Despite the rise of smartphones and digital photos, the charm of printed photos is undeniable. And more, if they can be obtained instantly. That’s why we have prepared this selection of instant cameras for you to buy the right one.
The way we immortalize the moments of our lives has changed a lot in recent years. The proliferation of smartphones, with their quality cameras, has made almost all the photos of our lives are in digital format. However, the charm of printed photos is still present. That’s why instant cameras not only survive the boom of photos taken with the phone, but they are increasingly popular.
With an instant camera, you can immortalize the moments you want and enjoy them instantly, as their own name suggests. They are simple to use, they give you your printed photo at the moment and they are really compact and easy to take with you. Whether you want to make one for your personal enjoyment, or if you are thinking about giving one, we tell you which are the best ones so that your new camera is a safe bet.
Also, read our other guides on the best travel camera, cameras under 500, cameras under 2000, and the best DSLR for beginners.
How does an instant camera work?
Although at first, you might think that the development is done by the camera, in reality, the instant film is the protagonist in this process. Each film is sensitive to light like the reels of analog cameras and is therefore capable of capturing the image when the shutter is opened.
To be able to fix the image to the film, each one contains some “bubbles” with chemical substances like those we would find in a photographic laboratory, when the instant film leaves the camera, goes through rollers that crush the “bubbles” with these substances, distributing them throughout the film and revealing the photo.
There is another type of cartridge for instant cameras that work with heat. Through the temperature they make react to crystals embedded in the film coated with a polymer, coloring them with pigments.
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The best instant cameras in the market – Buying guide
If traditional photography was a revolution, imagine when the instant camera arrived. The magic of being able to see and touch the photo instantly in a matter of seconds. Brands of instant cameras like the famous Polaroid, Fujifilm or Kodak were made with a market that today goes back to overcome thanks to that nostalgia for touching the photos, enjoy the development process and a little vintage fashion.
Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Instant Camera
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 is currently the most sold model of instant camera, with a decent price-quality ratio for those who want to enter the world of instant photography. It is great as a camera to give to children as well as adults. It is available in various colors and kits with Instax Mini sheets included.
This instant camera has details such as a mirror for selfies placed right next to the lens, macro lens that allows you to approach objects up to 35cm (improving the lens of the previous model, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 8) or a wheel to adjust the brightness.
As a curiosity, the Instax Mini 9 has help capture by a led placed next to the exposure dial that tells you which mode is best for each scene, although you can do it manually if you want. The modes that are available are interior with opening f / 12.7, cloudy with f / 16, sunny f / 22, very sunny f / 32. To improve indoor exposure, it has a flash that although not very powerful, Fujifilm has equipped this camera with a High Key mode that improves the shots in dark or interior places.
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Polaroid SNAP Touch 2.0
There is a more current model with a 3.5-inch touch screen, the Polaroid Snap Touch. The design does not change anything but having a screen to preview the photos is a big improvement over its predecessor, yes, the screen is paid, this camera goes up to 180-195 dollars.
In addition to instant photos, you can record video and save them to the microSD card. It also has burst mode and Bluetooth connectivity, so you can send your photos to a smartphone. You will also have the possibility of dividing a photograph into 4 or 9 parts to print them in several photos and to join them to have a larger one.
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Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic Instant Film Camera
This small vintage camera allows us to play something more than the other competitors, offering new shooting options, such as the possibility of photographing in long exposure or in double exposure.
In addition, we will find other modes for different types of photography: macro mode (for photographing objects at short distances); Party mode (with more light in low light environments), children mode (for subjects that move quickly as animals or children) and landscape mode, perfect for photographing subjects more than three meters away.
The high-performance flash of the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic helps us achieve correct exposure, even with photographs taken over short distances. We can activate or deactivate the camera flash comfortably from its rear dial. We can also compensate the exposure through four modes: normal, bright, brighter and dark mode.
Its powerful macro will allow us to photograph small subjects at short distances with total clarity. Mount a 60 mm lens. It has a timer and a very interesting option: the x2 mode, which allows us to make two copies of the same image, in order to share it comfortably.
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Fujifilm Instax Wide Instant Cameras
Perhaps one of the most interesting instant camera models in the market. It uses Instax Wide film, a format that is twice as large as the Instax mini, with a sheet size of 86 x 108mm and a photo of 62 x 99 mm. The worst is that it works with batteries so it is highly recommended to use rechargeable batteries so that the expense between film and batteries is not higher.
Its strong point is undoubtedly the size of the film used, the large photos are beautiful and the result is much more professional than the Mini 9. When using such a large format, it is normal that its size is considerable (16,8 x 9.5 x 12.1 cm) and also weigh about 612 grams. The price of each photo with respect to the Mini models is 14 cents difference.
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Leica Sofort Instant Film Camera
The thing begins to get serious, Leica entered 2016 by surprise in the instant photography game with the model Sofort (meaning “on the spot”) at a price of $249 (at the time of writing).
Its objective is an Automatik-Hektor of 60mm with an opening f / 12.7, equivalent to a 34mm in Full frame and we have a sensitivity of 800 ISO. In the focus it allows us to choose between macro from 0.3 to 0.6m, portrait mode from 0.6 to 3m or infinity. The film format used is 62 x 46 mm, so yes, it is compatible with Fujifilm’s Instax Mini photo film.
It weighs about 305 grams so it is perfect to carry anywhere and its dimensions are 124 x 94 x 58 mm.
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KODAK Mini Shot Wireless Instant Digital Camera
This powerful Kodak Mini Shot goes further and gives us the features and advantages of a compact 10-megapixel camera with the benefits of instant printing.
Available in six colors (blue, pink, yellow, purple, black or white), this camera has a 1.7-inch rear viewfinder that will help us see and select the images we want to print. We can also connect our mobile device by Bluetooth and share or print the images we want without any problem.
The printed images have the size of a credit card: 2.1 x 3.4 cm. And the refill cartridges have up to 20 impressions.
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Polaroid Originals 9008 OneStep 2
With a high-quality lens with a focal length of 106 mm and a powerful strobe flash, we only have to worry about framing and shooting.
Polaroid has improved the optical viewfinder to further facilitate the shooting and better frame the subjects. It has also renewed the battery system, now ensuring a duration of 60 days (or about 15-20 film packages), rechargeable via USB in the back of the camera.
One of the strengths of this camera is that we can cancel the flash whenever we want. In addition, it has a timer and a small dial that allows us to compensate for the exposure and obtain somewhat lighter or darker pictures. The camera has a minimum focusing distance of 60 cm, so it is not recommended for selfies.
As for its paper finishes, Polaroid has a wide variety, in black and white or color, even limited editions. A whole point in favor for lovers of this type of snapshots. Of course, each copy will cost approximately two euros, since each spare box has a load of 8 photographs.
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Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera
Within all the models that we have seen, perhaps the Polaroid Snap is the most looks of this century. This instant camera is the closest thing to carrying a digital compact camera. Interesting, right?
They have connectivity with smartphones to edit your photos with your favorite app. It is perfect for those who do not want to give up the basic features of today’s cameras and more modern design in a Polaroid instant camera.
Its price ranges from 70 dollars to 100 depending on the color you choose, if this is not a problem for you, you are going to save some good money for the cartridges.
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The instant cameras: are they worth?
It all depends on personal taste if you have never lived the experience of having the photo on paper instantly it may be a good idea to get one and enjoy it. I also see them as a good way of introducing children to photography, accustomed to seeing the photos on the phone hallucinate when they see how they come out in a few seconds.
You should think about the cost per photo of each camera, the Instax Mini has affordable spare parts and Amazon usually puts packs of offers, so you can buy a large pack and have sheets to bore you.
If you want something more professional buy the Wide, the quality is much higher than the Mini and it does not look like a toy. The choice is yours!