5 of the best instant photography cameras – reviewed

5 of the best instant photography cameras – reviewed

Instant photography is a welcome reminder of photography’s more tangible joys, not to mention the lost satisfaction of working hard to get your shots. That’s why we’ve been reacquainting ourselves with film and the thrill of watching an actual picture, on actual paper, slowly appear on our actual hands, in order to bring you this pick of the best instant photography stars. Happy snapping!

Leica Sofort (£230/$299)

Based on the Fuji Instax Mini 90, Leica’s Sofort offers more control than the average insta-printer, including exposure compensation, a self-timer and multiple shooting modes. The Sofort’s pictures sometimes come out stunningly atmospheric – and sometimes come out like you’ve accidentally hit the shutter while falling out of a kayak. It’s hit and miss, yes, but the hits show up all those Instagram filters for the cheap frauds they are.

Lomo’Instant Automat (£179/$199)

With a selection of lenses that just screw onto the front – including wide angle, fisheye and macro options – plus a remote shutter and colour gels, the Automat takes great shots right out of the box. The lens barrel twists to turn on the camera and adjust focus between close, mid and infinity, but otherwise that’s about it. It takes Fuji Instax film and produces pictures with a warm, vintage vibe you just can’t match with filters on a screen.

HP Sprocket (£109/$129.99)

This battery powered printer liberates the photos on your phone one sticky backed print at a time. It takes about 20 seconds to spit out each one and because it use Zink’s heat-sensitive paper it doesn’t even need any ink. Quality isn’t great, though, with an overly yellow tint to the prints, and it’s a good job they’re tiny or you’d really notice the drop in detail. With 20 sheets of paper in a £10 pack, you also need to avoid getting too trigger happy.

Impossible l-1 (£249)

Impossible has resurrected the original Polaroid instant camera, adding modern updates, such as USB charging and the handy I-1 app that unlocks light painting, double exposures and remote triggering.. The I-1 takes 600-type film, which only allows eight photos, meaning you can’t go snapping willy nilly but it’s weirdly addictive and does push you to get creative. It takes half an hour to fully expose a shot, though, and OutKast lied. Don’t shake it, keep them somewhere warm and dark.

Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 (£110)

Most instant cameras take tiny pictures, but the Fujifilm Instax Wide spits out images that are twice the size of standard Instax. The camera’s about twice the size too. You don’t get as much control over the exposure as you do on some others and the Wide film is slightly more expensive but there’s a nice, retro feel to the pics, with fairly punch colours. They’re definitely not as good as those from some of the smaller cameras, though.