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Posts Tagged ‘Instant’

Review: Lomography Diana Instant Square

21 Mar

Lomography Diana Instant Square
Shop.Lomography | $ 99.00

The Diana Instant Square camera from Lomography mashes the charm of a Diana F+ toy film camera with the novelty of the Instax Square format. Lomography has long offered an instant back for the F+, but this takes the concept a step further. The Diana Instant Square is the only instant camera with truly interchangeable lenses and like most Lomography products, offers unpredictable and often lo-fi results.

Key specifications:

  • 75mm F11 (38mm equiv.) kit lens
  • 1/100 sec fixed shutter speed
  • Four aperture settings
  • Zone focus
  • Removable viewfinder
  • Auto frame counter
  • Double exposure and bulb mode
  • Attachment flash (sold separately)

Compared to peers

See our complete instant camera guide

The most obvious competitor to the Diana Instant Square is the Fujifilm SQ6 – it also uses Instax Square format at a similar price tag. But unlike the Diana – which is manual focus with manual aperture control – the Fujifilm is more automatic in its operation.

Operation

The camera operates on four AAA batteries that you load into the bottom, and a pack of Instax Square film pops into the rear of the camera. The camera has three settings: Off, On and MX (multiple exposure). When you turn it on the film counter on the back glows green to show you how many shots you have left. It ships with an optional viewfinder that slides onto the top.

Before you shoot you will probably want to triple check that you aren’t in pinhole mode, which my camera kept seeming to click into

Shooting with the camera is very straightforward. The lever to select your aperture is found on the bottom of the lens. Aperture settings are cloudy (F11), partly sunny (F19), sunny (F32) and pinhole (F150).

Left of the lens is the shutter release, on top is a shutter speed toggle (1/100 sec or bulb) and below the lens is a lever to adjust the aperture setting. Focus is set on the front of the lens.

Focus settings are found on the front of the lens and can be set to one person (1-2m), a small group of people (2-4m) or many people with mountains (4m – infinity). On the top of the lens you will find a lever to switch shutter speeds – there are two options: N (1/100 sec) and B (Bulb Mode, Unlimited). The camera’s shutter release is found on the right side of the lens. Before you shoot you will probably want to triple check that you aren’t in pinhole mode, which my camera kept seeming to click into.

Usability

The body is large and chunky.

The Diana Instant Square is more of a toy than an actual photographic tool, and although operating it is quite simple, getting it to produce images that you actually want to share with the world takes some finesse. The results were certainly unpredictable.

The Diana Instant Square seemed to work best when shooting outdoors, without a flash on very bright days. Although you have the option to attach any type of flash, the dedicated Diana F+ flash made the camera feel the most balanced. The results when shooting with the flash were also unpredictable. Sometimes photos turned out totally overblown, and other times they shot out totally black even when the settings on the camera were altered slightly. The Diana Instant Square essentially seems to do what it wants.

Getting the Diana Instant Square to produce images that you actually want to share with the world takes some finessing

A few times the back door that keeps the film in place popped open on me, so I decided to secure it with a large piece of gaff tape. Unfortunately, when this happened I ended up losing a few of the Instax sheets inside and it reset my film counter. The metal levers that control shutter speed and aperture are covered with a small piece of plastic; the one on the aperture lever fell off almost immediately, exposing the metal edge. It isn’t particularly sharp, but over time I did notice that the lever began to bend.

Image Quality

A multi-exposure example from the Diana Instant Square.

The image quality of the Diana Instant Square was expectedly unpredictable. Sometimes I ended up with a double exposure that I didn’t expect, some images had major vignetting, and others had interesting focal fall off that gave them a dreamy quality.

The Diana Instant Square seemed to work best when shooting outdoors, without a flash on very bright days

Sometimes frames that appeared totally black could be rescued once they were scanned and photoshopped. Other frames came back totally overblown or completely dark. When it worked, it worked well, but getting it to work was a bit of a guessing game.

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Conclusion
If you’re a perfectionist or a control freak, you are better off shooting with a different instant camera. Similarly, for the money, there are far better-built options. But if you can lean into the camera’s unpredictability, appreciate its history or like the aesthetics of Diana’s plastic lenses, this kitschy camera might be for you.

Ultimately we had a lot of fun with the Diana Instant Square when the shots came out, but it hurt a bit every time one didn’t.

What we like:

  • Classic look of the Diana Camera
  • Manual exposure control
  • Double-exposure mode
  • Interchangeable lenses

What we don’t:

  • Fiddly controls are easy to knock
  • Manually driven focus
  • Unpredictable exposure results
  • Accessory flash needed for indoors Flimsy build quality

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Kodak-branded SMILE lineup includes two instant cameras and a new instant printer

10 Jan

New Jersey-based C+A Global has launched new Kodak-branded products, including an instant camera and two instant printers. Called the Kodak SMILE Instant Print, this product line offers the SMILE Classic Instant Print Digital Camera, SMILE Instant Print Digital Camera, and SMILE Instant Digital Printer.

The KODAK SMILE Classic Instant Print Digital Camera features a vintage camera body design coupled with a ZINK instant printer, pop-up viewfinder, automatic strobe flash, microSD card slot, and 10-second timer. Despite its retro appearance, the model has Bluetooth and works with the Kodak Instant Print Companion mobile app.

Joining the retro-styled Classic camera is the slimmer, modern SMILE Instant Print Digital Camera, a 10MP digital camera with a ZINK Zero Ink printer, microSD card slot, automatic flash, LCD viewfinder, and 10-second timer.

The SMILE line’s new instant digital printer offers instant printing for images captured with a smartphone, the Kodak Instant Print Companion app, and a Bluetooth connection. The digital printer and digital camera will cost $ 100 each, while the Classic camera will cost $ 150. Kodak hasn’t yet revealed the products’ launch date.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Peel apart instant film returns in the form of ONE INSTANT

07 Dec

In 2016, Fujifilm announced it would no longer produce its FP-100C peel apart instant film, citing a dwindling lack of demand for the product. The discontinuation effectively ended the peel apart instant film market, but a new Kickstarter campaign aims to change that. Florian “Doc” Kaps, founder of The Impossible Project, has unveiled ONE INSTANT, a new peel apart instant film expected to launch in 2019.

Following Fujifilm’s FP-100C discontinuation, Kaps had pushed to save peel apart film via SuperSense, the company he founded after leaving The Impossible Project in 2013. The effort wasn’t successful at the time, but has ultimately proven fruitful more than two years later with the unveiling of ONE INSTANT.

As Kaps explains in the video above, ONE INSTANT is a re-invention of peel apart technology featuring single-shot instant film packaged in a paper cartridge. More than two years of research and development went into the innovation.

Kaps explains on the Kickstarter campaign:

In spring 2016 Fuji announced termination of the world’s last instant packfilm production line. Since that day – more than 2 years ago! – we have been desperately searching for “impossible” ways to save this iconic film material. Just like we successfully did with the legendary Polaroid film by purchasing the last original factory in 2008 and restarting production the classic way.

We failed! And honestly this was the best thing that could happen.

The single-shot ONE INSTANT Type 100 glossy color ISO 125 film is ‘based on a new, radical concept,’ the team explains. The product is compatible will all classic Type 100 packfilm cameras and is made with original Polaroid P7 material that was acquired by 20×24 Studio.

The team warns that ONE INSTANT “is truly really expensive to produce,” but they have vowed to bring down the cost when possible by optimizing production. The high cost is due to being mostly hand-made; the campaign explains how production takes place, saying:

ONE INSTANT is a tiny, bespoke, dream-come-true MANUFACTORY in Vienna. ONE INSTANT film editions will be produced WITHOUT the need of giant machines, huge factory spaces and large teams. Our all new manufactory will just consist of a small beautiful darkroom for all production steps that need darkness (mainly the insertion of the negative into the lightproof paper cartridge), a beautiful daylight assembly room and of course our beloved all analog printshop for all paper work, cartridge punching, producing all our hand-made packaging and communication materials.

Backers are offered multiple products to make a pledge for on the Kickstarter campaign, including various ONE INSTANT bundles that feature multiple packs, different box colors, and a Starter Kit that includes a mint condition Polaroid COLORPACK 2 camera. Film shipments to backers are expected to start in May 2019.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Escura Instant 60s is a retro-inspired instant camera that doesn’t need batteries

04 Nov

Battery-free instant cameras and printers appear to be all the rage right now. So, naturally, another company is tossing its hat in the ring. Hong Kong-based CARBON, a brand under the Graphic Guides Design Company, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Escura Instant 60s, a hand-crank Instant camera that uses the ubiquitous Instax film.

The camera, which is built with a retro 60s-inspired design, features a 60mm equivalent lens, two aperture options — F8 and F11 — and a shutter speed of roughly 1/100th of a second. There’s also a bulb shutter mode when using the optional spring shutter release cable. It’s also possible to capture multiple exposures on a single Instax print.

As with past battery-free cameras and printers we’ve seen, the process is as simple as turning the winding mechanism after capturing a shot. As you turn it, the print runs through the rollers and is fed out the top, ready to sit and be developed over the course of 90 seconds or so.

CARBON has also developed an external flash designed to be used with the Escura Instant 60s. It features the same retro design and is automatically synchronized with the shutter release.

The Escura Instant 60s is expected to ship in February 2019. Pledges start at roughly $ 55 (converted from HK$ ) for a single camera and go up as more cameras and add-ons are included. To find out more information and to secure your pledge, head on over to the Kickstarter campaign.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Holga launches hand-crank instant printer that doesn’t require batteries

12 Oct

Holga Digital has launched a new hand-cranked instant photo printer that works with smartphones. The device is being funded on Kickstarter, where the company presents an Instax printer that “looks like a Holga 120 without the lens.” It’s crafted with molded polymer and works with any smartphone camera.

The Holga Printer has a relatively unique design, requiring the user to unfold components into an elevated platform upon which a smartphone is placed. Printing requires the user to press the shutter, then hand-crank a knob to print the Fuji Instax instant photo. The device doesn’t require batteries or wireless connectivity.

Holga Digital is offering backers a Super Early Bird Holga Printer for pledges of $ 51 ($ 398 HK). The device is estimated to start shipping to backers in March 2019 with global availability. Holga plans to release a mobile app for Android and iOS that’ll launch alongside the printer. This app will allow users to apply Holga filters to digital images, as well as add text and icons. Supported effects include a color mode, black & white, double exposure, and Holga effect.

For more information and to secure your pledge, head over to the Kickstarter campaign.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Polaroid launches Mint digital instant camera and mobile printer

31 Aug

Polaroid has launched the Mint 2-in-1 digital instant camera at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The Mint camera (not to be confused with the Instax-mini-compatible Mint InstantFlex TL70) comes with a 16MP image sensor, a microSD-slot for cards of up to 256GB capacity, a built-in selfie mirror, and a self-timer. A smartphone-like LED-flash is on board as well.

Polaroid says the camera “makes it easier than ever to capture and print instant photos that last a lifetime” and the built-in printer, which uses the inkless ZINK-technology can produce color, black-and-white or sepia prints in less than a minute. Before printing, users have the option of adding a frame to the image. The Polaroid Mint instant camera is available in black, white, red, blue and yellow and will set you back $ 99.99.

The Mint Instant Digital Pocket printer is Polaroid’s second new product at the trade show and meant to be used in conjunction with mobile devices. The pocket-sized printer uses the same ZINK technology as the Mint camera and lets you print any photo from your smartphone or tablet via the Polaroid Mint app and a bluetooth connection. The app features many common editing functions, including filters, frames and stickers.

The printer can be charged via a USB port and is the battery is good for 50 prints. The Polaroid Mint printer is available in black, white, red, blue and yellow and retails at $ 129.99. More information on the Mint camera and printer is available on the Polaroid website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Fujifilm releases Provia 100-branded instant noodles in South Korea

16 Jul

Fujifilm has taken an unusual departure from its regularly scheduled programming to bring you…instant noodles?

Yes, you read that correctly — as part of a promotional giveaway, Fujifilm Korea has created Fujifilm Film Simulation Instant Noodles, a line of instant noodles that’s wrapped with the same branding used on Fujifilm’s Provia 100 color reversal film packs.

According to the description, the Provia 100-branded noodles taste like ‘hot and tangy kimchi.’ For those unfamiliar with kimchi, Wikipedia describes it as ‘a staple in Korean cuisine […] a traditional side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage and Korean radishes.’

It appears as though you won’t be able to get the instant noodles outside of South Korea. If you happen to be reading this from South Korea — or plan on taking a trip there soon — you can jump over to Fujifilm Korea’s promotional page and secure yourself some film-inspired instant noodles.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Buying Guide: The best instant cameras

09 Jul

The instant camera market has taken off in recent years and there are a lot of great options ranging from around $ 60 all the way up to several hundred dollars. Over the course of many fun weekends, we’ve shot with virtually all all of them, to find out which is the best. Below is a breakdown of the 4 instant formats:

Instant format Manufacturer Image size Shot per pack
Instax Mini Fujfilm 46 × 62 mm
1.8 × 2.4 “		 10
Instax Square Fujfilm 62 x 62 mm
2.4 x 2.4 “		 10
Instax Wide Fujfilm 99 x 62 mm
3.9 x 2.4 “		 10
I-type Polaroid Originals 79 x 79 mm
3.1 x 3.1 “		 8

Ultimately, this rebirth of the Instant camera market can be attributed to one word: Fun! There’s something about about having a tangible object to share that makes these cameras hugely enjoyable. They also make great gifts. Here are our recommendations:

Our pick: Fujifilm Instax Mini 70

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 strikes the perfect balance of price to features to make it our top overall pick – plus it makes use of the most affordable instant format. Available in six colors, the Mini 70 is among the most compact and lightweight instant cameras on the market, and also among the prettiest (in our opinion). The CR2 batteries it uses can be a little annoying to find, but battery life overall is great. And unlike rechargeable instants, the Mini 70 should still have some juice in it even if left on a shelf for several months.

But most importantly, it’s really easy to use. Users simply select their shooting mode – normal, macro, selfie, landscape, self timer or high key – and the camera does the rest. And unlike some of its competitors, focus is motor-driven (three positions) and set by the camera when your mode is selected. Exposure is fully automatic, though there is a +2/3rd EV option (that’s the high key mode). Overall, the Mini 70 does a good job balancing flash with ambient light thanks to a variable shutter.

Of course, for a little more cash, you can drive away in the Instax Mini 90, which adds negative exposure compensation, the ability to disengage the flash in normal mode and a bunch of creative modes. However its higher price and its more complex operation has us feeling you’d be better off spending that extra money on more film for your Mini 70.

Also recommended: Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

We prefer the quality and tonality of Instax film to I-type and if you are going to shoot Instax, why not shoot the largest format possible? If you follow that logic, than the Wide 300 is the instant camera for you.

The most affordable Instax Wide camera available, we’re big fans of its comfortable grip, automatic operation (with positive and negative exposure compensation modes), motor-driven focus (2 positions) and straightforward operation. Yes, it is enormous, but that’s par for the course with this format.

  • Our pick: Fujifilm Instax Mini 70
  • Also consider: Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

Instax Mini cameras

  • Fujifilm Instax Mini 9
  • Fujifilm Instax Mini 25/26
  • Fujifilm Instax Mini 90
  • Leica Sofort
  • Lomography Lomo’Instant
  • Lomography Lomo’Instant Automat
  • Lomography Lomo’Automat Glass
  • MiNT InstantFlex TL70 2.0
  • Polaroid Pic-300

Instax Square cameras

Fujifilm Instax SQ6 (SQ10)
Lomo Instant Square

Instax Wide cameras

Lomography Lomo’Instant Wide
MiNT Instantkon RF70 (just announced)

Polaroid I-type

Polaroid Orignal OneStep2

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DPReview TV: Instant Camera Roundup

01 Jul

In anticipation of our in-depth buying guide, our friends in the North have been looking at a handful of the latest instant cameras.

Chris and Jordan stocked up on Instax Mini film to feed the twin-lens reflex Mint TL70 and the simpler (and strangely similar) Fujifilm Neo 90 and Leica Sofort. Then, just for some variety, they grabbed the square-format Fujifilm SQ6.

Which seemed like a good excuse for a party…

And make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lomography Diana Instant Square Camera launches on Kickstarter

23 Jun

Lomography is crowdfunding its latest film camera, the Diana Instant Square. According to the company, this is the first Instax-compatible camera with a hot-shoe mount and support for interchangeable lenses. Lomography designed this model to work with any of the lenses compatible with the Diana F+, as well as Fujifilm Instax Square film packs.

The new Diana Instant Square camera features a selfie mirror, detachable viewfinder, film counter, an unlimited multiple exposure mode, a bulb mode for keeping the shutter open, adjustable aperture (F11, F19, F32), and an “instinctive zone-focusing system” that toggles between 1 – 2m / 3.3 – 6.6ft, 2 – 4m / 6.6 – 13ft, and 4m/13ft to infinity. A wide variety of flashes can be used with the hot-shoe mount.

Buyers have the following lens choices:

  • 20mm fisheye
  • 38mm super-wide-angle
  • 55mm wide-angle (+ close-up attachment)
  • 75mm kit lens
  • 110mm telephoto

Lomography is currently funding the Diana Instant Square camera on Kickstarter, where it is offering a single Classic unit for pledges of at least $ 69 USD, which is 30% off the anticipated retail price. The company is also offering a Special Edition of the instant camera for pledges of at least $ 77 USD. Shipping for backers is expected to start in December for Classic units and January 2019 for Special units.

Via: Kickstarter

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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