Last year I got notified that Lomography was starting to develop a new instant camera based around the Fuji Instax mini format, now I’m an owner of the Fuji Instax Mini 7s, and while it’s a nice camera I find it lacking in certain areas of control, Aperture, and Flash for the most part. I then got a note about what this new camera, branded the Lomo’Instant was going to be about and I was intrigued. And then a personal request for support by Lomography. Well I wasn’t going to say no, if the Lomo’Instant would solve the issues I had with the 7s, I would easily be on board and might shoot the format more. So I threw enough money into their wildly successful Kickstarter. Of course with any kickstarter funding there would be some risks, but hey, what’s life without a few risks. But there’s one thing that’s great about Lomography is that they know their stuff and they keep everyone apprised. Of course there were plenty of naysayers online talking about plasticy feel, plastic lens, ect ect ect. Well if there’s one thing, Lomography has been pretty polarizing among photographers, but I’m in the Super Positive camp and their working on keeping film photography alive.
Is it not a slick looking camera?
The camera arrived right when they said it would, November of last year, and I instantly fell in love with the design and feel of the camera, and the best part is that it also came with a lovely strap and a close-up attachment. It felt good to look and use the camera, sure it was plastic but there was weight to it, heft. And it looks sharp. User Interface wise, nice and easy to use, took me a bit to figure out why the film wasn’t ejecting (I had multiple exposures selected), everything was easily accessible and laid out. Of course then December hit and I was caught up in all the Christmas stuff and the Lomo’Instant was left on the shelf. Well I finally got the chance to pick it up and take it for a spin.
The First batch! Still trying to figure out all the different settings and what they do.
All I have to say is that I was really surprised, the images were beautiful! And being able to turn off the flash, have bulb mode, tripod socket, multiple exposures, standard cable release. This camera has really rekindled my love for the Instax Mini format, and it’s a great party camera, and looks sleek and stylish. A real crowd pleaser. Don’t want to take my word for it, read more over at Lomography!
Long Live Film!