Instant Film Heaven (Without Breaking The Bank)
standing on the bench
You may or may not have already read Paul’s earlier post about saving Polaroid (if you haven’t - what are you waiting for! durrh). In the post he gets all gooey-eyed and nostalgic about the pleasure of taking photos with instant film and I have to say I agree with him – there is nothing quite like it.
I can’t put my finger on what it is about instant film that is so appealing above and beyond digital photography which if anything is even more instant! Maybe that is part of the appeal. Instant film makes you wait and watch the picture be revealed where as digital appears on our lcd screens in the blink of an eye…..where’s the build up and dramatic pause? Traditional film goes too far in the other direction and makes us wait to get the film developed. That’s not good enough for some of us impatient photographers. We want to see the magic happen. That’s maybe where instant film fills a void. It’s got the instant gratification of an instant photo that you would get on a digital camera and all of the alchemy and magic appeal you get with film.
Sadly though with the impending death of Polaroid film, as Paul mentioned in his article, the price of Instant photography is sky-rocketing with packs of film selling for more than your grandma on eBay. There is I’m pleased to report one often overlooked alternative. Instax!
a girl walks away
Instax cameras were made by FujiFilm in the late 90′s as a competitor to the already famous Polaroid and just before the onslaught of digital, and for both of these reasons they became popular but not quite household names. They still achieved a popularity great enough for film to still be sold and produced to this day though.
The film comes in two different varieties to fit two different styles of camera. Instax Wide is the larger of the two varieties and each print is sized about 6cm x 10cm. These films fit the instax 100 and instax 200 cameras. The smaller variety has a small print sizes of about 62mm x 46mm and is known as Instax Mini. These films fit into the Fuji mini 20, 55i and the mini7. Because these films are still produced the cost is much much less than Polaroid alternatives.
Don’t get me wrong these cameras aren’t as good as the polaroids of old. They don’t have all the bells and whistles or accessories and rather than look cool they look like fisher price plastic toys….but…..they produce instant photographs using instant film and that is the end result we’re interested in right?
If you are lucky you can currently pick up an Instax 200 on ebay for between £1.00 and £5.00. Yes that cheap!! I just bought two packs (20 shots) of film from 7dayshop this week for £9 total so thats less than 50 pence a shot!! Film is also available from Japan on eBay for very reasonable prices which is in sharp contrast to that currently being asked for Polaroid films.
If you want to check out what people have done with it who are far more talented than me have a look around the Instax Room on Flickr and then join the Fujifilm revolution!! (and lets hope they carry on making this stuff for a long long long time)
see you later
26 Comments to Instant Film Heaven (Without Breaking The Bank)
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I really like the look of that wide format actually… another definite future addition to my shooting arsenal
My new packs of film have arrived so have all ready been out this morning taking a few more shots
I can tell already, you guys are going to cost me a fortune.
:p
Sorry to post twice (I tried to edit), but have any of you that have this tried to do transfers with the Instax images?
(like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid_transfer)
Just curious because I’m a process kind of girl.
Hi Stuart, glad to see you using Fuji Instax, it’s a great film, but don’t forget there’s another affordable alternative which arguably has more of a bearing on the future of Polaroid. Fujifilm’s professional pack films – FP-100B (black and white), FP-100C (colour) and FP-3000B (very high speed black and white) – fit all the 100 series Polaroid pack film cameras, plus any medium format camera fitted with a compatible back. They’re available cheapest at 7dayshop (currently out of stock due to high demand), but also Fujifilm’s own online store. Fujifilm are the most likely contenders to fill the gaps left by Polaroid, but they’ll only be tempted to bring out substitutes for the more exotic Polaroid films if they’re convinced there’s a big enough demand.
Give their pack film a go – it’s magic stuff.
Thanks for the heads up on that Mark! Now I need to pick up a Polaroid 100 series camera as well as the Instax!
Still keeping my fingers crossed that Fuji will start producing 600 film though…
Hi Paul,
Yes I agree about the 600. Have you tried 779? It has a beautiful colour tone, and is supposedly the ‘pro’ version of 600. Still stocks available (not eBay either) for around eleven quid a pack. Pricey, but worth it. You probably know all this, but for those that don’t, you can pick up an old Polaroid Colorpack for around a fiver on eBay, if you’re lucky. Avoid the Colorpack 80 though because 80 series films are virtually impossible to track down now.
Hi Mark, glad you mentioned pack film. I did seriously look at this before I picked up on instax but found the cameras on ebay rocketing in price for that very reason…..still on my wish list though of course
I’m also hoping fujifilm will pick up the gauntlet and start producing films for more polaroid cams…..would be fantastic!
Stuart – by the way, our friends ProFoLab are still open to persuasion on whether to stop processing film. They’re going to make a decision in February. So any of you out there in the Weymouth area, please put in a good word and convince them to keep going with it.
Like Robin, I was wondering if image or emulsion transfers can be done with the Fuji film? Also wondering about being able to manipulate the emulsion, like the film used in Polaroid’s SX-70 camera? Thank you for posting this info – very good news!
@ Robin and Mary – I don’t think you would be able to do any image transfers with the instax film (although probably with the pack film mark mentioned) you could manipulate the film afterwards with heat sources and scratches etc though.
@ Mark – I’ll try and drop in there again….I’ve moved jobs now to the dorchester area and wessex photo there say they are willing to cross process, so will be trying them next week when I finish the roll in my xa2.
Sorry, don’t know about Instax, but so far as I’m aware you can’t manipulate it like 600 film. You can definitely do emulsion lifts with Fuji FP-100C film though.
I don’t think you can manipulate the instax film. Polaroid SX70 and the fuji FP-100 are the best for that. UNfortunately SX70 costs a rediculous amount now
Instax is tempting though, for some instant fun
If anyone’s interested in making Polagrams – that is, photograms with Polaroid of Fuji instant film – here’s an interesting discussion thread from Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/957476@N24/discuss/72157612295433497/
Thank you, Mark and Stuart! I’m so glad I found this discussion – very helpful!
And if you can buy nor a fuji nor a pola, try to fake it with Poladroid
http://www.poladroid.net (yes, shame on me)
@ shmileblik – No! No! NO! Not cheesy ‘poladroid’ fakes – you’re missing the point entirely. Faux Polaroids are being posted in all the genuine Polaroid groups on Flickr, not to mention Polanoid. It’s so depressing. They’re like some ghastly virus spreading out of control.
I have to agree
Clever as it is – there’s no excuse for not keeping it real. Even if it’s only Instax-real. Nothing can replace the touch, smell, feel and sound of a real instant photo. Naughty naughty! lol 
Those Polagrams are fascinating, by the way ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/957476@N24/discuss/72157612295433497/ )!! Just need to get my hands on a 100 camera now…
Well – I hope you’re all very happy with yourselves! Not only have I now bought an Instax 100 and a Mini Instax 10, but I’ve just won an auction for a Polaroid EE 100 Special (whatever that is) and have 5 packs of Fuji FP100C coming my way!
Mmm… look what I’ve been driven to:
teehee.
@ Paul – The EE100 Special is a very nice camera indeed – I’ve got one! One tip though: try not to insert or remove the film pack with the bellows closed – the fit is quite snug and the pack can catch on the folds and possibly damage them. Enjoy!
Now check this out! VERY GOOD NEWS TONIGHT!
http://www.the-impossible-project.com/beta/
That is potentially superb news!! Deserves a post of its own I think!
Guuuuuuys I might well be getting an instax.. not sure whether to pick the 200 or the mini 7 yet but I shall get one me thinks.. most probably..
Exciting.
this site has helped me a lot! thank you so much!