Ideal for landscape and group shots, it produces 3. I also teach photography to students of all ages, and I have firsthand knowledge of the most common points of confusion for fledgling photographers. Instant cameras use film packs that include a negative, all the necessary chemical developers and substrates, and the positive paper required to produce the finished print.
After you press the shutter, the print emerges from the camera, the development process begins, and the blank sheet turns into a color photograph within minutes. Most film packs come in bundles of 10 exposures, and most cameras have a countdown mechanism to tell you how many shots are left in the pack. Although digital cameras have made the instant camera obsolete in almost every way, there remains a special joy to pressing the shutter button and watching a physical print emerge from the camera and develop right before your eyes.
Even for photographers who remember spending hours in the darkroom, the whole process still feels like magic. Plus, kids raised in the digital camera age are often fascinated by watching a tangible instant print develop.
Instant cameras are also great for sharing with the whole family, regardless of age or photography knowhow. That said, instant cameras are a decidedly retro proposition with a limited set of features. But those shortcomings are part of what most people love about instant cameras. Though intuitive and simple enough that anyone can start shooting with it right away, the SQ6 also has controls like exposure compensation and multiple-exposure mode if you want to get creative.
And the camera body, which comes in gray, silver, and a blush gold, is as retro as the square-format prints and feels solid and durable. If your kids are new to instant cameras, the novelty of a tangible photograph in the hand will have them eagerly posing for their turn. The prints measure 2. And the SQ6 makes reliably good images in full auto mode, so even a novice can usually capture a great shot.
If you want to step out of auto mode, the SQ6 includes more options than what most other instant cameras offer. Exposure controls and the option to disable flash let you experiment with your results. A standard tripod socket and self-timer allow the photographer to join group shots. The camera also includes three flash filters—orange, green, and purple—that you can pop on and off the flash to cast color over the entire image. The SQ6 feels comfortable and solid in the hand. At 14 ounces it weighs about as much as a football, light enough to wear around using the included camera strap and still portable enough to fit into a handbag.
The viewfinder is small, though we found most of our photos hit the mark when trying to center subjects. A mechanical counter on the back displays how many exposures remain. Although the Fujifilm Instax Mini film that our budget pick uses is readily available in most camera shops and drugstores, the newer Fujifilm Instax Square used by the SQ6 can be more difficult to find. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number Select your region.
Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter. Best Black Friday deals View Deal. Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6. Specifications Lens: Film Type: Instax Square. Viewfinder: Small optical viewfinder. Monitor: Basic settings display. Reasons to avoid - Film more expensive than Instax Mini. Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay. Specifications Lens: 28mm equivalent. Film Type: Instax Mini. Viewfinder: None. Monitor: 2. Reasons to avoid - Takes the spontaneous fun away. Reasons to avoid - Unpredictable results - Mini format small.
Fujifilm Instax Mini This bubblegum toy camera is a fun and frivolous instant option. Fujifulm Instax Square SQ1. A Kickstarter vision come to life - the first fully analogue Instax square format camera. The advantage here over a cheaper instant-print camera is an LCD display strip at the back revealing your chosen settings. As usual, the viewfinder is tiny but adequate for purpose, while the faux leather finish to the bodywork adds a splash of style.
Powered by four AA batteries rather than the usual two, the Fujifilm Instax Wide is the big daddy of the Instax print camera range. It's practically medium format camera-like heft enables it to deliver larger prints it uses Instax Wide film packs rather than Instax Mini that more closely resemble standard print dimensions. A lever that encircles the shutter-release button on its bridge-camera-style handgrip powers this one up and extends its 95mm lens, while the built-in flash is similarly huge and automatic, save for a fill-in option.
The Polaroid Go is a palm-sized camera that everyone will fall in love with faster than it takes a photo to develop. Bigger instant cameras balance exposures better, and rival Instax Mini cameras deliver slightly better image quality indoors — but neither are as fun to use, or will make you as many friends, as the Go… which still produces pleasing pics.
And the Go boasts double exposures, which you won't get unless you opt for pricier options like the Instax Mini A fun and funky little camera, the Polaroid Go will be the star of your next party and will deposit an endless amount of memories in your pocket or wallet.
And if you've got kids, this could be the ideal camera for little hands to get started with. Don't forget to pick up a pack of the new Polaroid Go instant film!
The Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 is powered by two small CR2 lithium batteries included that the makers claim will last a whopping 30 film packs, of 10 shots each. Looking to tempt Instagrammers away from their smartphones, this camera apes the style of the 'gram logo and offers square-format imagery, while retaining its analogue workings. Again, we get a selection of body colors and a selfie mode, plus three color filters that attach to the flash, along with double exposure, macro and landscape modes.
Unsurprisingly, the camera uses special Fujifilm Square film, which provides a central image size of 6. A newer Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1 has recently been launched - but the older SQ6 is better value, and has more features - so this is the one you should go for. The Polaroid Now is a welcome arrival to the Polaroid product line, and a worthy addition to the increasingly crowded instant camera world.
For pure point-and-shoot simplicity, though, the Polaroid Now is hard to beat — and while the Instax Mini 11 does have it beaten on price, we definitely prefer the full-size square prints that Polaroid delivers. And much as we love the Instax line, when you're shooting old school instant film there's nothing quite like the tactility of holding a big, boxy Polaroid.
The Fujifilm instax Mini LiPlay is our pick of the litter for one reason. A hybrid instant camera that also functions as an instant printer, the LiPlay uses real instax Mini film — this obviously gives that unique and intangible retro look that's impossible to recreate in any other medium.
And, since you can send images to the LiPlay from your phone, you can print any of your pictures on cool instax film.
It's also perhaps the most "wow"-looking camera here, with gorgeous design especially in the black with rose gold trim , in a beautifully compact design that measures just The 4. There's enough built-in memory to store 45 images, but the camera supports microSD cards to give you as much room as you require, so you can take a bunch of shots and pick the ones you actually want to print. The Kodak Smile Instant Print is one of the best digital instant cameras — a modern update of instant photography that combines the best of analog with the beauty of digital.
This slim-as-a-smartphone camera that sports a sleek design and uses Zink zero ink technology — it's essentially a miniature printer with a lens, producing 2x3-inch sticky-backed prints. Inside the camera is a relatively humble 5MP sensor up to 10MP through interpolation , though for images this size you don't need all the resolution in the world. Ultimately the pictures it produces look more like printer images than they do instant photographs — not necessarily a bad thing, but they don't possess quite the same magic as instant film.
The ability to add up to GB of microSD memory means that you can snap to your heart's content, then cherry pick the images that you want to print. The integrated battery keeps the camera nice and svelte, though you only get around 40 prints per charge — a far cry from the shots you get from Polaroids. The LCD screen is definitely on the basic side, too, so don't go expecting the same kind of fidelity as in your traditional DSLR or mirrorless screen.
Kodak's Mini Shot 3 is a tidy little instant print camera that's great for anyone who doesn't want anything too complicate. It doesn't use Zink like the Kodak Smile above, but houses a proper little printer that uses Kodak's 4PASS all-in-one cartridges to spit out little square prints, 3 inches by 3 inches.
The colors pop a good deal better than Zink, and they are also rated to be longer lasting. The camera overall is pretty cheap, and running it isn't too expensive either, making it a good option if you want to shoot instant on a budget. It also produces 10MP digital photos that you can save via Bluetooth on the app and you do have to do it this way; there's no internal storage. A cheap option that's good fun for anyone, especially those who aren't too confident with using a camera.
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a magazine and web journalist and started working in the photographic industry in as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photographic and lighting tutorials, as well as industry analysis, news and rumors for publications such as Digital Camera Magazine , PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine , N-Photo , Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and demonstrations at The Photography Show.
An Olympus Micro Four Thirds and Canon full frame shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes — and a particular fondness for vintage lenses and film cameras. Jump to: Instant film cameras Digital instant cameras. Fun Modes. Party Print creates collages from multiple phones, while Match Test takes images of two people or two images of one person and prints a combined image. It'll also tell you how "compatible" it thinks the pair is, which is gimmicky, but what party doesn't lighten up with a little gimmickry?
For those of us who value portability, Fujifilm offers the Instax Mini But if you're lucky, you can sometimes find it at a significant discount. This stylish but expensive camera is fantastic—just not for everyone. I enjoyed shooting with it but routinely questioned why it costs more than twice as much as the incredibly similar Fuji Instax Mini Here's another one like the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link.
It's a portable printer, and while the app for your phone can be a little fiddly, the printer itself is simple to set up and use. If you want to edit photos first, skip Fujifilm's app and use a dedicated photo editing app to save the results, then print.
Photograph: Fujifilm. Photograph: Lomography. Photograph: Polaroid. Photograph: Leica. Photograph: Amazon. She especially loves discounts, video games … and discounted video games.
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