Which Instax Mini To Buy
As you rotate the dial a preview of the effect is shown on the back screen of the camera so you know what the image will look like before you take it. You can add both a lens and film effect to the same image which can lead to some fun and interesting combinations.
which instax mini to buy
Kodak has also tried its own 4Pass Photo Paper in both the Mini Shot and the Kodak Photo Print Mini 2. While the credit-card-sized prints (which are also stickers) are sharp and vibrant, the process is slow and the final output is missing some of the nostalgic softness of an Instax print that harkens back to Polaroids of old. As yellow, magenta. and cyan colors are added, the print emerges and retreats from the device. The wide angle of the Mini Shot camera also distorted our images for some unflattering results.
Polaroid cameras take one or two types of film: the larger I-Type, which produces square format photos, and the newer 'Go' film, used by its tiny Polaroid Go camera. You can choose between color and black-and-white film, along with a range of different border colors.
With variable shutter speed, an automatic flash and auto exposure system that work together to ensure more of your photos produce usable results, and an adjustable lens barrel that's purpose-built for selfies, it's easy to recommend for both newcomers to instant film, and those that already appreciate the medium. Our tests showed that it produced pleasing results reliably. It uses Instax Mini film packs, which is still among the most affordable kinds on the market.
There are no extra features, shooting modes or accessories to think about, which might put off anyone looking to get creative with their photography, and it also carries a price premium at launch. That makes it less easy to recommend than the Mini 11, but discounts could help bring that price tag down.
It's a shrunken-down version of the Polaroid Now (see above), with most of the same features, including self-timer and double-exposure mode, which should please more advanced photographers as well as instant beginners. Autofocus sadly hasn't made the cut, however, so there's a higher chance of ending up with blurry results if you don't keep a good distance from your subject.
Canon's first instant effort is actually more of a hybrid, blending analogue 'film' with digital smarts. The Zink (zero ink) paper it uses doesn't need exposing to light like regular instant film, so the camera can be much smaller. The Ivy Cliq+ / Zoemini S is truly pocket-sized, beating even Fuji's Instax Mini LiPlay for portability.
Unlike the original instax SQUARE model, namely the analog/digital hybrid SQUARE SQ10, the SQ6 has a different idea in mind. Shaped like the Instagram logo and very much targeted at the kind of younger user who shares their creations on the platform, the camera runs on a pair of CR2 batteries and spits out 6.2x6.2cm prints, with the selfie mirror integrated into the front of the camera allowing for more effortless self captures.
Combining retro-analogue charm with modern-day digital credentials, this is essentially a basic, low-resolution digital camera with a printer built-in for making instant snapshots. This gives you the opportunity to properly frame up your subject, and check it's something you actually want to print, before wasting expensive film (it uses Instax mini).
The downside to most instant cameras is their size: if you want large photos, you'll need a large camera, which can be a pain to lug around. An instant photo printer takes up a lot less room, and lets you print directly from your smartphone. That almost certainly means better image quality than what you'll get from the cameras on this list.
We think it's a better buy than the Instax Wide 300 camera, which hasn't seen an update in eight years and is rather cumbersome to use. If you want the biggest instant photos possible, this is arguably the best way to go about it.
Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I've covered cameras at PCMag for the past 10 years, which has given me a front row seat for the DSLR to mirrorless transition, the smartphone camera revolution, and the mainstream adoption of drones for aerial imaging. You can find me on Instagram @jamespfisher.
We love the sharp wide-angle lens of the Lomo'Instant Glass, which takes the same film as cameras like the Fuji Instax Mini 11, but captures a broader view with sharper details. It's a good pick for shutterbugs who like to take photos of larger groups or who want to try out the artsy multi-exposure technique.
Film is available in color or monochrome, and is compatible with tons of cameras from Fujifilm, Leica, Lomography, and Mint. Our favorite entry-level model, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11, sells for about $70 and is available in many colors. If you're a more serious shutterbug, consider the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass, which has a wider-angle lens (better for selfies) and supports multiple exposure images.
For some photographers, instant film is film, which means a square format is a must. In that case, you want Fujifilm's Instax Square film. It has long been available in color, with a per-shot cost of about $1.00. Fujifilm has recently added Instax Square Monochrome to its catalog for black-and-white shots, but it's slightly pricier at close to $1.50 per frame.
Take note: The flash will fire in any lighting condition, no matter what, so bear in mind how that might affect your snaps. We found that a lot of the results missed focus too. If you want extra features like a self-timer or exposure compensation, you can get them in the older .css-1me6ynq-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#125C68;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#125C68;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;.css-1me6ynq:hovercolor:#595959;text-decoration-color:#595959;Instax mini 70.
Take note: We did find the results often look faded and blurry, which you may either find disappointing or that it gives them a retro charm. Polaroid says it factors in the lighting conditions and changes the flash hue accordingly, but we found it overexposed photos much of the time too.
Like the Mini 11, the Instax Mini 40 is an easy to use instant camera, capable of delivering fantastic miniature prints that develop in just 90 seconds. Unlike the Mini 11, the new camera has a textured vintage build reminiscent of classic Fujifilm instant cameras.
Instant cameras, which produce chemical prints directly, with no processing, uploading or development, are huge fun, a little unpredictable and, for photographers of the digital age, a great experience. Although, with the cost of a single print ranging from around 70p to nearly 2, images will need to be thought about quite carefully.
Some instant cameras even now pack digital tech too, allowing you to do things like take multiple shots before picking which to print, save digital copies of photos for your Instagram, or even print shots straight from your phone. Thanks to connected apps, others even offer interactive games and the chance to tweak your prints with stickers, filters, or QR codes to access videos and the like.
The photos that come out of the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 are only about the size of a credit card, which is excellent. If you want to use your prints in a bullet journal or scrapbook, you can be sure their small stature will let you fit them in.
The Instax LiPlay from 2019 offered a range of different effects which could be utilised for those who liked to get a bit creative, but the new Mini Evo takes things to another level by providing 100 different combinations from 10 integrated lens modes and 10 filter options.
The Instax Mini Evo is a more vintage looking camera than the "fun" LiPlay, which has a much more modern design that's available in three different colours. By contrast the Mini Evo is only available in black with silver mirror accents.
It's surrounded by a circular lens dial which is used to cycle through the 10 different lens effects - Normal, Vignette, Soft Focus, Blur, Fisheye, Colour Shift, Light Leak, Mirror, Double Exposure, and Half-frame.
These can be combined with the 10 different film effects - Normal, Vivid, Pale, Canvas, Monochrome, Sepia, Yellow, Red, Blue, and Retro - which are selected via a dedicated click dial on top of the camera, to create 100 possible creative combinations in total.
Also located on top of the camera is an accessory cold shoe which can be used to attach third-party accessories, like continuous LED lights, and a tiny unmakred button resets the lens and film effects back to the default normal/normal modes.
The Instax Mini Evo is designed to work with a companion smartphone app, which is available to download for free. You can connect to the Mini Evo via Bluetooth, and for the most part it connects quickly and seems to remain stable once the initial connection and setup has been completed.
We've no real idea why this limitation exists, and hope that Fuji fix it in a future firmware upgrade. Until then you can work around it by copying the images from the built-in memory onto a memory card, or preferably by recording images to a microSD card and transferring them from that to another device, neither of which are as convenient.
This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo camera, which were all taken using the 4.9 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way. 041b061a72