Fujifilm’s New Retro Instant Camera and Film Take Us Back to Simpler Times

Fujifilm’s New Retro Instant Camera and Film Take Us Back to Simpler Times

For anyone who has been looking for an instant film camera that produces nostalgic prints and has the retro styling to match, Fujifilm’s new Instax Mini 40 might be right up your alley.

At its core, the $US100 ($131) Instax Mini 40 is essentially an Instax Mini 11, but with an updated design that harkens back to the days when social media meant passing around a stack of Polaroid pictures.

Its design is quite simple, featuring a retractable 35mm lens and an automatic exposure function that dials in the camera settings so you don’t have to. Aside from the shutter button and a built-in flash, the Mini 40’s only other major feature is the ability to pull out the camera lens, which shortens the camera’s focal distance so you can flip the camera around and take selfies with ease. Fujifilm even includes a small mirror on the front of camera so you can compose selfies without the need for a screen.

Image: Fujifilm
Image: Fujifilm

After snapping a shot, the camera spits out a photo that will develop in about 90 seconds, and the camera is capable of holding up to 10 shots at a time. However, you might not want to get too shutter-happy, because Instax Mini film costs about $US15 ($20) for a 20-pack of film, and it’s pretty easy for an extended photo shoot to get expensive fast. Additionally, Fujifilm said the two AA batteries that power the Instax Mini 40 should last about 100 shots before needing to be replaced.

Alongside the new Instax Mini 40, Fujifilm is also releasing some new retro-inspired “Contact Sheet” instant film (seen below), which features a black border (instead of white) with orange lettering to really deliver that ‘70s and ‘80s aesthetic.

Image: Fujifilm
Image: Fujifilm

So while it might not be the most efficient or most advanced way to snap a photo, Fujifilm’s new Instax Mini 40 seems like a fun and relatively affordable way to recapture the magic of instant cameras from yesterday. The Mini 40 goes on sale sometime this month.


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