Most of the ones we picked out also print on the spot. The modern-day line-up of instant cameras for kids includes a range of features, from digital screens to delayed shooting. When they’re done creating their insta-masterpiece, you can frame it and add it to their kid's bookshelf, or send it to Grandma and Grandpa as presents.įortunately, they don’t have to experience the joy of waiting a week for their memories to come back from the pharmacy. And the best instant cameras for kids are made with tiny hands in mind. If you’ve ever picked up your phone and noticed about a billion out-of-focus photos, you’ll know that even tiny kiddos can handle a shutter. There’s nothing like a throwback toy, and Polaroid cameras have been making a comeback for a while for the selfie-obsessed generation and those who love vintage toys and accessories. Repeatedly buying film means that instant cameras aren’t a cheap hobby, but if you can see the value here, the Mini 90 looks like it can justify the cost.įujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic Instant Camera, $113.04, available at Amazon. You'd also get it if the idea of having a photo that belongs to you and you alone sounds like a good one. You'd get it because it’s fun, it’s easy, and it can make you and your friends look like catalog models, if ever so briefly. You wouldn't get this to take precise shots, though.
![fujifilm polaroid camera retro fujifilm polaroid camera retro](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CaZPyz3_9tc/VbSYFHqDxkI/AAAAAAAAHZA/iqNpQD3Hbuc/s1600/DSC06372.jpg)
(MicroSD support, a la the Polaroid Snap, would also be nice.) The only big downside is with the viewfinder - it’s small, and it isn’t always exact in framing your shots. It might take a minute to get used to the extra modes mentioned above, but it’s still the kind of thing you could hand to someone at a party without giving a tutorial first. It’s made to be held horizontally or vertically, and actually using it is as straightforward as you’d expect an instant camera to be. While it’s plastic, it doesn’t feel toyish, and it has a retro vibe that’s at once chic and adorable. Perhaps more appealing the Mini 90’s build. It’s still not going to handle the harshest lighting too well, but it does well for what it is. It’s helped by an unusual amount of bonus features - a “party” mode makes it easier to capture a subject and the background at once a “kids” mode helps you stabilize faster-moving subjects a built-in macro mode lets you better frame close-ups and you can mess around with exposure settings, too. It’s been recommended by the likes of The Verge and The Wirecutter, it has a 4.6 rating after 560 Amazon reviews, and it's become much more affordable over the years, too.Īgain, you can’t really expect stellar image quality from any of these things, but relatively speaking, the Mini 90 and its 2.1-by-3.4-inch Instax film produce accurate colors and decent detail. It’s been around for a few years, but it remains a good time that’s both more featured and better looking than most of its peers. In any case, if you’re interested in jumping back on this bandwagon, have a look at the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic. That, or people just want to look trendy. While the quality of an instant camera’s photos can’t touch those of a good digital shooter (or even the best smartphones ), there’s at least some, likely nostalgia-fueled, thirst for the sweetness that comes with making a personal item tangible.
![fujifilm polaroid camera retro fujifilm polaroid camera retro](http://www.japanexposures.com/images/2013/09/fujimini90_004.jpeg)
In some ways, it’s like a smaller-scale version of the recent vinyl renaissance. Such devices might seem anachronistic in a progress-oriented tech market, but groups like The Impossible Project, Fujifilm, and Lomography have all churned out cameras that aim to pick up where Polaroid left off. Yes, like the ones that print out photos on the spot. To rectify this, the last few years have brought a minor revival of instant cameras. Smartphone cameras are as good as they’ve ever been, but for some, there’s a certain intimacy that’s inherently lost when your photographs are kept behind that all-encompassing display.