Best Instant Cameras

Before digital cameras transformed photography, the instant camera provided the only way to see pictures as soon as you took them. The granddaddy instant, the Polaroid Land, was introduced in 1948 after Edwin Land’s daughter asked, “Why can’t I see it now?”

Instant photography boomed through the sixties and seventies but dropped in popularity around the turn of the century, when anyone with a digital could see it now. In recent years, though, instant cameras have made a comeback. The thrill of holding a fresh photograph just never goes away.

The early Polaroid Land cameras were expensive and bulky. Today’s instants are economical, in styles from sleek and stylish to fun and colorful. Pictures are smaller, but watching the image develop before your eyes is as fun as ever.

Instant cameras will never be as popular as digitals. For starters, image quality just isn’t there. The better cameras take pictures almost as good as digital, provided the light is ideal, but instants fair poorly on foggy days and in other weak conditions. Second, while the cameras are affordable, film is expensive. Depending on brand, hand-held pictures cost from 60 cents to two dollars apiece. There are some hybrid cameras that create a digital image and won’t print unless you ask them to.

With today’s instant cameras the emphasis is on fun. They’re family-friendly and many are built to appeal to children. Here are 10 to consider if you want to discover what the new instant boomlet is all about.

Image	Title	Price	Prime	Buy
Top	Leica Sofort Instant Film Camera (White)		Prime	Buy Now
Top	Polaroid Originals OneStep+ Black (9010), Bluetooth Connected Instant Film Camera		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
Top	Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic Instant Film Camera		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
Top	Zink KODAK Smile Instant Print Digital Camera – Slide-Open 10MP Camera w/2x3 ZINK Paper, Screen, Fixed Focus, Auto Flash & Photo Editing – Black/ White		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
Top	Polaroid Originals Now I-Type Instant Camera - Black (9028)		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
Top	Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 Instant Film Camera (Black)		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
Top	Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 - Instant Film Camera (Blue)		Prime	Buy Now
	Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera - Blush Pink		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
	Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 - Ice Blue Instant Camera		PrimeEligible	Buy Now
	Dragon Touch InstantFun Instant Print Camera for Kids, Zero Ink Toy Camera with Print Paper, Cartoon Sticker, Color Pencils, Portable Digital Creative Print Camera for Boys and Girls - Pink		PrimeEligible	Buy Now

1. Leica Sofort

This preeminent camera maker has introduced an instant film camera. Now, instead of spending thousands for the prestige of the Leica name, you can join the club at about $300. Unfortunately, in terms of versatility and picture quality, it doesn’t give you much more than a Fujifilm Instax.

Pros:

• The most stylish-looking of the instant cameras. Unlike some others, not designed to appeal to children.
• Has the cool red logo with the Leica name on it.

Cons:

• Expensive! Twice as costly as the top Polaroid camera.
• More quality complaints than you’d expect with a Leica product.

Final Thoughts:

If you’d like to own a Leica at a price you never expected, here’s your chance. However, if you just want to take instant pictures, there’s more for your money elsewhere.

2. Polaroid Originals OneStep+

This is the flagship of the Polaroid line, the top offering with the original instant camera name. It’s sturdy, handsome and loaded with features. Two lenses – standard and portrait – are included. Bluetooth allows remote shutter control from a smartphone. Three focus modes: macro, normal and landscape. Noise trigger lets you snap with a handclap.

Pros:

• Closer in picture quality to a digital camera than most.
• Tons of features including Bluetooth shooting mode.
• One lens for up to three feet and another for three feet to infinity.

Cons:

• Expensive film makes for high per-shot costs.
• Slow development time.

Final Thoughts:

With this revived version of the Polaroid cameras of the 1970s, pictures are about as close to a modern digital camera as an instant can get.

3. Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic

Fujifilm likes to make cameras with bright colors and playful designs, but the Mini 90 Neo Classic is styled for grown-ups. It looks more like a conventional camera. It’s the only rechargeable Instax, and it has six shooting modes including double exposure. It detects brightness and adjusts flash and shutter speed.

Pros:

• Rechargeable battery.
• LCD display.
• Kids mode increases shutter speed to snap fast-moving objects.
• Stylish adult-oriented appearance.

Cons:

• Viewfinder is small and not always accurate on close objects. Framing is tricky.
• Difficult to get good pictures in poor light.

Final Thoughts:

The most serious offering from the company that’s led the instant camera resurgence. A good choice for the photographer who wants to try out the instant printing experience.

4. KODAK Smile Instant Print Digital Camera

This hybrid camera allows you to save your photos as digital images and immediately print only the ones you want using ZINK, or zero ink, technology. Saved images are stored on an SD card. Printed images tend to look like printouts. We’re used to seeing those these days, but they’re not quite as fun as instant photos.

Pros:

• Save on film costs by printing only the photos you select.
• Digital quality pictures in digital format.
• Camera is slim like a smartphone.

Cons:

• ZINK prints aren’t quite as good.
• Limited battery life.
• Foggy day pictures not a match for other digital cameras
• Flash of limited effectiveness beyond six feet.

Final Thoughts:

If you want to dip your toe into the instant world this may be the way to go. Tuck this slim camera into a pocket, take pictures as usual and print one when the mood strikes.

5. Polaroid Originals Now I-Type Instant Camera

This is a point-and-shoot camera with a dual-lens auto-focus system. It lacks the Bluetooth capability of the Polaroid OneStep+, but, like its more expensive cousin, it has good image quality for an instant camera.

Pros:

• Straightforward beginner-friendly operation. Take it out of the box and start shooting.
• Allows manual overrides for flash and double exposure mode.
• Good image quality and image detail.

Cons:

• High per-picture cost.
• Outdoor image quality inconsistent in variable lighting.
• A boxy and somewhat old-fashioned look.

Final Thoughts:

If you want to start out simple but experiment as you learn the device, this may be the choice for you. Unlike some other cameras, though, you won’t be able to tuck it into your pocket or purse.

6. Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

One complaint you hear about instant photos is that they’re too small and don’t do a good job with wide-angle shots. The Instax Wide 300 solves this problem, giving you more detail in those panorama style shots. Or you can rotate the camera and make your pictures tall. The camera has an automatically extending lens with two focus zones.

Pros:

• Larger prints.
• Sharper than many instants.

Cons:

• Bulky design.
• Small viewfinder.
• Less beginner-friendly than some others.

Final Thoughts:

It’s a matter of preference, really. If you like bigger pictures, this is the camera to have.

7. Fujifilm Instax Mini 70

This is a cute, compact camera with a lot of automation but not much operator control. It has a selfie mirror that’s easy to use. With this model, Fujifilm has tweaked the auto-exposure capability so it’s better for night scenes.

Pros:

• Automatic and easy to use.
• Works well for selfies.

Cons:

• Little operator control. You pretty much take the settings it gives you.
• Uses less common CR2 batteries.
• Hard to find the buttons in the dark.

Final Thoughts:

This might be a reasonable choice for a first-time camera user. A high level of automation is either good or bad depending on the picture taker’s wants and skills.

8. Fujifilm Instax Mini 11

The Mini 11 is a child-friendly camera like its sibling, the Instax Mini 9. It comes in pastels and other colors and has a whimsical curved shape. You can customize it with stickers and button accessories although some advise against it. The stickers can fall off and make a mess.

Pros:

• Automated and easy to use.
• Easy-to-use selfie mode.
• A variety of cute colors.

Cons:

• Little operator control.
• Light adjustment often less than ideal.

Final Thoughts:

Unless the operator has no interest in making any kind of adjustments, the Mini 9 might be a better choice.

9. Fujifilm Instax Mini 9

This is Fulifilm’s bread and butter family-friendly instant camera. The buttons are big, and the colors have names such as “flamingo pink” and “ice blue” and the plasticky look goes with the colors. There’s a mirror for framing selfies and a macro attachment lens for extreme closeups.

Pros:

• Easy to use.
• The camera signals the optimum exposure measurement.
• The colors are forward and fun.

Cons:

• The viewfinder is easy to cover and isn’t always representative.
• You need great lighting to get really good pictures.

Final Thoughts:

Lots of kids would love to get one of these as a present. You can use them out of the box but there’s enough control to maintain interests. Grown-ups might have fun with them too.

10. Dragon Touch InstantFun Instant Print Camera for Kids

The camera that’s unabashedly meant for children, the age suggestion being 4-11. It comes with stickers and colored pencils, the buttons are big and simple, it’s drop-resistant and there’s a lanyard. Perhaps the best feature is that it’s a ZINK (zero ink) hybrid, so you don’t have to print every picture. The tykes can shoot as many as they want without spending a fortune on film.

Pros:

• Fun, fun fun!
• For children as young as preschoolers.
• Mom and Dad decide when the children get to use film.

Cons:

• Poor image quality even by instant camera standards.
• Not as intuitive as it should be. An adult may have to get them started.
• Prints in black and white.

Final Thoughts:

This is more of a toy than a camera. But you can give one to even a very young child and turn them loose. They may develop enough interest to graduate to something more.