Instax

Report: Film Era Dial not coming to the X-Series (at least not yet)

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Two or three weeks ago, Fujirumors reported that Fujifilm is working on a Film Era Dial that will be found on some upcoming camera. I made the false assumption that it must be the upcoming X-Pro, which is most likely the next X-series camera to be released (although it might not be), possibly early next year. I’m glad that I used words like “guess” and “suspect” and clarified that “I have absolutely zero inside information” because apparently my guess and suspicions were completely wrong. The camera that Fujifilm is going to put this new feature on, according to Fujirumors, is not an X-series model, but an Instax Evo camera.

Some of you just sighed with relief. You don’t want a Film Era Dial or even a Film Dial. Personally, I like the Film Dial. It’s not perfect, but Fujifilm has been working to improve it (and hopefully will continue to do so). I think the Film Era Dial could be a really cool concept if it’s done right. They could screw it all up and make it really cheesy, or they could do a great job with it and it becomes a beloved feature (or anything in-between). For now, it’s apparently not coming to the X-series, only to an Instax Evo model. Maybe it will be on the next X half, which is kind of a cross between Instax Evo and the X-series. It could someday find its way to the X-series, but apparently not yet. I’m probably in the minority of people who are a bit disappointed to hear this news.

Polaroid might take down Fujifilm — maybe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t play one on TV, either. I’m not able to provide any insight on this topic, I can only bring it up and maybe ask some questions, and speculate a little, which should be taken with a massive grain of salt. I probably know less about legal matters than the average person my age, so keep that in mind—I’m not pretending to be an expert on this whatsoever.

The news yesterday, as reported by PetaPixel, is that Polaroid (that is, PLR IP Holdings, LLC, which owns the rights to the Polaroid brand name, and doing business as Polaroid Originals) has filed a lawsuit against Fujifilm, and a judge has found sufficient evidence to allow the case to move forward. At some point in the coming months—unless the two parties agree on a settlement—this will go to trial.

The complaint is that Fujifilm’s Instax Square instant film is too similar to Polaroid’s classic film, which they trademarked years ago. Essentially, as I understand it, Polaroid’s film is not just film, it’s their logo. Since the white border of the film is highly recognizable, Polaroid registered a trademark for it. So, if a company wants to make instant film, it must look different than a Polaroid print. For example, Instax Mini is divergent enough that Polaroid would have a weak infringement case. Instax Wide isn’t 100% identical to the classic Polaroid frame, but it is very similar, and the judge in this case believes it is similar enough to move forward with the trial.

Fujifilm’s argument is that 1) the border serves a functional purpose (for example, housing the chemistry), and as such cannot be trademark protected (for example, Goodyear cannot trademark a tire just because it’s round and black), and 2) Polaroid had stopped making their film, which could be considered an abandonment of the trademark on the grounds of non-use. I think both of these arguments hold some merit, but are either strong enough to win? I have no idea.

Nearly a decade ago, Polaroid threatened Fujifilm with a lawsuit unless they paid them “millions per year” for their trademark. I’m not sure how much they will be seeking in damages should they win this suit, but I’m reminded of when Polaroid sued Kodak, and won big. Well, it was more that Kodak lost big than Polaroid won, because this lawsuit—how much was spent, and, perhaps more importantly, how much of a distraction it was—has been identified as a contributing factor to Polaroid’s eventual bankruptcy. But Kodak had to pay $925 million dollars to Polaroid (which, at the time, was the largest ever settlement), plus stop production of their Kodamatic instant film line. Oh, and they had to give their Kodamatic customers a refund, too. It was a huge blow to Kodak, and eventually contributed to their bankruptcy, at least a little.

Polaroid took Kodak out, and took themselves out in the process. Of course, that’s a massive—just massive—oversimplification of it all. The lawsuit was only a very, very small factor in both bankruptcies, as there were many other—and much larger—issues at play. A lot of articles have been written about this topic, and even a book (there are a lot of resources available, should you want to learn more). Obviously we’re only briefly touching the very surface here in this article and overgeneralizing, but it should be noted that the Polaroid vs Kodak lawsuit did have an impact on the film industry, probably more than most realize. There was no winner, despite Polaroid’s legal win.

I want to bring this back around to Fujifilm. It is very possible that a judgement could be ruled in Polaroid’s favor, and that Fujifilm will have to pay them millions—tens of millions at least, but quite possible hundreds of millions, if not more—and they’ll have to stop making Instax Wide cameras and film. They’ll probably have to give their customers a refund, too. I mean, if Red Bull had to pay a settlement because you don’t actually grow wings after drinking it, any judgement is possible. If such a ruling were to happen, that would be a massive blow to Fujifilm, which has the potential to ultimately end Fujifilm’s photography business.

Instax is Fujifilm’s big moneymaker. While the X-series and GFX-series have both grown in recent years, Instax is still Fujifilm’s largest camera/photo segment. Losing hundreds of millions in a judgement would be a massive setback, but if they have to stop making Instax Wide, that might be just as big of a blow—a double whammy. This has the potential to be devastating.

I don’t know, nor do I care to speculate, if Fujifilm violated Polaroid’s trademark. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t—I have no idea, and that’s not for me to decide, anyway. With that said, I hope the judge rules in favor of Fujifilm, or, if not, it is like when the USFL sued the NFL and won, but only got a $1 judgement. The worst-case scenario (from my perspective as a long-time loyal Fujifilm customer) is that Polaroid wins and receives a very large settlement, which becomes a turning point for Fujifilm, eventually leading to a future bankruptcy or a shuttering of the photographic business (which is only a small part of the company overall). It’s like dominoes, where knocking one down can lead to more falling. Obviously, I hope that can be avoided.

It seems more likely than not that Fujifilm will pull through this just fine, even if they lose the case. Instax Mini has a larger market share than Instax Wide, and the digital camera division has been on a roll lately. But, to a small extent that I’m clearly overstating, Polaroid took down Kodak, and they could do the same to Fujifilm, even if it’s seemingly unlikely. This is something to keep an eye on. No court date has been set, and I’m not sure how long we’ll have to wait to find out—the battle between Polaroid and Kodak took 14 years to play out. Oh, and I know it may sound like it, but by no means am I anti-Polaroid. I have Polaroid cameras and film, and even sport a Polaroid t-shirt from time-to-time. I sincerely wish them much success in everything …aside from this lawsuit.

What do you think? Will Fujifilm win? Will Polaroid? What kind of impact will it have if they do? Is this all much ado about nothing? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Shooting Fujifilm Instax with a 108-year-old Kodak camera

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Photo by Dan Allen.

The below article is by Dan Allen. You might recall that Dan invented the Kentmere Pan 400 Film Simulation Recipe (and more coming soon), and had a helping hand in the Vintage Bronze, Ilford FP4 Plus 125, and Ektachrome E100 Recipes.

What I love about Dan’s project is that it repurposes beautiful antique cameras with modern instant film, and even incorporates Fujifilm’s X-series. It’s a poetic melting pot of old and new to create fascinating art that is simultaneously vintage and modern.

I know that you are going to appreciate this post, and perhaps even be inspired to try it for yourself. Thank you, Dan, for sharing your project with us—it is such an honor to publish this story!

Take it away, Dan!

Photo by Dan Allen.

I grew up in the golden age of film photography. I was a kid during the 1980’s, and lived in Rochester, New York—the home of Kodak. Film photography and cameras were interwoven into the very fabric of our local culture. Everyone in our city had at least one or two family members that worked for the big yellow box. At its peak, Kodak employed more than 60,000 people locally. We were the center of the photographic universe. What could possibly go wrong?

Enter Fujifilm.

In the 1980’s, Fuji became a direct competitor to Kodak in the U.S. film market. They slowly cut into Kodak’s market share, and in my eyes as a kid, they were the enemy. It was a mortal sin to even think about shooting a roll of Fuji’s film. Given the title of this post, I think you can see where I am going with this.

My interest in creative photography started as a young kid and continued through high school, where I first learned how to develop film and make a print in the darkroom. Cameras took a backseat as I focused on college, then a career in engineering, and started a family. Basically, photography stopped after graduating high school. Fast forward to Covid-19 lockdowns, which is when I discovered Ritchie’s Fuji X Weekly website. I was enamored with his Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe. I couldn’t believe those Kodak looking pictures were produced on a modern (yet retro looking) Fujifilm digital camera. It made all of those photographic childhood memories come rushing back. Soon after, I bought my first Fujifilm: an X-T3.

Photos by Dan Allen.

I quickly became a Fuji X Weekly film sim junkie, trying out each possible combination my camera could handle. The Kodak-based recipes were my favorite, though. At some point, I realized it was possible for Kodak and Fujifilm to be in the same room together!

In 2022, I decided to pick up the only working film camera I owned, a Canon Rebel with a nifty-fifty. I shot a roll of Kodak Ultramax and brought it to the local film lab. The circle of photography was now complete—I was right back where I left off, and it felt like home. From this point forward, I adopted a mixed photographic workflow, often carrying one film camera and one Fujifilm digital. I liked the convenience of Ritchie’s “no edit” Recipes, but I also enjoyed the unique challenges inherent to the analog film photography I grew up with. It was truly the best of both worlds.

As most photographers do, I caught a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.). I started buying vintage film cameras from thrift stores and yard sales. The older Kodak cameras from the early 1900s really caught my eye, especially the ones that were made right here in Rochester.

Twenty or so film cameras later, I stumbled across a 1916 Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic for $40. This was known as the “Soldier’s Kodak” during World War I, and was marketed to troops going overseas to document their trip. It really was a pocketable camera, not much bigger than a deck of playing cards. It was the Fujifilm X70 of the early 1900’s!

Photo by Dan Allen.

The Vest Pocket Autographic takes 127 roll film, which Kokak introduced in 1912 and manufactured until 1995. The negative size is roughly 44mm x 66mm, and is quite a bit bigger than a 24mm x 36mm negative from a full-frame 35mm camera. When the Vest Pocket arrived I gave it a good cleaning, and was able to get the shutter to fire. It has speeds of 1/25 and 1/50, and an apertures marked with 1, 2, 3, and 4—these aperture values equate to f/11, f/16, f/22, and f/32. It has a unique design, as the lens is mounted behind the shutter and aperture. This protected the lens from scratches; the optics on mine were in great shape. Everything on the camera appeared to be fully functional. All I needed now was some 127 film!

There are a few places that make 127 film by cutting down modern 120 film. I was able to find ReraPan 400 in 127 size from B&H Photo and placed an order. While I was waiting for the 127 film to be delivered, I happened to look at a few Fuji Instax Mini prints sitting on my desk. I thought, Hey, that looks like it would fit perfectly inside the Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic! Sure enough, it was almost a perfect match at 46mm x 62mm. The light bulbs were going off in my head. Could I really shoot Fujifilm Instax film in a 108 year old Kodak camera? Spoiler alert. YES!

I went outside and made my first test shot and it turned out great. The exposure was spot on, and the image looked to be in focus. Somehow this kid from the 1980’s that grew up in Kodakville had resurrected an 108-year-old World War I Kodak camera using modern Fujifilm Instax film. I wonder what George Eastman would think of this combination?

I bet you are wondering… can I shoot Instax in my grandpa’s old camera? Keep reading and I will detail the technical process below.

Photos by Dan Allen.

I must warn you, though: if you continue reading, you may find yourself going down a photographic rabbit hole from which there is no returning. The fact is that you can shoot Instax film in almost any vintage camera, so long as it fits in the back, and the camera doesn’t have a focal plane shutter that moves near where the film is (think Canon AE-1). I’m afraid that you may damage the shutter if the Instax print were to come in contact with any moving part of the camera; however, most rangefinder, folding, and TLR style cameras with a leaf shutter inside the lens should work fine.

This process requires two things: a film changing dark bag that you can buy for $30 or less, and an analog Fujifilm Instax camera, such as the Instax Mini 12 or similar model. Here is a general outline of how it works:

  • Test fit a sheet of Instax Mini, Square, or Wide film in your vintage film camera to see which size works best. Instax Mini is the size that fits into the Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic.
  • Load a fresh pack of film into your analog Instax camera. Note: any of the Instax cameras that have a “digital” image component like the Mini Evo will not work.
  • Fire the shutter to eject the dark slide from the Instax film pack.
  • Place both the vintage camera and analog Instax camera into the film changing dark bag, and zip it shut so it’s light tight. Don’t forget to remove any smart watches that could possibly light up and expose the film.
  • Stick your hands inside the film changing dark bag and open the back cover of the Instax camera. Be very careful to avoid turning on the Instax camera by accident. Some of them have lights which could expose the film.
  • Remove the Instax film cartridge pack. Slide one sheet out, then put the cartridge back in the Instax camera and close the back door.
  • Open the vintage film camera and insert the single Instax sheet and align it where the film would normally get exposed. Remember, Instax film exposes from the back not the front, so you have to face the dark back of the Instax sheet towards what you want to photograph. If the Instax sheet is loose or has a big size difference, you may need to tape it in place, or make a mask out of construction paper so that you can tape the Instax sheet to it. You do not want the Instax sheet sliding around inside the camera.
  • Close up the vintage film camera and remove it from the film changing dark bag.

Instax film has an ISO speed of 800. When you expose your picture, you will need to take a light meter reading. If you don’t have a light meter, you can use an app on your smartphone, or even use your Fujifilm camera with the ISO dial set to 800. Once you get your light meter reading, if the shutter speed is faster than the maximum shutter speed of your camera, you may need to use an ND filter to reduce the light. When I used the Vest Pocket Autographic camera, I needed to hold a 3 stop ND filter over the lens in bright sun.

Photos by Dan Allen.

Once you have exposed your Instax sheet:

  • Put the vintage camera and Instax camera back in the film changing dark bag and zip it up so it is light tight again.
  • Remove the Instax sheet from your film camera and set it aside.
  • Open the back of the Instax camera and remove the film cartridge.
  • Insert the exposed Instax sheet into the film cartridge, then put the cartridge back into the Instax camera and close the back door. For this to work, you must put the exposed frame back into the film cartridge, and it must be in the same way that it was removed, and as the first sheet.
  • Remove both cameras from the dark bag.
  • Fire the shutter on the Instax camera with your hand or something else dark to cover the lens. Instax film starts the development process when it is ejected from the camera.

The first time I tried this, I wasted a few frames of Instax film on purpose by pulling out the cartridge in daylight when I had about three shots left. This let me practice the entire procedure in the light where I could see what I was doing. It is not difficult to do, but remember: once it is inside the film changing dark bag, you will be doing the entire process by feel only, so it is best to practice several times with some ruined sheets in daylight, until you get the hang of it.

Photos by Dan Allen.

If you made it this far, you are officially a camera nerd. Now go out and shoot some Instax film in a vintage camera! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram with questions at @dan.allen.photo. I use my Fujifilm X-T5 with a Fujinon 30mm Macro lens to digitally “scan” the Instax prints, which really makes it all come full circle.

A special thanks to Ritchie at Fuji X Weekly for inspiring me to get my first Fujifilm camera, and introducing me to the amazing Film Simulation Recipe community.

P.S. This Instax film process works with homemade pinhole cameras too!

The Instant Joy of the Instax Mini Link Printer

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

I recently purchased a Fujifilm Instax Mini Link instant film printer, which is a way to make Instax pictures from non-Instax cameras. It has already proven to be a lot of fun! I’ve been using the Mini Link to make instant film pictures from some of my recent road trip photographs, and it’s been a true joy to use!

As you might know, Instax is Fujifilm’s most popular photographic line, outselling X and GFX by leaps and bounds. It’s extremely popular worldwide, especially among younger people. Instax is currently the top-selling instant film brand, even more popular than Polaroid.

We have a couple of Instax cameras in our house, but sometimes it’s not practical to carry them around. These cameras are larger than my Fujifilm X100V and Fujifilm X-E4, so occasionally an Instax camera comes along with us, but oftentimes not; however, now that I have an Instax Mini Link printer, this is no longer a problem. In fact, in some ways, the Mini Link is actually better than an Instax camera.

The Instax Mini Link instant film printer is just a little smaller than the Instax Neo Classic Mini 90, yet pretty similar in size. It can fit fairly easily into a camera bag, but, unless you are going to an event and want to be able to instantly share pictures on-location, you might as well leave it at home. Not needing to carry around an Instax camera or even the printer is an advantage to using the Mini Link.

No surprise, the Mini Link uses Instax Mini instant film, which measures 2.1″ x 3.4″ with a 1.8″ x 2.4″ image inside the frame. It’s not a large picture whatsoever, but a good size for a travel journal or sharing with someone. Instax film quickly gets expensive. When you use an Instax camera, you don’t know what you’ve got until the picture develops. If it’s an important image (such as family or friends at an iconic location at a National Park), you have to wait a couple minutes for the image to develop, and if it didn’t come out you have to snap a second or maybe even a third frame. But with the Mini Link, you only print the images you want, which saves you both time and film (and ultimately money).

Another advantage of using the Mini Link printer over an Instax camera is that the picture quality is better. Instant film isn’t necessarily known for its high resolution renderings (although this can and certainly has varied), and I think the Instax cameras themselves often don’t allow you to get the highest potential image quality out of the film. While you still have the limitation of the film, using a Fujifilm X camera (or even a cellphone) to capture the images can improve the Instax picture quality. Instax cameras don’t seem to allow you to maximize the film capability, but the Mini Link definitely does allow you to maximize the image quality of the Instax Mini film.

The photographs that I printed on my Instax Mini Link printer were captured with my Fujifilm X100V and X-E4 cameras using various Film Simulation Recipes, as well as pictures captured on my iPhone using my RitchieCam camera app using various filters. While the printed photos retain much of their original aesthetics, the film itself has its own aesthetics that affect the outcome, so it is a combination of the recipe or filter plus the film that make the final Instax image. I especially like how the Nostalgic Color and Fujicolor Super HG recipes—and the MetroColor and Color Negative Low filters on the RitchieCam app—render on Instax film, but I certainly haven’t tried all of the recipes or filters. It’s amazing, though, how Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes and RitchieCam filters pair so seemingly well with Instax film printed on the Mini Link.

What about the images in this article? The top two pictures were captured with my Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens using my Fujicolor Superia 100 recipe, while the third was captured on my iPhone using the Faded Film filter on the RitchieCam app. The printer requires you to use the Instax Mini Link app to wirelessly (via bluetooth) transfer pictures from your electronic device to the printer. There are several “creative” options within the app that allow you to “enhance” your pictures, but I haven’t found a reason to use these—simply, the fun is found in the magic of instant film. Printing my digital photographs—captured on my Fujifilm X cameras and the RitchieCam app—on Instax Mini film is a true joy, and the Mini Link printer allows me to do this.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer Amazon B&H
Fujifilm Instax Mini Film Amazon B&H

Fuji’s Instant Film: The Immensely Interesting Story of Instax

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm’s top selling photographic line is not the X-series or GFX. By a large margin, Instax cameras and film are Fujifilm’s most popular photo products. Instax, of course, is instant film—their version of Polaroid. 2021 was an especially good year for Instax, thanks to the Instax Mini LiPlay and Instax Wide Printer, which have been hot sellers. This year, the new Instax Mini EVO is already a huge hit. I received a lot of positive feedback from my article explaining the history of the Fujifilm X-Pro1, so I thought it would be fun to explore the history of Instax. It turns out to be an immensely more interesting story than I imagined.

Let’s get started!

Edwin Land was a freshman physics student at Harvard University in 1926, and he had an idea: control scattered vibrations of light using a magnetic field and microscopic crystals. Less than two years later he dropped out of school and moved to New York City to pursue this idea. He spent extensive time in the public library, reading anything and everything that might help him succeed. Since he didn’t have access to a lab, he would sneak into Columbia University late at night to use theirs. In 1932, after four years of extensive experimenting and testing, Land had done it—he had invented an inexpensive and efficient polarizer. That same year he teamed up with George Wheelwright III, a Harvard physics professor, and started Land-Wheelwright Laboratories. In 1936, after years of work to commercialize the product, and 10 years after Land had his original idea, they began selling the Polaroid J Sheet Polarizer for use in sunglasses and photography. It was a quick hit, and a year later they renamed the company Polaroid after their product.

Many years later, in 1944, while on vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Edwin Land snapped a photograph of his three-year-old daughter, Jennifer. As the saying goes, kids say the darndest things. The little girl asked her dad why she couldn’t see the picture that had just been taken. Land thought, “Well, why can’t you?” Within an hour he had figured out the basic idea of how to accomplish this. In 1947 Land had invented a working instant film camera, and two years later Polaroid began selling the Model 95 instant film camera and Type 40 instant film to go with it.

Polaroid Colorpack II camera

Over the next decade Polaroid camera and film sales skyrocketed. Even Ansel Adams joined the instant film revolution, and, in 1963, published a book entitled Polaroid Land Photography. As demand increased, Polaroid struggled to keep up, so in the early 1960’s they contracted Kodak to manufactured their peel-apart packfilm. During that time Polaroid hired Fujifilm to assist with film improvements.

As instant film sales continued to rapidly grow throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, someone at Kodak got the bright idea that they should make their own cameras and film to compete against Polaroid. Using their experience producing film for Polaroid to design their own products, Kodak launched the EK4 and EK6 instant film cameras, as well as their PR10 instant film, in 1976. Polaroid immediately sued Kodak for patent violations, but it took a decade for the courts to make a ruling.

Fujifilm also wanted to get in on the instant film frenzy. They figured that Kodak would overtake Polaroid and become king of instant film, so Fujifilm closely modeled their instant film line after Kodak’s, and paid Kodak for the rights to do so. Fujifilm also approached Polaroid for permission, and Polaroid agreed just as long as Fujifilm shared some technology secrets with them and agreed not to sell their instant film cameras in North America. In 1981 Fujifilm launched the Fotorama instant film camera line, which was marketed only in Asia, and sold mostly in Japan. Instant film photography wasn’t nearly as popular in Asia as it was in America, but the Fotorama line sold well enough for Fujifilm to continue to sell it into the late-1990’s. Fujifilm also began selling instant film for Polaroid cameras during this time, although, again, largely for Asian markets.

Now back to that Kodak/Polaroid lawsuit. Polaroid won in 1986, and Kodak was ordered to stop selling their instant film cameras—they also had to financially compensate those who purchased them. The legal battle continued, and in 1990 Kodak was ordered to pay Polaroid almost a billion dollars in damages for copying seven patents. It was such a wild case that books have been written about it. One might think that Polaroid was the big winner and Kodak was the big loser, but Kodak made as much as 12 billion in profits off of their instant film line, so they still came out ahead, while the lengthly lawsuit apparently stifled Polaroid’s creativity and ability to innovate, right during a time when they desperately needed to innovate.

The 1990’s were not particularly good for Polaroid, and in 2001 they filed for bankruptcy. Polaroid was sold and then turned into a hollow shell, with the brand’s name and products licensed to other companies. Polaroid film was discontinued in 2008.

Fujifilm introduced the Instax line in 1998 with the Instax Mini 10 camera. Instax Wide came out a year later. While the size and shape was different, the film and technology was recycled from the Fotorama line. By this time Fujifilm was no longer obligated to remain outside of the U.S. market, but they continued to stay out, with the exception of the Mio camera in 2001, a Polaroid-brand model that shot Instax Mini film, which wasn’t especially successful. Fujifilm didn’t start selling Instax in America until after Polaroid announced it was discontinuing its instant film.

When Polaroid pulled out of instant film photography, Fujifilm seriously considered doing the same. Sales were sluggish, and largely declining. Instant film was nearly dead, and its demise was all but certain. The writing was on the wall.

In 2007 a South Korean television series called Coffee Prince was a huge success. It was especially popular with younger audiences, particularly teenagers. Prominently featured in the show was an Instax camera, and the demand for Instax in South Korea immediately skyrocketed. Then, in 2009, the South Korean series You’re Beautiful aired, which also prominently featured an Instax camera. While this show was only moderately successful on initial airing, it gained a large cult-like following in the years following, and it, too, boosted Instax sales. The popularity of Instax spread out from South Korea across Asia, then to the rest of the world, including America. Suddenly, more than a decade after it was released, Instax was an instant hit, with sales trending sharply up.

2004 was the slowest year for Instax, with about 100,000 cameras sold worldwide. In 2015, Fujifilm sold 5 million Instax cameras, and in 2019 they sold 10 million. Unsurprisingly, 2020 was a slow year, but in 2021 things picked up again, although I couldn’t find specific data on how many cameras were sold. Instax is Fujifilm’s top selling camera line, and it’s very profitable. Fujifilm has stated that some of those profits help fund developments within the X-series and GFX—even if you don’t own any Instax products, you can still be grateful that it’s so popular because it does indirectly affect you.

If Edwin Land hadn’t dropped out of college to pursue his polarizer idea, if his young daughter hadn’t asked why she couldn’t see the picture right away, if Kodak hadn’t ripped off Polaroid, if Fujifilm (like Kodak) hadn’t asked Polaroid for permission, if Polaroid hadn’t gone bankrupt, and if two South Korean television shows hadn’t used Instax as props—if any of these things hadn’t happened, Instax wouldn’t likely be around today. Through a series of twists and turns, Fujifilm created a product line that tens of millions of people worldwide use today. While Polaroid invented instant film photography, Fujifilm is currently king.

That’s the immensely interesting story of Instax!

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Instax Mini 40
Instax Mini 70
Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic
Instax Mini 11
Instax SQ6
Instax Wide 300
Instax Mini Link Printer
Instax Link Wide Printer
Instax Mini Film
Instax Square Film
Instax Wide Film

Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm recently released the new Instax Link Wide instant film printer. This is the first printer for larger Instax film, called Wide Instant Film. For those who shoot Instax, this is pretty big news!

A lot of people never print their pictures, and most images are quickly forgotten. A fun way to get tangible photographs is to print them on Instax film. Keep them in a photo book. Display them on a cork-board or refrigerator. Give them to friends and family. You can even print the pictures with a QR-code on them, and turn your images into unique business cards!

A great thing that you can do with this printer is use film simulation recipes on your Fujifilm X camera, and then print those pictures on Instax film. Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry did just that (which you can see in the image below)—she used my Agfa Optima 200 recipe on her Fujifilm X camera, and then, using the Instax Link Wide printer, made instant film prints from the images that she captured with the recipe. Amazing!

Photo by Nathalie Boucry

Some of you might be surprised to learn that I have an Instax Mini 40 that I occasionally use. Instant film photography is fun, but I don’t consider it a “serious” endeavor; however, the Wide printer does make for the intriguing union between recipes and instant film. There’s certainly the prospect of a compelling art project.

Nathalie and I discussed the Instax Link Wide printer in SOOC Episode 04. A short excerpt of this segment can be found in the video below. If you are interested in this printer, be sure to watch the video!

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

The Fujifilm Instax Link Wide Printer retails for $150.
B&H Amazon

The Joy of Instant Film — A Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Review

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Back when I was a kid, my family had a Polaroid camera, which we often used to capture memorable moments. Christmas, birthdays, and vacations were all made permanent on instant film. My dad had a 35mm SLR that he used sometimes, but when you look through the old picture books from my adolescence, a large percentage of the photos are Polaroids. My childhood was captured on instant film.

There’s magic in instant film photography. The camera would spit out a print, which started out completely white and would slowly reveal an image. Maybe you’d shake it, hoping to speed up the process. Back when I was young most things weren’t “instant” like today, so having a tangible picture in mere moments was a seemingly impossible novelty. The cameras were easy to use—even a child could capture pictures, and my brother, sister and I were occasionally granted permission to be photographers. The legendary landscape photographer Ansel Adams published a book on instant film photography. It didn’t matter if you were a complete novice or experienced pro, the magic of instant film photography was for everyone.

Polaroid is no longer the king of instant film. Fujifilm, with their Instax line of cameras and film, is number one. Introduced in 1998, Instax was an immediate hit, but like Polaroid, it was greatly affected by the emerging digital camera technology, and sales began to decline sharply after 2002. Polaroid jumped ship in 2008 (they’ve since returned), but Fujifilm continued the Instax brand, and in 2009 sales began trending up. Today, Instax is Fujifilm’s top selling photography product by a large margin.

My oldest daughter, Joy, was gifted a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 camera for Christmas five years ago, and she loves to photograph with it! The Mini 8 was introduced by Fujifilm in 2012, so it’s by no means a new camera, but, since it was a popular model, nearly a decade later you can still find it sometimes brand-new. I asked Joy to write a couple paragraphs about this camera and Instax photography to include in this review.

“I like the Fujifilm Instax Mini 8,” Joy began, “because of the many possibilities that come with the camera! I love the pastel blue color of my Instax. To capture a picture, there is a button near the lens that must be pushed first, which pops the lens forward and powers the camera on. There’s a ring around the lens that controls the brightness of the picture. Choose between Indoors, Cloudy, Cloudy and Sunny mixed, Sunny, and Hi-Key. Press the circle shaped button and a picture comes out the side of the camera. My Instax Mini 8 is amazing!”

“Taking pictures with my Instax is super exciting! I like to photograph plants, cities and my family. There are two trails near where I live that are my favorite places for pictures. The Instax Mini 8 has a flash that cannot be turned off, so sometimes my pictures will come out too bright. It takes a little practice to capture good pictures with this camera. I have four different colored filters that attach to the lens, and I can change the color of the photos with these filters. I have taken pictures with different films. The film loads into the back of the camera, and it’s easy to change. I love the awesome pictures I capture with my Instax Mini 8!”

There are three different Instax sizes. Mini measures 2.1″ x 3.4″ with a 1.8″ x 2.4″ image. Square measures 2.8″ x 3.4″ with a 2.4″ x 2.4″ image. Wide measures 4.3″ x 3.4″ with a 3.9″ x 2.4″ image. No surprise, Mini is the smallest, and most lo-fi. Image quality isn’t especially great, but that’s a part of the charm. The instant-film magic is what makes the Instax Mini a fascinating camera.

The biggest cost with Instax is the film. It adds up quickly. You can save a little by buying in bulk, but it’s still not cheap. There’s a real cost with each picture, but you get a tangible photograph, which is uncommon anymore. Holding a physical image is also a part of the instant film magic. More importantly, Instax is fun, and there certainly is a childlike joy photographing with the Mini 8 camera.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Film B&H
Fujifilm Instax Cameras B&H

Below are some of Joy’s Instax photographs captured with her Mini 8 camera: