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| There are plenty of choices for instant cameras, with different types of film and features. We break down the top six cams for every user's needs. |
Instant cameras have dominated camera sales for over a decade. Fujifilm, the 800-pound gorilla in the sector, raked in over $890 million in Instax sales revenue worldwide in 2023, accounting for more than half of the company's overall revenue.
As DSLR and mirrorless camera sales have declined recently, instant cameras, particularly Instax cameras from Fujifilm, have flourished. Perhaps that is due to appealing to a broad tent of potential users, from nostalgia-chasing Baby Boomers to younger Gen Z and Alpha users seeking a more tactile, physical and social form of photography. They've become more than a camera; they're part of pop culture and it's not uncommon to see special edition instant cameras from the likes of Taylor Swift or BTS.
If you're new to instant cameras or in the market for your next one, we've looked at the landscape and have broken down the six best instant cameras you can buy today.
An instant start
It's best to start with the film stock when considering instant cameras. Fujifilm's Instax film is by far the most popular and widely available and has been adopted by cameras made by Leica, Lomography and the occasional startup. Instax film comes in three types (mini, square and wide) and they're not interchangeable, so deciding which format of Instax you're most interested in before picking out a camera is vital.
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Format name |
Image size | Shots per pack |
Average cost of twin pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instax Mini | 46 × 62 mm
(1.8 × 2.4") |
10 | ∼$13 / 20 exposures |
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Instax Square |
62 x 62 mm |
10 | ∼$30 / 20 exposures |
|
Instax Wide |
99 x 62 mm
(3.9 x 2.4") |
10 | ∼$20 / 20 exposures |
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There is also Polaroid film, which is presently used only by Polaroid cameras. We liked the color film for its muted colors and staying true to the nostalgic Polaroid look (which we should note is not the same film as the Polaroid of the 70s-90s, but a modern stock made by the Dutch company formerly known as the Impossible Project).
But we also felt that side by side, Instax film had better color, contrast and overall was more pleasing to the eye. Another consideration for budget-conscious shutterbugs, Polaroid's instant film options tend to be more expensive than Instax, running roughly $2 a shot to Instax's roughly $1 per exposure.
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Format name |
Image size | Shots per pack |
Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| i-Type | 79 × 77 mm (3.1 × 3") |
8 | ∼$27 / 16 exposures |
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600 |
79 × 77 mm |
8 | ∼$30 / 16 exposures |
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SX-7 |
79 × 77 mm (3.1 × 3") |
8 | ∼$20 / 8 exposures |
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A little less popular is the Zink format, which is less of a film stock and more of a printing paper. We've seen this format show up in offerings from Kodak and Canon. Zink prints are the most economical, costing about $0.50 per shot. Unlike Instax and Polaroid film, which expose images on a light-reactive surface, Zink is photo paper with embedded ink dyes. Dyes in the paper are pressure-released and mixed to print photos. These prints tend to produce a wider range of colors than its competitors but struggle with blacks, often lacking contrast, and there's concern over how long prints last, with some from a decade ago showing extensive fading.
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Format name |
Image size | Shots per pack |
Average cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zink |
5 x 7.6 mm |
50 | ∼$25 / 50 exposures |
Picking a film stock will come down to taste. However, we recommend Instax Mini: photos are vibrant with great quality, it's a widely used format, which makes it unlikely it'll be hard to find, and it's affordable compared to Polaroid.
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Best entry-level instant camera: Fujifilm Instax Mini 12
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Photo: Fujifilm |
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For casual and beginners seeking a way into instant photography and having fun with analog photography, the Mini 12 fits the bill. It has one-button operation, includes a tiny selfie mirror and most of all, it's affordable. Instax cameras aren't very complicated to begin with and the Mini 12 is as simple as can be. Everything is automatic, from flash control to exposure, and the emphasis is on picture-making; point it at something from 1-1.5m (4-5ft) away, click and out pops a photo. (As its name implies, it uses the mini format of Instax film which is easy to find.)
Pricing for older models like the Mini 11 isn't much lower than the Mini 12 and we don't recommend them. There are subtle improvements new to this model that might keep users from getting frustrated, such as parallax correction, which aligns the viewfinder with the lens when using Close-Up Mode so users no longer have to guess where the center of the frame is (and waste film).
One limiting factor to consider is the lack of flash control, which means that if you're too close to someone/something you will overexpose them/it. It's only worth mentioning as something to be aware of, most instant cameras don't let users control the flash until you get into more expensive cameras.
Best-looking entry-level instant camera: Fujifilm Instax mini 40
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| Photo: Dan Bracaglia |
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An Instax Mini 11 in a much much nicer suit, the Instax Mini 40 wraps itself in faux leather and silver trim for a retro rangefinder-eque design. The specs are identical to the Mini 11, so you won't gain the Mini 12's parallax correction to align the viewfinder with the lens in Close-Up Mode. Otherwise, you'll still have an easy-to-use, automatic camera that accepts Mini film. It's more 'grownup' than the candy-colored plastic design of the Mini 12, but the cool factor comes at a slightly higher cost.
Read our Instax Mini 40 hands-on
Best wide Instax camera: Instax Wide 300
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| Photo: Fujifilm |
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If the Mini format feels too narrow, and it is if you're seeking large group shots or landscapes, there's the Instax Wide 300 ($120), also Fujifilm's only wide format camera.
Shooting Wide film (about twice the width of Mini format) has to be your priority before you consider this camera. The camera itself has limited exposure compensation control and two motor-driven focus positions; otherwise, it's fully automatic. There is an attachment for close-ups (down to 40cm). It's also pretty bulky due to the wide format film, but the larger size does gain a comfortable hand grip.
As an alternative, we also considered the Lomography Lomo'Instant Wide ($170), like the Wide 300 it's also a simple-to-use camera, but this model adds some manual controls, modes like multiple exposure mode, flash gels, an ultra wide-angle attachment lens and a remote trigger switch (but it's on the lens cap making it prone to accidental presses when you go to remove/replace the cap). There is a bit of a learning curve to using the camera, focusing is difficult and we found the plastic build to be lacking in ergonomics. We didn't think the added cost was worth recommending it over the solid and reliable Wide 300.
Best "overkill" Instax-film camera: NONS SL660
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| Photo: Gannon Burgett |
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Built like a tank with anodized aluminum alloy, weighing nearly 900g (2lbs), with an EF-style lens mount, the NONS SL660 brings the SLR experience to instant photography. At $600, it's also only for the most passionate and dedicated photographers seeking a manual SLR-style instant camera that uses Instax Square film. There's also shutter control, bulb, a hot shoe for external flash and the camera supports multiple exposures.
Introducing interchangeable lenses with a TTL viewfinder makes using EF lenses or compatible adapters for other glass possible. A note, there are no electronic contacts on the EF-style mount, so you won't be able to adjust the aperture on genuine EF lenses and it'll default to their widest setting. Using EF adapters, older manual lenses with an aperture ring can be used.
It's pricey, but that price tag gets users solid build quality, a premium feel and new creative possibilities with instant photography.
Best instant hybrid digital camera: Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo
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| Photo: Jeremy Gray |
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If you're not ready to commit to a fully analog experience, a few instant cameras have combined digital capture with instant film printing. We like Fujifilm's Instax Mini Evo. It's about $120 more than the analog Mini 12 and you gain a digital camera and a collection of lens effects and film effects such as monochrome, vivid and sepia. The digital images are rather small at 2560 x 1920, about 4.9MP, so it won't be mind-blowing.
There is also a tradeoff in giving up the experience of seeing a photo develop and waiting to see if you got the shot that makes instant photography unique, so on a base level, it is a different experience.
It's a bit of having your cake and eating it too; you can capture digital images and then decide which ones you want to print out on instant film. This saves printing costs for only those choice images you genuinely want and makes it easier to transfer digital files to your computer or smartphone for saving and sharing.
Best instant camera if you don't want Instax: Polaroid I-2
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| Photo: Dan Bracaglia |
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Our reservations over its film being more expensive and not as punchy aside, the Polaroid I-2 is truly one of the best-built instant cameras on the market. It's rather pricey, $600, which is due to all the tech jammed inside it and the purpose it was built for: for advanced users who want to revisit Poloroid's i-Type, 600, and SX-70 film.
The camera has full manual controls, aperture and shutter priority modes, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) autofocus and a sharp 38mm f/3.2 equiv. lens. You also get flash on/off control, an uncommon feature for instant cameras.
Polaroid spent four years developing the I-2, tapping retired Olympus engineers for AF and lens design assistance. Every detail feels intentional, from a viewfinder with displays for current shutter speed, aperture, meter reading, remaining shots, battery life and flash status to the simple film-loading mechanism.
We still prefer Instax's color, contrast and price point, but this is the camera to beat if you're drawn to Polaroid films.
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