Instax
Instax logo | |
Owner | Fujifilm |
---|---|
Introduced | 1998 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Instax is a brand of instant still cameras and films marketed by Fujifilm since the late 1990s. There are two formats of Instax film and cameras − the original "wide" format which gives an image approximately 60 mm x 99 mm, and a "mini"[1] format of 62 mm x 46 mm.
Contents
Format Characteristics
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The films and cameras are based upon the improvements Kodak made to Polaroid's SX-70 instant film system in the instant film cameras it sold in the 1970s and 1980s, namely the ability to expose the film through the rear of the photograph, and the reversal of the order of the dye layers so that development in the blue layer is visible first. As a result of these changes the image does not need to be taken via a reflex mirror in order to reverse the image (as all Polaroid integral film cameras do); and colour balance and tonal range are improved over Polaroid integral instant films. As well Fuji's decision to integrate the pressure plate springs and electrical power sources into the camera bodies rather than the disposable film pack itself helps make the Instax system more economical per exposure than Polaroid's equivalents.
Although Kodak itself ceased production of instant film cameras when it was successfully sued by Polaroid for patent violation, the Instax cameras were made and marketed with Polaroid's permission and as a result could not be officially distributed in certain territories such as the USA, until the original Polaroid patents expired in the mid 1990s. With Polaroid ceasing production of instant films in 2008, the Instax system was the only integral instant film system in production until The Impossible Project launched their own integral film in early 2010. The Instax Mini system is also sold in some markets by Polaroid itself [2] through the Polaroid 300 and Polaroid 300 Film (in reality an Instax Mini 7S and Instax Mini film).
Instax Mini
Instax Mini is an ISO 800 credit-card-size (86x54 mm) integral daylight color film designed for use with Fujifilm instax mini compatible cameras. The Mini film and camera systems are also called Cheki (チェキ) in Japan; the Cheki moniker derives from the English "check it".[citation needed]
Film Specifications
Taken from the film specifications on the Fujifilm website [3]
Film Speed | ISO 800/30° |
Color Temperature | Daylight type (5500K) |
Resolving power | 12 lines/mm |
Photos per Pack | 10 |
Film Size | 86 x 54 mm 3.4" x 2.1" |
Image Size | 62 x 46 mm 2.4" x 1.8" |
Film Pack Size | 92 x 61 x 20 mm |
Film Pack Composition | Polystyrene pack and light- shielding cover sheet |
Instax Mini Cameras
Discontinued | Current |
Model | Release | Lens | Shutter | Exposure | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (body) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instax Mini 10 [4] | November 1998 | 60 mm ƒ/12.3 | 1/30 to 1/400 | automatic | 2xCR123A | 119 x 113 x 58 mm | 335 g (11.8 oz) | |
Polaroid Mio [5] | December 2001 | 60 mm ƒ/12 | automatic | 2xCR2 | 117 x 127 x 56 mm | 343 g (12.1 oz) | ||
Instax Mini 30 [6] | May 2002 | automatic | 122 x 106 x 52 mm | 325 g (11.5 oz) | ||||
Instax Mini 20 [7] | December 2002 | automatic | 115.5 x 121.5 x 52 mm | 310 g (10.9 oz) | Similar to Polaroid Mio | |||
Instax Mini 55 [8] | March 2003 | 60 mm ƒ/12.7 | manual (4 settings) | 112.0 x 96.5 x 49.5 mm | 275 g (9.7 oz) | |||
Instax Mini 50 [9] | September 2003 | manual (4 settings) | ||||||
Instax Mini 7 [10] | June 2004 | 1/60 to 1/400 | manual (4 settings) | 4xLR6/AA | 119.5 x 121.5 x 70.5 mm | 320 g (11.3 oz) | ||
Instax Mini 7S [11] | June 2008 | |||||||
Instax Mini 25 [12] | June 2009 | 1/30 to 1/400 | automatic | 2xCR2 | 112.0 × 121.0 × 50.5 mm | 275 g (9.7 oz) | ||
Polaroid 300 [13] | April 2010 | 1/60 to 1/400 | manual (4 settings) | 4xLR6/AA | 119.5 x 121.5 x 70.5 mm | 320 g (11.3 oz) | Rebranded Instax 7S | |
Instax Mini 50S [14] | September 2010 | 1/30 to 1/400 | manual (4 settings) | 2xCR2 | 112.0 x 96.5 x 49.5 mm | 275 g (9.7 oz) | [15] | |
Instax Mini 8 [16] | November 2012 | 1/60 to 1/400 | manual (5 settings) | 2xLR6/AA | 116 × × 118.3 x 68.2 mm | 307 g (10.8 oz) | [17][18] | |
Instax Mini 90 [19] | September 2013 | 1.8 to 1/400 | manual | 1xNP45A | 113.4 x 91.9 x 57.2 mm | 296 g (10.4 oz) | [20][21] |
Model | Release | Lens | Shutter | Exposure | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (body) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FinePix PR21 [22] | 1999 | 35 mm ƒ/8 | 1/4 to 1/1000 | automatic | 3xAA | 113 x 127 x 60 mm | 550 g (19.4 oz) | 2.3 Megapixel |
Model | Release | Lens | Shutter | Exposure | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (body) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diana Instant Camera Back | April 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2xCR2 | N/A | ??? g | For use with Diana F+ |
Diana F+ w/ Instant Camera Back | April 2009 | 32 mm ƒ/11 | ∞ to 1/60 | manual | 2xCR2 | N/A | ??? g | |
Lomo'Instant[23] | December 2014 | 27 mm ƒ/8 | ∞ to 1/125 | manual | 4xLR03/AAA | 141 x 96.3 x 57 mm | ??? g | All new camera |
LC-A + Instant Back[24] | ? | Minitar 1 32mm ƒ/2.8 | Automatic - ∞ to 1/500 | automatic | LR44 1.5V | ? | ? | ? |
Instantflex TL70[25] | July 2015 | 61mm ƒ/5.6, ƒ/8, ƒ/16, ƒ/22, ƒ/bokeh | 1/500 - 1 second, 10 seconds bulb | automatic | 3XAA Batteries | 141mm x 102mm x 80.2mm | 525g | ? |
Instax Mini Printers
Model | Release | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (unit) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instax "Cheki" NP-1 [26] | 2005 | 2xCR2 | 120.5 x 45 x 108 mm | 250 g (8.8 oz) | Only released in Japan |
Instax Share SP-1 [27] | January 2014 | 101.6 x 42 x 122.5 mm | 253 g (8.9 oz) | Successor to the Pivi |
Digital Instax Pivi
The Digital Instax Pivi line was intended as a digital/analog hybrid. The original intention was to produce a new format to feed a series of digital instant cameras similar in approach to the Olympus C-211, a digital camera with a built-in Polaroid 500 film printer. Fujifilm delivered on that premise but did so in the form of the FinePix PR21, a digital camera with a built-in Instax mini printer released in 1999.[28]
Instax Pivi film looks physically identical to Instax mini, but it takes a different formulated film producing an inverted image when used in a mini camera, making them deliberately incompatible to a fault.
The original project did not end with the launch of the FinePix PR21. A stand-alone printer was planned from the start but was not the primary focus, but it turned into one with the advent of mobile devices, making it to market in 2004 after 5 or so years in limbo.
- Digital Instax Pivi film (film size: 54 (W) x 86 (H) mm picture size: 46 (W) x 61(H) mm) - incompatible with Instax mini film -
- 800 ASA
Discontinued | Current |
Model | Release | Max Input Resolution | Interface | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (unit) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instax Pivi MP-100 [29] | 2004 | 3 MP (2048x1536) | IrDA | 2xCR2 | 126.5 x 98 x 29.5 mm | 205 g (7.2 oz) | compatible with IR-100 [30] (USB to IR adapter) |
Instax Pivi MP-70 [31] | November 2005 | 129 × 100 × 29 mm | 210 g (7.4 oz) | ||||
Instax Pivi MP-300 [32] | June 2006 | 41 MP (6400x6400) or 1 MB over IrDA |
USB IrDA |
146 × 102 × 29 mm | 225 g (7.9 oz) | optional AC adapter |
Instax Wide
Upon introduction simply called Instax without any suffix (making it the normal, not mini, Instax film), Fujifilm gradually embedded the "Wide" moniker into the name of the product. That rebranding pattern can also be seen on the Instax 210 who now appears on Fujifilm site as Instax WIDE 210 despite not being referenced elsewhere like that.[33]
Film Specifications
Taken from the film specifications on the Fujifilm website [34]
Film Speed | ISO 800/30° |
Color Temperature | Daylight type (5500K) |
Resolving power | 10 lines/mm |
Photos per Pack | 10 |
Film Size | 86 x 108 mm 3.4" x 4.3" |
Image Size | 62 x 99 mm 2.4" x 3.9" |
Film Pack Size | 92 x 115 x 20 mm |
Film Pack Composition | Polystyrene pack and light- shielding cover sheet |
Instax Wide Cameras
Discontinued | Current |
Model | Release | Lens | Shutter | Focusing | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (body) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Instax 100 [35] | May 1999 | 95mm ƒ/14 | 1/64 to 1/200 | Manual | 4xLR6/AA | 171.5 x 91.5 x 119.5 mm | 650 g (22.9 oz) | |
Instax 500AF [36][37] | July 1999 | 95 mm ƒ/12.8 | 1/8 to 1/125 | Automatic (AF) | 2xCR123A | 174.5 x 76 x 120 mm | 655 g (23.1 oz) | Only Instax model with Autofocus |
Instax 200 [38] | November 2000 | 95mm ƒ/14 | 1/64 to 1/200 | Manual | 4xLR6/AA | 178.5 x 94.5 x 117.5 mm | 650 g (22.9 oz) | Flash relocated to the side |
Instax 210 [39] | June 2009 | 610g (21.5 oz) | Internally slimmed down | |||||
Instax Wide 300 [40] | Spring 2015 | 167.8 x 94.7 x 120.9 mm | 612 g (21.6 oz) | Redesign+tripod mount |
Model | Release | Lens | Shutter | Exposure | Batteries | Size W×H×D (mm) |
Weight (body) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belair Instant Back | March 2014 | N/A | N/A | N/A | No | N/A | 599 g [41] (21.13 oz) | For use with Belair X 6-12 |
Belair X 6-12+Instant Back | March 2014 | ƒ/8-16 | 1/125 sec. and bulb | N/A | 2xLR44 | N/A | 1400 g [42] (49.4 oz) |
Reception and growing popularity
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Fujifilm originally wished to release the Instax series worldwide including North America and Europe simultaneously,[43] but chose to work with Polaroid on the mio camera based on the Instax mini 10/20 for the US market. The mio product was discontinued after a few years.
In 2014 it was reported that the Instax Mini 8 was outselling flagship models like the Fuji X-T1 and Sony A7r. The Impossible Project also registered year on year growth since the launch of their film line in 2010, and for the first time in years camera releases are coming more often as well as becoming more premium.
See also
References
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- ↑ http://shop.lomography.com/ph/cameras/instant-cameras/lca-instant-camera
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