Ever since Polaroid withdrew from the market, numerous companies have tried to fill the huge gap left in the instant-photography world. Every year we are blessed with new options that continue to pop up, whether it is from established manufacturers, such as Fujifilm and Leica, or relative newcomers The Impossible Project, now Polaroid Originals, and Mint. Now, there is such an assortment of cameras and film that shooters have plenty of choice when they want to get started with instant film photography.
The Cameras
If you want to start taking photos with instant film, you are going to need a camera—and if you start doing research, you will likely stumble upon The Impossible Project and its mission to revive original Polaroid film formats and restore original Polaroid cameras. Early in 2016, Impossible created the I-1, a modern take on the instant film camera, which accepts 600-type film and features autofocus, an LED ring flash, physical controls, and Bluetooth LE 4.0 for connectivity with iOS and watchOS devices for complete manual control. A year after this, Impossible had a huge announcement, they were reviving the Polaroid name with a rebranding to Polaroid Originals and the launch of the OneStep2, a simplified option that embraces the legacy of Polaroid instant film cameras. They have certainly given instant photography a couple fresh new cameras with these releases, though if you are more into the classics, they also refurbish older Polaroid 600 and SX-70 cameras.
Even with the work Polaroid Originals is doing, the biggest instant film company today has to be Fujifilm, with its popular line of instax series cameras, which is available in three different formats: instax Wide, instax SQUARE, and instax mini. Among the most popular options is the mini 9, a fun camera that takes instax mini film. It features auto exposure, a built-in flash, and extremely easy controls, making it great for children, parties, and fun-loving adults. It even comes in a large assortment of colors. Relatively new to the lineup is the instax SQUARE format, first introduced with the hybrid digital/film SQ10 camera. Another common choice is the Wide 300 camera, which takes the larger instax Wide film. This camera offers some simple settings, including a two-zone focusing system, but adds an LCD screen on which you can check the number of shots and all your settings, making it a popular choice for those looking to take their instant photography up a notch.
Leica surprised a lot of people with its announcement of the Sofort, in 2016, which takes Fujifilm’s instax mini-format film and offers a Leica-made 34mm equivalent lens. It also sports a three-zone manual focus system, 0.37x optical viewfinder, built-in flash, and mechanical shutter, among other features such as automatic shooting and exposure compensation. In typical Leica fashion, the Sofort is a stylish camera, but also designed to be equally functional and straightforward to use.
If you are looking for something new, but with a classic feel, Mint Camera has you covered with its most unique option, the InstantFlex TL70 2.0. This TLR accepts instax mini film, has a classic triplet 61mm f/5.6 lens, and the aperture and shutter speed are adjustable for complete creative control. Or, for a souped-up retro option, Mint has also devised a series of modified original SX-70s that can now accept 600-type film, as well as a pair of options with full manual exposure control.
Lomography fans can rejoice, because this company offers some instant film options, too, which includes the Lomo’Instant Wide. This instax Wide-format camera features a 35mm equivalent wide-angle lens with three zone focusing settings, as well as three shutter speed modes that include options for long and multiple exposures. A pair of Lomo’Instant bundles are available, too, which pair the camera with a duo of lens attachments, a Splitzer for creative multiple exposures, and a set of colored gels for the built-in flash.
If shooting instant film isn’t quite your thing, but you still love the look of instant prints, Fujifilm has the SP-2 instax SHARE printer and the SP-3 instax SHARE printer that allow you to print photos from your smartphone or tablet onto instax mini or instax SQUARE film, respectively. It is a fun way to present your images and get a unique look for a small collection of images.
The Film
Arguably even more important than the camera is the instant film itself, and when Polaroid stopped making its legendary film, it had the entire photography world worried that its classic instant cameras had finally become obsolete. Luckily, Polaroid Originals stepped in to resurrect the film before it was forgotten. After a few years of hard work, the company made quite the name for itself by producing new versions of these classic films for various Polaroid camera types. While earlier batches suffered from some inconsistencies and slight differences from the classic film stocks, Impossible has grown to create its latest versions, which promise excellent color and faster development times. Also, the fact that Impossible Project makes film for Polaroid 600, SX-70, and Spectra/Image-type cameras means you can bring out your original Polaroid cameras again and capture images in the recognizable 3.1 x 3.1" and 3.6 x 2.9" formats. In addition, the company offers monochrome, color, and duotone color options and a wide variety of frame types and shapes, so you can either revisit the classic format or just have some fun with colored, circular frames.
While Impossible is known for bringing back the classics, Fujifilm helped make instant film extremely accessible, leading it to become the most popular instant film manufacturer today. Again the instax brand consists of three main formats: instax Wide, instax SQUARE, and instax mini, and they all share many underlying features, including ISO 800 sensitivity for use in a variety of lighting conditions, daylight color balance, and vivid color rendition with natural skin tones. The main difference is obviously the size: Wide offers a 2.4 x 3.9" glossy image area with a total size of 3.4 x 4.25", SQUARE has a distinct 2.4 x 2.4" image area and a total area of 3.4 x 2.8", while mini films have an image area of 2.4 x 1.8" and a total area of 3.4 x 2.1". The Wide format is loved by photographers who are serious about their instant work, but mini has been gaining in popularity due to the variety of cameras available, and its shareable credit-card size. instax mini film is also available in a variety of different frame styles for you to choose from, and more recently, the film is also available in monochrome black-and-white.
As a side note, Fujifilm made the highly-regarded FP-100C peel-apart instant color film, which you can still get your hands on at B&H, if you have some cameras that take the 3.35 x 4.25" (85 x 108 mm) format. This film is known for being a more “professional” option with its rich color, outstanding sharpness, and ISO 100 rating.
When Leica made the Sofort camera this year, they obviously had to have film to go along with it. Luckily, since the camera takes the instax mini format, there are many quality options, but if you want to maintain Leica’s aesthetic, you may want to stick to offerings that include straightforward Color and Monochrom film options, each with a natural-looking warm white border.
Are you excited about the revival of instant film? Please post questions or thoughts in the Comments section, below.
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