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I would love to buy a new "instant" camera, but it's hard for me to find something at the prosumer level.

The Instax Mini by Fujifilm is a relatively "cheap" consumer solution [0].

What's its equivalent in the $600-$1,000 price range?

[0]: https://petapixel.com/2022/01/14/fujifilms-market-share-in-j...




There's really not much out there, because the chemistry of instant film is very difficult and without the film, there are no cameras. Fuji's only real competitor is The Impossible Project, now known as Polaroid, having bought the name. Their cameras are very nice, but their film is more expensive and technically inferior (though not necessarily aesthetically inferior, depending on your goals.) You can also buy film from them that is compatible with classic Polaroid cameras.


It's ironic- Fuji have a monopoly so they can charge however little they want.


Wow I didn't know the current Polaroid isn't the Polaroid from back then. TIL


Polaroid has always been worse than Fuji from a technical aspect, but that's always been part of the draw, I feel. It's why Instagram got popular in the first place as the filters mimicked the colors of a washed-out Polaroid still from various decades.


Do you want it to be portable or produce amazing images? Polaroid produces pull apart film for large format cameras.



Carry a printer such as a Canon Selphy (even the CP1300 can use a battery) and use a camera with WiFi.

Alternatively there are portable thermal printers with phone apps. Many will do 300dpi. But you are limited to black and white…though you’ll live.


The CP1300 is very awkward with its tray. The QX10 has no protruding tray, comes with a battery standard and the prints can be used as stickers. Otherwise the Fuji Instax line is pretty nice as well.


The CP series is less trouble than an inkjet and will print out of camera Jpgs from an SD card.

It might be less fiddly than a Polaroid back on a traditional film camera.


Then the question becomes: is there a prosumer-level portable printer out there? I haven't been successful in finding one.


I don’t know about prosumers, but I have a Selphy CP1300 for mobile printing. Its 300 dpi dye sublimation CYM is good enough for me.

It accepts SD cards and USB so it works with or without a post processing workflow. Or my phone via WiFi.

At retail, 4x6 output is about $0.30. That’s larger and cheaper than the instant film based systems. It is a price point where I don’t hesitate to print…my Canon inkjet runs about $0.15 per 4x6 at retail with media and ink…there’s no separate ink cost with the Selphy CP series.

Canon has been making the CP dye-sublimation printers for a long time. It is a solid system. The models just get more features over time. Aftermarket batteries are available (that’s what I have).

Finally, printing is not really in the middle of the prosumer wheelhouse these days. The CP is probably as good as you will do. Dye sublimation printers can travel well. Inkjets and lasers tend not to.


Mint RF70 perhaps.




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