The Instax

Today's Monday and that means it's a new week and a new blog post so without further or do I bring you today's post.

We live in era of digital photography where we take photos on our phone and upload them to every social media platform for the world to see but what makes that any fun?

Yes I'm guilty of a selfie or two so I can capture memories between friends and family but with the introduction of the Instax Mini my opinions changed. If you don't know what the Fujfilm Instax Mini is, it's the reinvention of what was the classic Polaroid - the instant photography device that was at it's peak in the 80's and 90's where you could capture pictures with a single button and that would last years on square shaped photographic paper, but after the creation of SLR's and camera phones we saw the idea of instant photography nothing but a stone age trend.

Polaroids were always something that I thought were far cool beyond belief, the idea of capturing a day out, a holiday, a memory in one pint-sized photo was so exciting. 

Then along came my 18th birthday where I was handed the Instax Mini 8 as a gift from my sister. I opened the box in excitement knowing that my room was soon going to full of little photos that I have taken with this vintage-esque device. The little photographic pod in matte black was coming with me everywhere, from Paris to days out with friends where I took photos to remember for a life time.

This isn't a review or how to set up style post but the camera is so easily to assembly, it in theory only requires three steps, open the camera, insert your photos and batteries and there you have it - you've got an instant camera.

These are just a few photos I have taken since using the Instax Mini. You can clearly see they are perfect for all occasions. Like I have gone on to mention they're perfect to capture memories, unlike photographers you can take just one photo for it to capture the entire day and for it to bring back a list of memories.

The photos that come out are immediate and credit card sized so they are perfect for to store in photo albums, the window in your wallet or for them to be hung around your room on string. My best source of advice is to keep the photos away from sunlight when developing otherwise the photo will turn out overexposed - I recommend keeping the photo in a bag or pocket for five/ten minutes to see it fully developed. 

If you're looking to get the Instax Mini try sites such as Amazon or Argos - we bought ours on the Argos site with a deal of £80 that includes the camera and five packs of film (10 sheets per box) but Amazon always have running deals on the Instax series.

With my new found love of instant photography I couldn't help but treating myself to the Instax Wide 210 which is a much larger version of the Mini 8 and produces photo that little bit bigger than the ones developed by the counterpart. 

Two instant cameras could be deemed excessive but my unconditional love for the Instax series proved that buying another camera was just right.

The Instax Wide is a bigger camera compared to the Mini and produces larger photos in a wide format. The camera is just as easy to use as it's predecessor although you can control the zoom and flash unlike the Mini 8. 

As you can see the photos are remarkably wider than the ones created by the Mini but this makes it fun to mix and match between photos. I don't necessarily favour another of the cameras over each other and use them both equally however I find the wider version is better to use when taking group shots and selfies and the Mini is best used taking photos of things or yourself.

The only downside to having the wide version is that camera is a lot bulkier compared to the mini and adds that little bit more weight in your bag in a day but nonetheless they're perfect to use.

If you're looking to get the Instax Wide 210 I recommend Amazon, if it wasn't for scouring the site I wouldn't of found the best deal. I came across the camera and 8 packs of film (80 shots) for just £80 which was perfect. 

That just about wraps up my post today - I hope you enjoyed this post and consider getting an Instax camera, they are worth every penny you pay and if you're a photo hoarder like me then there is nothing better than having these cameras on your travels.

Have a great week.