Instant cameras have been around since 1947 with the invention of the polariod camera. From 1947 to 2021 there have been many, many models of these cameras not only from polariod but from a number of different companys. The one that I have and am looking at today is the Instax 11 Mini by Fujifilm released back in January 2020.
Hey everyone! So, I got this Instax camera in the Holiday season of this year! I have been trying it out and it certainly has been interesting. Just like any of my reviews, let’s check out the specs.
Specs & Price
The Instax 11 Mini costs 70 USD and 80 USD for the Creators Bundle (what I have).
Film type: Fujifilm instant film
Colors: Blue, Blush Pink, Lilac Purple, Pink, Purple, Sky Blue, White
Lens: Fixed lens
The Process of Taking a Photo:
To take a photo on this instant camera you have to have instant film, two AA Batteries, and a place with controlled lighting if you want to get the best result. Now in my experimentation, I found that normally taking photos outdoors in a shadow gave an awesome result too! Oh, also be sure to have the film… that is kinda important! 😂
Now, you look through the viewfinder and take the photo. Since the viewfinder isn’t going through the lens at all, the photo will certainly be different to what you see. After a second, the print will slide out of the top and start developing!
Taking Photos Outside:
In this post, I am going to show off both outdoor and indoor photos. I will start with the outdoor photos! The photos below are unedited right now.
As you can see from those few photos, the photo quality isn’t phenomenal, but it is pretty cool to take photos with a camera like this.
Indoor Photos:
I wanted to see if I could improve the quality with some controlled lighting. I put some stuff in my light box to take photos.
The huge issue was that the flash was firing. There is no way to stop the flash from going off, which is pretty annoying. Also, although I have a fairly big light box, the camera’s minimum focus distance was too far and most of the photos came out blurry. I turned off all lights and tried two more photos outside of the lightbox:
These photos still were overexposed. Also, the camera somehow made my one key yellow in the photo. I’m not sure what happened there.
Right now I think that the photos are the best outside in the shade.
Watching it Develop
Watching the film develop is SUPER satisfying! I recorded a few clips of the film developing, which you can watch with the link below:
https://rumble.com/vjvu8o-sooo-satisfying-instax-film-developing.html
I want to note that although there are only three clips in the video, they were filmed all across the past year, so I do apologize for the inconsistencies!
Editing Prints??
There is a way to somewhat edit the photos from the camera. I wouldn’t recommend doing anything crazy, but you can certainly do small things. I’ll show you some below:
As you can see, that was just a small change that made a pretty big impact on the photo.
So if you want to make minor changes, which in most cases of my cases was brightening the shadows, you can.
What I like:
I like that Fujifilm kept the camera fairly low tech. It is what keeps it nostalgic for the user. I also find that the printing mechanic is pretty cool. I don’t know for sure, but I think that it prints differently from old Polaroids. The developing is fast in most cases, which is awesome! The camera is also super small making it very portable!
What I don’t like:
I definitely don’t like the flash. I wish there was just a small switch to turn it off when using controlled lighting. It does seem like there are newer models now, but I really don’t know if they have an off button for the flash.
These are the main models… I am not sure which ones are new, but it seems like the 40 is the newest, even though that makes no sense at all…
Another thing that I would have liked is just a small tripod mount. I know most people wouldn’t use it, but it would have been a nice detail for photographers that are having fun with this camera.
Overall:
I think that this camera is a pretty cool and fun camera to use. I think that it may be on the pricey end for what you are getting, but still worth the buy if you just want to have fun with the camera.
Creativity:
Before I totally finish the blog post, there was a video from TMS Productions, and they did some cool double exposure shots and stuff, so if you are interested in seeing more from this camera, check out that video.
This camera has some cool potential, and I could even see how you could just be super creative with this camera and write an entire blog using only instant cameras. If anyone does that, definitely share in the comments!
Conclusion:
I really hope that you enjoyed this post! It was really cool to shoot with this camera for a different perspective on photography! Let me know if you have ever used an Instant camera in the comments below! Have a fantastic week everyone! I’ll be back next Friday!
-Digital Wonders & Smiles
Digital Wonders and Smiles 