Can Fujifilm Bring Instant Film Cameras Into the Selfie Era?

What's This?

Image: Mashable, Raymond Wong

By Raymond Wong2014-05-04 00:00:46 UTC

When it comes to instant film cameras, most people use them for one type of photography: shooting portraits. There's a reason why instant film cameras are considered "party" cameras — you pass them around and take what are essentially physical selfies. You know, the kind of photos that are a little blurry and often overexposed, plus everyone in them has red eye.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is a bit of a different beast. This mini format instant film camera still takes those precious washed out party portraits, but it's also capable of a lot more, so long as you're willing to press a few buttons to select the right mode.

Plastic all spiffed up

In recent years, Polaroid and Fujifilm have both feverishly sold their own mini format instant film cameras to a new breed of youngsters fascinated by instant photography.

Two popular models include the Polaroid Pic300 ($70 on Amazon) and the Instax Mini 8 (about $60-70 on Amazon). There's nothing wrong with either of the aforementioned instant cameras, and they take good instant photos, but their candy-colored, bubbly designs leave a lot to be desired. Both cameras look like they were made by Fisher-Price.

Like Fujifilm's mirrorless cameras, the Mini 90 resembles a serious piece of kit as opposed to a child's plaything; the retro design a nod to the old metal and leather-clad single lens reflex (SLR) film cameras from a bygone era.

The Instax Mini 8 (left) next to the new Mini 90.

Image: Mashable, Raymond Wong

Sleek as the Mini 90 looks, its all-plastic construction can't compare to the metal build quality of, say, a Polaroid SX70, but it's still durable enough that it can survive a tumble in your bag or a drop to the floor. I dropped the Mini 90 twice by accident (once because I didn't put on the included neck strap) and in both cases, the camera only suffered minor scratches.

Hit-or-miss shooting modes

While the Mini 90 does have more features than other instant film cameras, Fujifilm didn't compromise ease-of-use for the sake of adding them. Loading film is still as simple as opening a door on the back of the camera, dropping in a pack of 10 exposures inside, then closing it back up.

Whereas most cameras only have one shutter button, the Mini 90 has two: one for taking vertical portrait shots and one for horizontal landscapes. In most cases, you'll mainly use the primary shutter button (the one directly below the viewfinder). However, the inclusion of a dedicated shutter button for taking landscape shots is a welcome addition for overcoming awkward claw-grips.

On the back of the Mini 90 are five buttons below an LCD info screen. The first four are for macro, adjusting brightness (three levels), setting a timer and turning flash on and off. Had Fujifilm only included these four self-explanatory shooting modes, the Mini 90 would have already outclassed many other instant film cameras.

But the Mini 90 goes a few steps further. Press the last "mode" button and you can toggle between five more advanced shooting modes. In my testing, I found the modes to be hit and miss. Sometimes they gave me what I wanted, and sometimes they felt like they didn't work at all.

Party: Party mode fires off a flash and uses a slow shutter speed to better expose dark backgrounds with people in the foreground. Most shots I took in this mode showed little difference in background details compared to shooting in normal mode.

Kids: This mode is for taking snapshots of fast-moving subjects, like hyper kids who refuse to stay still. Kids mode does an okay job of reducing the motion blur that is common when photographing kids, but I found the resulting photos a little soft. For best results, use this mode for indoor shots.

1. 


2. 


3. 


4. 


5. 

Landscape: Instead of focusing on a subject in the foreground, Landscape mode lets you focus on distances from 10 feet to infinity — great for, well, landscapes of clouds, skylines and other things that you want to be sharp across the board.

Double Exposure: Sometimes the jolly selfies just won't do. For when you want something more creative, the Double Exposure mode lets you take two shots, one after another, and it'll combine them into a single exposure. I'm not a big fan of double exposures, since I think it distorts a photo's focus. But if you're into that type of thing, more power to you. Not sure why, but my double exposures always tended to be more overexposed than I wanted.

Bulb: Meant for taking nighttime shots, Bulb mode opens the shutter for up to 10 seconds. The longer you hold it, the longer your exposure will be. Using a tripod is essential to getting good results. My only complaint is that you need to hold the shutter button down to keep the shutter open, which sometimes leads to a lot of unexpected shake and blur at the last second.

Since there are only five advanced shooting modes to remember, it's much easier to remember to switch to the right one when you want a specific photo that doesn't involve silly faces.

With the exception of the Bulb mode for nighttime shots and the Double Exposure mode, none of the Mini 90's extra five shooting modes are particularly unique. They're nice to have in case the use-case scenario comes up, but not game-changing for an instant film camera by any stretch.

Nobody left behind

Whenever I visit my family back home, we end up taking instant photos with my sister's Polaroid Pic300. It's a fun ritual, but the single most annoying dilemma we always end up with is: Who's going to hold the camera?

One of the drawbacks to instant photography is that the person holding the camera can't be in the picture. When I'm home, my two sisters and I end up switching in between shots so that we all get a pic with our parents. While we end up with a lot of instant photos, we never have one where the entire family (siblings, parents and puppies!) is in a one shot.

To my delight, I found the Mini 90's timer feature to be really useful. You'll need to use a tripod, but once the Mini 90 is bolted on, you get the option for taking one picture or two sequential pictures. Needless to say, I finally have some instant photos where all family members are present.

Can you see me now?

Until a company puts a digital screen on the back of an instant film camera, we're stuck with an optical viewfinder. I'm not sure why, but it seems like every mini format instant film camera is saddled with a tiny viewfinder.

The viewfinder on the Mini 90 is no exception. Position your eye too close to the viewfinder and your eye just blocks the hole. Similarly, if you position your eye too far away, you risk not seeing a large portion of the frame. And if you wear glasses, looking through the viewfinder is even trickier, since your frames usually get in the way.

Image: Mashable, Raymond Wong

To be fair, figuring out the optimal distance your eye should be from the viewfinder (about 1 to 1.5 inches) does get easier the more you use the camera, but that's still not a valid reason for not making the viewfinder just a little larger. You'd be frustrated too if you had to keep explaining to your friends and family why there's nothing wrong with the viewfinder, and that they just needed to find its viewing sweet spot.

Paying for style

Aside from the tiny viewfinder and the hit-or-miss shooting modes, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is a well-built instant film camera. It has plenty of flair and boasts a handful of shooting modes and settings that give you a bit more control over other instant film cameras. Standout modes include the self-timer, bulb and landscape. The included lithium-ion battery isn't too shabby, either, lasting for about 85-100 shots per charge.

Film is also fairly reasonable: a box of 20 shots (2 x 10 exposures) costs a little under $14 at places such as Amazon and B&H.

For $150, the Mini 90 is a little overpriced. Most people will probably be able to get by with either the Polaroid Pic300 or Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. If the five creative modes and retro design aren't all that important to you, the Instax Mini 50S ($90 on Amazon) might be a better buy. Of course, none of them are as good looking as the Mini 90.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 90

The Good

Sleek retro design that's durable • Two shutter buttons • Handy timer mode

The Bad

Tiny viewfinder • No real grip when held horizontally • Inconsistent shooting mode results

The Bottom Line

With myriad shooting modes, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is one of the most fun instant film cameras to shoot with, provided you're okay with paying a premium for its retro design.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: camera, Fujifilm, Fujifilm Instax Mini 90, Gadgets, Mobile, reviews

Image: Mashable, Raymond Wong