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What are the best instant cameras for beginners?

3

Options
Considered

22

User
Recs.

Jun 15, 2018

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

3 Options Considered

Best instant cameras for beginners	Price	Weight	Dimensions
51 Fujifilm Instax Mini 70	$118	281g (without battery, strap and film pack)	99.2 x 113.7 x 53.2mm
-- Polaroid Z2300 10MP	$189.50	0.58 pounds	1.38 x 2.99 x 4.65 inches
-- Lomo'Instant Automat	$149+	354g	89 x 114 x 64mm

Fujifilm Instax Mini 70

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Top Pro

Beginner-friendly shooting and focus modes

It offers 3 shooting modes – an auto mode (landscape and macro focusing modes), dedicated selfie mode and a hi-key mode for extreme brightness. These 3 modes offer everything a beginner might need. The focus modes can be changed to landscape, normal or macro modes with just the touch of a button. See More

Top Con

Small margin for exposure compensation

Exposure compensation can only be done between -⅔ and +⅔ EV, which is a small margin. See More

Wikyleaks's Experience

I've used this camera for fun differts time and to get close to the "instax" world. I've found this simple and good for the biginning. It's not difficult to use and to start is beautiful. certainly to have professional functions, you need something else See More

Specs

Weight:281g (without battery, strap and film pack)

Dimensions:99.2 x 113.7 x 53.2mm

Viewfinder:Real image finder, 0.37x, with target spot

Flash:Yes ( always on auto )

Top Pro

Easy to focus selfies

The selfie mode automatically sets the lens to a close focusing distance. See More

Top Con

Limited manual control

Manual control is quite limited. You just have the choice of changing between preset modes and some basic EV adjustments. See More

Top Pro

Camera status info via LCD screen

A basic LCD screen provides information regarding shots remaining and the current mode. See More

Top Con

Small image size

This camera's film actual photos are tiny: the actual image size is 1.8” × 2.4" on a 2.1” × 3.4" card. See More

Top Pro

Many styling accessories available

As one of the most popular instant cameras on the market, it has plenty of low-cost, third party accessories available, beside the official ones offered by the manufacturer. However, most of the accessories are not directly related to photography, but are instead "styling" items such as bags, stickers, or straps. See More

Top Con

Toyish design

Due to it's design, this camera is frequently compared to a toy camera. See More

Top Pro

It's very unlikely that film will disappear from the market soon

Since approximately 5 million Instax cameras were sold just in 2016, it's pretty much guaranteed that its film will be widely available for years to come. See More

Top Con

Hard to find battery

The camera uses a CR2 battery standard which is less common than AA batteries and not as widely available. See More

Top Pro

Stylish signature Fuji Instax design

The camera boasts the signature Fuji Instax design – rectangular with very rounded corners and a big, bulky retractable lens in the middle. Its size is relatively small (4.5" x 2.25" x 4.25") and it's available in five different colors, ranging from bright and fun colors to more low-key ones. See More

Top Con

Hard to use the shutter button when in landscape mode

The shutter button is placed a bit awkwardly and can be hard to reach when shooting in landscape mode. See More

Top Pro

No selfie film wasting

The built-in selfie mirror makes taking self-portraits much easier, eliminating the risk of wasting film on wrongly framed guesses. See More

Top Con

Flash can't be turned off

There is no option to manually turn off the flash. See More

Top Pro

Can be mounted on a tripod

The camera is mountable on a tripod. See More

Top Pro

Very affordable film

This camera uses the Fuji Instax Mini, which is a notably affordable instant film. A pack of Instax Mini film costs around $8 for 10 photographs, or $0.80 per shot. See More

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Polaroid Z2300 10MP

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Top Pro

As easy to use as a point-and-shoot camera

Despite having multiple settings options, this camera has modes that are as simple to use as a point-and-shoot camera. See More

Top Con

Feels flimsy and fragile

This camera has poor build quality, feeling rather vulnerable to damage. See More

Specs

Weight:0.58 pounds

Dimensions:1.38 x 2.99 x 4.65 inches

Viewfinder:3-inch LCD screen

Top Pro

Save pictures rather than printing them straight away

In case you don't want to print your picture straight away or have no more film, you can save it to the camera's removable SD card (supporting memory up to 32GB). See More

Top Pro

Photos can be used as stickers

The back of the photo paper can be peeled off, revealing an adhesive surface, so these photos can be used as stickers. See More

Lomo'Instant Automat

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Top Pro

Great automatic performance

This camera's ambient light meter does a great job getting the proper exposure and shutter speed in most situations, particularly in indoor environments. See More

Top Con

Batteries can be hard to find

The camera is powered by CR2 type batteries that are long lasting and compact, but may be hard to find. See More

Specs

Dimensions:89 x 114 x 64mm

Viewfinder:Direct optical viewfinder

Top Pro

Affordable film

This camera uses the Fuji Instax film standard. While the images are small, measuring 2.4x1.8 inches, the film is the cheapest in the market costing around 60-80 US cents per picture. There is also a B&W film available, but is twice as expensive. See More

Top Con

Automatic mode has issues with high dynamic range pictures

This camera's automatic mode can struggle when dealing with contrasty outdoor scenes, such as dark buildings against bright skies. For what it's worth, you can correct the exposure manually to choose between capturing either the darker or the brighter areas of the scene. See More

Top Pro

Unlimited exposures on the same film

Multiple exposure mode allows you to take unlimited exposures on one film, which is rare for a camera in this price range. See More

Top Pro

Full flash control

The Automat offers full flash control, even when in automatic mode. See More

Top Pro

IR remote control

The lens cover doubles as an IR remote controller for the camera. See More

Top Pro

Comes with cards featuring photography hints

The Automat comes with "inspiration cards" with hints and tips to improve your shooting skills. See More

Top Pro

Available in a great bundle deal

Lomography offers a bundle deal for this camera. It adds several lens add-ons, coloured flash gels and a Splitzer for multiple exposures. It does not add a lot to the cost, so it makes sense to buy the bundle, unless you have the accessories already. Alternatively, the accessories (without the camera itself) can be bought as a set, separately. See More

Top Pro

Bulb mode for long exposures

The Automat has a bulb mode for long exposures, up to 30 seconds, and you can use the flash while in bulb mode. See More

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