make sure it is pointing straight. If you use the viewfinder as a guide, the object in the photo may be slightly shifted.
9) Avoid exposure to moisture and dust; this is not good for any camera, just like other equipment.
💙Result: I advise you to buy this camera if you have been dreaming about this for a long time. Don't be afraid of this camera, once you make friends with it, roughly speaking, you won't want to let it go from your hands. I've been using it for 2 years now and I'm very glad I have it.
Thank you very much for your attention, have a good shopping, see you again!❤️
Jumping into the last carriage of the passing autumn and towards winter, I want to tell you about the Instax mini 70 and mini 8 instant cameras, which I was lucky enough to test!
As someone who shoots film and also has SLR camera, I was sure that I would immediately understand the shooting, because there is nothing complicated, point, click, get a card! But not everything turned out to be so simple!
instax mini 70
I started with the mini 70 model, which has different focusing modes: macro (0.3 - 0.6 m), normal (0.6 - 3 m), landscape (3 m - infinity), it is very important to choose the right one before shooting, because it only takes one try to do not spoil the card.
The camera is equipped with a small display that shows the selected mode, as well as the remaining number of frames. Modes are switched using a separate button, and a power button is also provided to turn the camera on and off.
The mini 70 has a selfie mode and a mirror on the back for easy self-portrait shooting! The camera also has a tripod socket and a self-timer mode, which is very useful for taking group photos!
The mini 70 comes with two CR2 batteries, which should be enough for 400 frames, but I only tested 20, the camera did a great job!
instax mini 8
Mini 8 interested me no less in business, since it is a hit in the instax line. In terms of functionality, it is a little simpler than mini 70, but it independently determines which mode is needed in this moment shooting and prompts with a light indicator what to select. Mini 8 has five modes: 4 modes, indicated by the icons “sun”, “bright sun”, “cloud”, “house” and Hi-Key. In Hi-Key mode, photos will be in high key, with more contrast, with bright and soft colors.
The camera is easy to turn on, you just need to extend the lens, and to turn it off, you just need to push it back. Thanks to simple symbols, even a child can handle the controls, and the design and many color options will not leave even an adult, like me, indifferent!
mini 8 runs on two regular AA batteries, they say it’s enough for 100 frames, but it was enough for my 20 test frames!
Photo cards
The cameras work with cartridges of 10 cards. Each cartridge is equipped with a protective card; after refilling the cartridge, you need to take one shot so that the protective card comes out of the camera, after which you cannot open the camera so as not to expose the film, and you can start shooting. The size of each card is 54 x 86 mm (about the size of a business card), the size of the image itself on the card is 46 x 62 mm. Since I was shooting in the cold, developing outside took about 5 minutes, but I used a little trick by putting recent photo into my coat pocket, and then in less than a minute I received a ready-made bright and rich image.
The photosensitivity of the cards is ISO 800. But most importantly, you need to understand that they have a fairly narrow dynamic range. Strong contrast in the frame will lead to overexposure or underexposed areas.
I ruined a couple of cards at the beginning by incorrectly setting the mode on the mini 70 and pointing them at an object that was too light for this camera. But if you follow all the rules, then both cameras are equally good for both outdoors and indoors.
conclusions
To be honest, with regard to the quality of color reproduction and clarity of photographs, both cameras turned out to be, for me personally, on the same level. Both do a great job with main task, quickly and clearly produce a high-quality image!
Despite the fact that the mini 8 is slightly larger than the mini 70, this does not cause any discomfort; both cameras are comfortable to hold in your hand. Therefore, the rest of the torment of choosing between them falls, rather, on the design!
mini 70 is a little more austere and is available in yellow, white, blue, red, black and gold. mini 8 is a more cheerful option, made in a wide palette from raspberry, pink, purple, blue, yellow, to black and white. I was pleased with both models, which one would you choose?
Good day everyone. In today's review I want to show you a very successful and inexpensive Mini M8S PRO TV box (2GB RAM/16GB ROM version). This TV box, at the time of purchase, was the cheapest among the boxes with Amlogic S912 and 2GB SoC installed. RAM.
Anyone who is interested, I ask under cat.
For comparison with what I reviewed earlier
, I decided to order a Mini M8S PRO TV box (2GB RAM/16GB version) on the Gearbest website and, as it turned out later, I was right.
The selection criterion was the presence of SoC Amlogic S912, 2GB. RAM and of course the price. The TV box, including points, cost me $35 and IMHO this is a great price for the S912.
The order was placed on the website and paid for on 08/04/2017. The shipment took a long time, I was already thinking about opening a dispute. But on August 14, 2017, I received an email with a dispatch message and a tracking number.
The parcel went from China to Ukraine for 9 days and on August 22 I received it at the Novaya Poshta delivery service.
Order, payment and delivery
Package.
The parcel was a cellophane envelope with bubble wrap, inside of which there was a box with a TV box.
Packaging and equipment.
TV box packed in cardboard box, similar to the box of the younger version of the Mini M8SII.
The contents inside the box are as follows::
- TV box Mini M8S PRO;
- remote control;
- HDMI cable;
- power adapter 5V 2A with Euro plug;
- a sheet with brief instructions.
The remote control is standard for most TV boxes; power is provided from two AAA elements.
Characteristics and appearance Mini M8S PRO.
Specified by the manufacturer specifications TV box Mini M8S PRO are as follows:
- Model: Mini M8S Pro
- Housing materials: Plastic
- SoC: AMLogic S912, 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 up to 1.5 GHz
- GPU: ARM Mali-T820MP3
- RAM: 2 GB DDR3
- ROM: 16 (in review)/32 GB eMMC
- USB and memory card support 2 x USB 2.0
- microSD slot
- Network interfaces Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, MIMO 1x1
- Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit/s)
- Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1
- HDMI 2.0a video outputs (up to 3840x2160@60 Hz with HDR)
- Audio outputs HDMI, optical S/PDIF
- IR remote control
- Power supply 5V/2A
- Android OS 7.1.2 (out of the box)
The box is very compact and has dimensions of 110x110x17 mm, as stated by the manufacturer. Weight about 185 g.
The body is made of black plastic, the top and bottom parts are matte. The side edges are glossy. The body is assembled very tightly and with high quality, it looks very laconic.
The top cover bears the name and main technical characteristics that the manufacturer wanted to emphasize. 
On the right side there are microSD and USB 2.0 connectors. 
On the back side there are the following connectors from left to right: optical S/PDIF output, Ethernet, HDMI, USB 2.0, power connector (DC 5.5 mm / 2.5 mm) 
The front and left sides are glossy and without any connectors. On the front edge there is a barely visible LED that lights up with a weak blue light, without irritating the eyes at all. 
The bottom cover is made of thick plastic without any holes for ventilation. The only hole on the bottom cover is the hole under which the Reset button is located. 
Disassembly.
Let's start disassembling. The case is assembled very tightly with latches. At first I tried to disassemble it using a plastic card - it didn’t work. I took thinner blades from a stationery knife and carefully snapped the latches one by one around the perimeter of the box.
Under the cover you can see the lower part of the board, with two MIRA P3P4GF4BLF RAM chips installed. 
The board is secured inside the case with 4 screws. There is also a massive cooling plate mounted inside the case, which is in contact with the SoC through a thermal pad. 
As it later turned out, the cooling system is self-sufficient and does not require modification when using the TV box as a media center. The idle temperature is about 40-46 degrees, while watching 4K video for a long time - no more than 70 degrees.
The board was made neatly; no flux was washed off or soldering flaws were found. I found contact pads for a clock battery (apparently they didn’t install it to save money).
On the top side of the board, the following chips can be distinguished: two MIRA RAM chips, a Gigabit Ethernet controller - Realtek RTL8211F, a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controller based on Longsys LTM8830 (aka Qualcomm QCA9377), ROM based on eMMC 5.0 FORESEE NCEMBSF9-16G. The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna is soldered to the board. 
Operating system.
The box turns on automatically when power is applied. Loading takes about 10-15 seconds. The box is equipped with Android 7.1.2 OS with closed Root access. When you turn on the device, we see a standard launcher in the style of Windows 10 tiles. There are tiles for quickly clearing RAM and a weather widget. The interface works quickly without lags or freezes. It is possible to turn the box on/off using the radio mouse. When the box is turned off, power from the USB is not removed. 
There were a number of pre-installed applications out of the box: Qodi, AppInstaller, Miracast, Update&Backup, PPPoE, Play Market.
At the first start, about 11GB of ROM and 1GB of RAM were available. 
The menu has not been fully translated, but you can intuitively understand what the untranslated items are for. The menu items are standard for TV boxes on Android 7, but I want to highlight the “Droid settings” menu in which we will find the following settings:
- Display. Resolution settings menu for the signal displayed on the display. Image size and converting it to HDR mode.
- HDMI CEC. Menu for enabling control via HDMI mode.
- Playback settings. A menu where you can enable autoframe rate.
- Sound. Menu for setting up digital audio output. PCM, SPDIF RAW, HDMI RAW.
Unfortunately, with the TV I have, there is no way to check the operation of HDMI CEC and Autoframerate, but in the corresponding 4PDA thread they write that everything works fine. Working multi-channel audio output via HDMI and SPDIF is also reported.
Network interfaces.
Of the network interfaces, the box has: Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band WiFi and a gigabit network adapter. WiFi, despite the lack of an external antenna, works quite well. The connection is maintained confidently, the speed does not slow down.
In comparison with the same Yoka KB2 PRO, the reception level when the boxes are located in the same place is the same. 
For some reason I couldn’t run Speed Test Net on the box. I measured the speed in the browser via the 2IP website. My provider's speed is up to 60Mbps. When taking measurements, I received the following results: over LAN about 56 Mbit/s over WiFi - about 22 Mbit/s. Unfortunately, the Asus RT12N router cuts WiFi speed almost 2 times and for the TV box I had to run a LAN cable. 
Tests.
In the tests, I compared Mini M8S PRO (Amlogic S912, 2GB RAM/16GB ROM, $35) with Yoka KB2 PRO (Amlogic S912,3GB DDR4 RAM/32GB ROM, $88), Alfawise Z28PRO (RK3328, 2GB RAM/16GB ROM, $40) and Mini M8S II (Amlogic S905X, 2GB RAM/16GB ROM, $40).
According to the test results, the Mini M8S PRO performed well, in some places even better than the more expensive Yoka KB2 PRO. The conclusions suggest themselves...
Test results
Antutu 6.2.7 
Antutu video 
Geekbench 4 
Epic Citadel 
A1SD Bench 
Use as a home media center.
Mini M8S PRO is very convenient for use as a home media center. It easily displays media content and IPTV channels in HD quality. YouTube shows out of the box in 1080P quality. For viewing I use the following programs: Ace Stream, MX Player, HD Videobox, Lazy IPTV, LOL TV.
Plays 4K videos without problems even at 100 megabits home network from a network drive. I apologize for the quality of the video, I filmed it on a slipper.
Possible upgrade.
In terms of hardware, this box is identical to the more expensive Beelink GT1 / COOLEME® MB2 / Alfawise S92.
For fans of autoframe rate, full translation and even greater optimization, it is possible to flash the box with adapted firmware from Ugoos AM3. According to the 4pda forum participants who installed this firmware, the TV box simply has no competitors in terms of price/quality ratio. I’ll hide the advantages and differences between the stock S912 firmware and the Ugoos AM3 1.1.4 firmware under the spoiler.
The most complete localization in Russian.
- System (“classic”) autoframe rate through the StageFright library, including for HLS streams. Works in any program that uses the StageFright library: MX Player HW, ViMu (with ViMu Engine disabled), etc.
- Modern autoframe rate (fully implemented via the Android 6 API) for working in Kodi 17+, ViMu (with ViMu Engine), Archos, Plex, etc.
- Support for the entire spectrum of scanning frequencies used for autoframe: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60 Hz.
- The necessary line has already been added to the kernel binding to fix a bug with the TS container and interlaced H.264 video (correct work with video from Torrent Stream Controller).
- Standard partial sleep function (USB ports are not de-energized, the device can be woken up by a remote control with a USB receiver, keyboard, mouse).
- Correct DD and DTS system output. Direct IEC61937 multi-channel audio output in Kodi 17+ (including DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD).
- Built-in Samba server.
- Support for all current file systems on external media: FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, EXT4.
- Disabled root support.
And perhaps I’ll post for Ukrainian readers, for obvious reasons, the firmware files and the flasher itself on Google Disc.
Conclusions:
I definitely really liked boxing. Mini M8S, in my opinion, is the best box I have previously reviewed in terms of price/quality ratio. Considering the fact that its cost can be reduced by points to $35, this is one of the first contenders for the title of national TV boxing.
All the best, thank you for your attention.
