best instant camera with lcd screen supplier

Not only can you once again buy a new Polaroid camera, but Fujifilm’s Instax has become a global phenomenon, and other companies like Kodak have gotten in on the action too.

Some instant cameras even now pack digital tech too, allowing you to do things like take multiple shots before picking which to print, save digital copies of photos for your Instagram, or even print shots straight from your phone. Thanks to connected apps, others even offer interactive games and the chance to tweak your prints with stickers, filters, or QR codes to access videos and the like.

The downside is that there are now multiple competing film formats, sizes, and brands, and it’s hard to know which instant camera is right for you. Luckily for you we’ve tested the leading cameras that are on the market, and here’s what we think.

The auto-exposure dial makes low light photography reasonably visible, and the design is slimmer and more refined than its predecessor overall. There aren’t any manual adjustments that users can make to the camera, but at this price point that’s to be expected.

The Mini 11 prints on Instax’s Mini film – which produces pocket-sized polaroid-style photos. This instant camera is a compelling option for younger audiences with not much photography experience.

Combining the digital camera features with analogue buttons results in a fun shooting experience, and the fact that it doubles as an instant printer is the icing on the cake.

It looks more professional than cheaper Instax models, with a retro-inspired design. That said, be prepared to spend a pretty penny to get your hands on one.

The Instax SQ1 is Fujifilm’s second fully analogue square format camera, and it’s a simplified version of the old SQ6, which is now hard to find in stock.

The SQ1 takes Instax Square film, which in turn means this is a bigger, chunkier camera than the Instax Minis. It comes in a similar range of attractive pastel colours though, and there’s a definite charm to the camera’s look.

We wish it had a few more options to be honest, especially given its price, but if you want an easy-to-use Instax that shoots on square film, this is your best bet.

The camera is also an instant printer, which allows you to print photos directly from your smartphone via the companion app very easily on to the Instax Mini film.

It’s also generally an easy camera to navigate. The design is user-friendly, and you can choose from a number of different shooting options to enhance your experience. The camera itself is enough to give you a decent-quality image, with a little flair if you wish. However, the design may not be to everyone’s tastes.

The Mini LiPlay lets you record audio and play it back via QR codes, though this feature may only be useful to a small portion of users. It sits just slightly higher than average on our price range, but the flexibility that this camera offers seems worth the extra bump in cost.

Even by the standards of instant cameras, this is driven by nostalgia. The blocky plastic design screams ‘retro’, accentuated by the textured faux-leather finish and silver accents.

As the name suggests, the Mini 40 takes Instax Mini format prints, and in fact this is essentially the same camera as the Mini 11 above – the functionality is almost identical, with the higher price driven by the premium, retro design.

If you’re not fussed on the design then save money and grab the Mini 11, but if you want an Instax Mini camera that feels like a camera, not a toy, then this is the one.

With a range of shooting options, supported by an app that enables remote controls and other modes, this is more complicated than some of the simple point-and-shoot cameras from Instax. That will appeal to capable photographers, but might put you off if you want something more straightforward.

Like other Polaroid cameras it is big and bulky, and the film runs fairly expensive – but that’s the price you pay (literally) for getting the classic Polaroid camera design and iconic large format square prints, which obviously up the appeal.

The Kodak Step captures the happy middle ground between quality and budget. For a reasonable price, you get a compact and lightweight camera which supports microSD saving, and prints colour photos within a minute – though it’s worth noting that this is a digital camera that prints onto Zink paper, rather than an analogue camera that exposes real film.

Unlike the film used in an Instax Mini 11 camera, Zink paper uses heat to form images. Each sheet contains micro-crystals that produce either cyan, magenta or yellow hues depending on the intensity and duration of heat applied. When combined, you are left with the final image. This makes printing on the Step more affordable too.

Colours are the most impressive when you have good lighting – but the prints can struggle with exposure. That said, there is an automatic flash available if you’re in darker conditions. The Kodak Step is a budget-friendly tech toy best suited for casual point and shoot use, making it ideal for students and scrapbook keepers.

As the name might give away, the Instax Wide 300 takes photos that are wider than other instant cameras – double the size of Instax Mini photos. The camera itself has to be large enough to accommodate the bigger prints, and Fujifilm has committed to a chunky aesthetic all round, with a large grip and an enormous lens – the Instax Wide isn’t the most attractive instant camera around.

Portraits can turn out great once you get used to framing for landscape though, with warm skin tones. The new orientation is also great for parties – it takes a lot less work to cram multiple people into the same shot now.

There are a few factors to consider when you’re trying to buy an instant camera. First up you need to think about how complex you want the camera to be. Some are simple point-and-shoot devices that don’t give you much control beyond turning the flash off or setting a timer.

All of these advanced features are nice to have, but you have to think about whether you’re the sort of photographer who’s really likely to use them. If you want to play around with multiple exposures or shoot photos in varied conditions then they might be worth it, but if you just want to take photos of your mates at parties, a simpler point-and-shoot will probably be plenty.

Remember that if you don’t want to get your head round a whole new camera, you don’t have to – you might be better off buying an instant printer, which lets you print photos directly from your smartphone instead.

The downside to that flexibility is that you lose some of the immediacy of a pure film camera. Part of the charm of using film is that you only get one chance – it saves you from fussy posing for the perfect shot. If you’re not going to commit to the old-fashioned appeal, why are you looking at instant cameras at all?

Plus, the quality you can expect from the digital photos you export is pretty low – nothing compared to what you could expect from the camera on a budget smartphone, let alone any of the best phone cameras around.

Most cameras can only take one type of film, so make sure you know which size you prefer before you pick your camera. You should consider price too – the larger prints tend to cost more, so your choice will affect the long-term running cost of your camera too.

Some cameras from other manufacturers – such as Lomography – use Instax film too, so you don’t have to commit to a Fujifilm camera to take advantage of the film prints.

There are also some instant cameras that don’t technically use film at all. The Kodak Step is technically a digital camera that print photos onto Zink – zero ink paper.

Zink cameras tend to be cheaper – and so are the prints – but since the photos are digital they tend to have a bit less warmth to them, and the physical prints don’t have quite the same nostalgia value to them.

Fujifilm"s Mini Link is close to our top pick, the LiPlay, but ditches the camera functionality. Instead the Mini Link prints images from your phone. Fujifilm"s new mobile app is much better than its past efforts. I"d recommend this over the older SP-2 printer for that reason alone, since the results are otherwise similar.

What makes the new app more fun? Fun Modes. Party Print creates collages from multiple phones, while Match Test takes images of two people (or two images of one person) and prints a combined image. It"ll also tell you how "compatible" it thinks the pair is, which is gimmicky, but what party doesn"t lighten up with a little gimmickry?

TECH SPECSCamera Features: Film Size – 86mm x 54mm; Picture Size – 62mm x 46mm; Film Developing Time – Approximately 90 seconds (Varies depending on the ambient temperature); Lens – Move in / out type lens, 2 components, 2 elements, f=60mm, F=12.7; Focusing – Motor-driven 3-range switching, 0.3m – ∞ (macro mode: 0.3m – 0.6m, normal mode: 0.6m – 3.0m, landscape mode: 3.0m – ∞); Real image finder, 0.37x, with target spot and parallax adjustment for macro mode; Shutter Speed – Programmed electronic shutter release, 1.8 – 1/400 sec. shutter speeds (macro mode: aperture automatically fixed at F22, bulb mode: maximum 10-second shutter open time); Exposure Control – Automatic, LV5.0 – 15.5 (ISO800), lighten-darken control ±2/3EV, +1EV; Automatic electronic flash (with brightness adjustment function), forced firing mode (with brightness adjustment function), flash off mode, red eye reduction mode; Electronically controlled, approx. 10 second delay, Continuous shooting mode can be stopped mid-run; Liquid Crystal – Exposure counter (number of remaining shots), Macro mode, Brightness control, Self timer, Flash ON / OFF, Mode button(Party / Kids / Landscape / Double exposure / Bulb)

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is widely regarded as the best of the best for the Instax Minis. It’s not quite a premium instant camera, but it’s targeted at users who want a better build quality than the Instax Mini 9 or the Instax Mini 11.

Perhaps the greatest strength of the Instax Mini 90 is its iconic retro design. Pop a flash on it and the Instax Mini 90 will resemble a paparazzi camera from La Dolce Vita. But the design isn’t all that’s good about the Instax Mini 90 – it also features advanced shooting modes such as double exposure and bulb exposure as well.

Instax cameras are very similar to the first Polaroid that debuted in 1947. Each print contains all the chemicals required to develop a picture. You expose the film to light, the camera spits out a print, and you watch as the picture develops in front of your eyes.

Zink cameras are more like digital cameras with a photo printer attached. They use Zink (short for “zero ink”) paper, which reacts to heat to produce the image. You don’t watch the photo develop. It simply emerges from the side of the camera fully printed. Because the image is recorded digitally, you can even apply color filters before it arrives in the world.

To get a better idea of how today’s instant cameras perform, we chose six models—three Instax and three Zink—and put them through an informal trial. The models range in price from $69 to $299. Our in-house photo expert Artur Pietruch snapped photos with each in the controlled environment of our camera lab, simulating the daylight and low light conditions one might encounter in real life.

As with the products we routinely test at Consumer Reports, we bought the cameras at retail, the same way you would. We didn’t fully evaluate the image quality, though, in the manner we do for the models in our ratings. We simply compared the photos captured by each under varied lighting conditions.

We also noted significant drawbacks. The auto focus on the cameras was often spotty, for example. Some models didn’t have the option to turn off the flash. And digital image stabilization is non-existent, so be prepared for motion blur.

But there’s no disputing that shooting with these cameras is fun. The ability to see and hold a snapshot just seconds after you shoot it is still a nifty crowd pleaser.

In a world of smartphones and digital photos, instant cameras create physical prints, which you can hold in your hand just seconds after clicking the shutter. They offer an exciting and unique way to capture a moment in time - without reaching for your mobile.

There’s no getting around it: instant photography is fairly expensive. While the cameras themselves are much cheaper than digital alternatives, the film comes at a cost.

Depending on the camera and film you use, you could be paying up to £3 per shot. Over time, this will add up - particularly if you’re an enthusiastic snapper. However, lots of the most popular types of instant film are more affordable, at around 75p per shot.

Many people choose instant cameras over regular film cameras to avoid the physical trip and lengthy wait for a photo shop to develop the prints. Plus, instant photography is a fun and exciting way to record your memories.

Polaroid is arguably the most famous instant camera brand, but there are a few other manufacturers in the market too. Fujifilm’s Instax range is also popular among photographers, and you can find options from brands like Kodak and Lomography too.

You’ve probably seen this trendy instant camera in the arms of people out and about - or proudly on display in Instagram ‘shelfies’. The satisfying curved shape, the range of eye-catching colour options and sub-£80 price tag make this little gadget a popular accessory.

So, what’s included? Well, the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed according to the brightness of your environment, so your image should never be too light or dark.

Measuring just 11.3 x 6.6 x 6.1cm, this little instant camera couldn’t get much cuter. It’s designed to fit in your coat pocket, and comes with a handy rechargeable battery.

Unlike some instant cameras, this one can take double exposures - ideal for creating arty shots. It also has a self-timer and a mirror to capture perfect selfies.

There are three colours available: ‘glacier blue’, ‘chalk white’ and ‘terracotta orange’. Whichever you choose, you’ll get useful features like automatic exposure for light, bright photos, a built-in flash and a selfie mode with a mirror to check your framing.

With Bluetooth connectivity and a companion app, this instant camera combines the excitement of immediate prints with the practicality of being able to edit and store your photos.

With their vibrant housing, it’s hard to ignore these sweet instant cameras from the Polaroid Now range. They’re modelled on the original Polaroid OneStep from the 1970s and available in seven different colours, plus black and white.

Autofocus and built-in double exposure make this camera a great choice, and it comes with a flash and a nine-second timer for group shots. The rechargeable battery makes it easy to top up the power.

A smart black exterior with silver detailing makes this instant camera a winner for any instant photography nuts who are after a slightly more mature design. Thanks to its classic look and understated colouring, it’s ideal for formal occasions like weddings and graduations.

Like all the best instant cameras, it comes with a selfie lens and mirror, and automatically measures the brightness to find the perfect shutter speed.

This instant camera also comes with coloured gel filters and three lens attachments for achieving different effects: fisheye, wide-angle and close-up. And if you’re wondering about the unusual design on the housing, it’s created by the famous Thai artist, Suntur.

This rechargeable device from Fujifilm offers a modern take on quick photography. It’s an instant camera, digital camera and printer all rolled into one - and it comes with a companion app for managing your snaps.

Perhaps the most unusual and exciting feature is its audio recording function. The camera captures a short sound clip for each shot and stores it in a QR code printed onto the physical photo. Just scan the code to hear the moment play out again.

Of course, you’ll also get lots of the more familiar features of the best instant cameras, like a selfie mirror and a slot for a Micro SD card. Before printing, you can edit your snaps with a selection of 30 frames and filters.

I’ll be honest with you – I never had any interest in this format of photography until recently. I kept seeing them used at weddings as a kind of ‘DIY photo booth’, and guests seem to love them.

When I left my previous job, my workmates bought me a Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo. It was the first time I’ve shot with a camera that’s capable of printing an image right then and there, and I’ve got to say, I had a lot of fun!

We’re so used to using our digital cameras for work or for more ‘serious stuff’, that it’s sometimes easy to forget that photography should be fun. Instant cameras make taking pictures fun again. They’re simple, affordable (what was the last camera you bought for under $70?!), and nostalgic of how vintage photography used to be.

Ironically, for the younger photographers out there who didn’t grow up around clunky Polaroid cameras, the whole ‘instant film experience’ of seeing a photo gradually appear before your eyes, can even seem somewhat futuristic! They also make great camera gifts.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic was actually the camera that encouraged me to write these reviews in the first place, and the one I’ve chosen as best instant camera of the year.

There’s also the standard Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 in faux-leather brown which has all the same functionality as the Neo Classic, but with a different look. I’ll refer to both models as simply the ‘Mini 90’ from now on.

It’s small and lightweight enough to hold with one hand, and takes up little room in your bag. (If size is a major factor for you when choosing something to shoot with, here’s my recommendation for the best pocket camera.)

You can disable it, but for most situations, it’s best to leave it turned on, (even if it’s the middle of the day), since the camera uses the flash to ‘meter’ the exposureof the photo.

Thankfully, the flash on the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 is excellent – powerful enough to ‘freeze’ a moving subject without being too bright to complete wash-out a subject’s skin.

Whilst part of the appeal of the Polaroid camera prints is that typical white-face-on-a-dark-background flash look, it’s also nice when the camera’s flash emits the ideal amount of light to adjust for the distance to subject and ambient brightness to help optimize the exposure.

By using ‘Party Mode’ on the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90, the camera automatically slows the shutter speed slightly to ensure that any background light is also captured in the photo.

Whilst the other models tested in this guide all had good flash functionality, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 stood out as being able to preserve the ambient exposure the best.

However, with all the bells and whistles of the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90, it has to be remembered that part of the allure of these types of camera is in their simplicity, especially when looking for the best instant camera for kids.

Thankfully, in full auto mode, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 functions very well, with as consistent exposures and colours as you could expect from instant film stock.

As for the instant film itself, you can pick up a two-cartridge pack of Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant Film for less than 15 bucks. I’d recommend you buy in these packs of 5 cartridges though, to bring the cost per print down to around 60/c per snap.

Back in 2017, a company known as The Impossible Project attempted to do the impossible, resurrecting the Polaroid name to attach it back on to where it belongs – instant film cameras.

Rebranding itself as Polaroid Originals, TIP bought the last functional Polaroid instant film plant, and restarted film production for Polaroid-compatible cameras.

There’s literally no other camera that looks like it, and I particularly like how they’ve kept the iconic Polaroid instant camera design reminiscent of models from a long time ago – it’s actually a modern take on the classic OneStep Land Camera 1000.

All the essential controls are there, including an exposure slider, self-timer, flash on/off – by now, you’ll be aware that even the best models don’t have a lot of functions!

The biggest reason for shooting with a Polaroid is nostalgia, and those square Polaroid pictures many of us have grown up around will bring back memories for sure.

It’s just a shame that the film stock itself is still prohibitively expensive – Polaroid Color 600 Film which works well in the OneStep2 works out to around $2 per photo, meaning that this is a camera that definitely won’t be your everyday shooter!

As for image quality, as you already know, the instant film experience doesn’t lend itself to tack sharpness and vivid colours. With the Polaroid Originals OneStep2, colours are washed-out and subdued, looking truly as if they were shot back in the 80’s… and I kinda like this.

The flash is powerful enough to fill in shadows on faces even in bright daylight, and does an ok job at not making you look too much like a ghost when shot in low light. Again, ghost-like skin tones is one of the endearing, unique qualities of these cameras, so nothing to complain about here.

It’s a definite collector’s item, and no doubt marks the end of an era of Polaroids, despite the fact that the design has come from a modern brand that’s more in tune with the tastes of today’s hipster!

Taking photos is completely idiot-proof, and the ergonomics/design of the camera just beg for it to be held and shot – if you don’t mind the cost of film, or only expect to be using it infrequently, this is one truly unique camera that’s a lot of fun to shoot.

Aside from the Neo Classic mentioned previously as one of the best options of the year, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 isn’t far behind. It also makes a fantastic camera for kids.

Camera review site DPReview awarded it top place in its own selection of the best instant cameras, describing it as having “…some of the best ergonomics with the right balance of settings and automation, ensuring fewer wasted shots, and operation that is easy to figure out.”

In comparison to the other similarly priced Fujifilm Instax cameras available today, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 strikes the best balance between size and usability.

In my relatively large hands, it feels good to hold, and not like a cheap toy which is how the other Minis in the series felt – it’s still above all a cheaply-made plastic cameras, but this one feels better quality than the others.

Fujifilm doesn’t miss a trend with its model offerings, and the combination of Selfie mode (which adjusts the focal length and brightness to the ideal level for an arm-length shot) and a Selfie Mirror (which allows you to frame the shot), makes the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 perfect for a certain demographic!

I scoff a little at any mention of ‘selfie’ functionality on a camera, but I have to admit that taking selfies is ingrained in today’s society as much as taking regular photos.

There’s even a tripod mount… but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use a tripod with an instant camera. Perhaps it’s there to allow the attachment of a selfie-stick?!

Automatic Exposure Control ensures ambient light is sucked in to the camera’s sensor, helping to balance the exposure of night portraits when your subject is in front of a lit background.

As for the instant film itself, you can pick up a two-cartridge pack of Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant Film for less than 15 bucks. I’d recommend you buy in packs of 5 cartridges though, to bring the cost per print down to around 60/c per snap.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 takes 2 CR2 batteries, and can last over 250 flash shots. Fuji actually claims “30x 10 packs of film”, but I couldn’t quite recreate 300 shots with my batteries.

Available in 6 colours including a snazzy gold finish, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 is above all else a fun camera that attracts attention despite its small stature.

It’s truly a camera that you can have in your bag everyday alongside your other everyday-carry possessions, and packs in just the right amount of functionality to get a good instant film shot.

It’s a great looking camera available in a myriad of colours, each with names of fashionable and nostalgic beaches. My picks of the bunch are the all black, or all white versions.

Lomography calls it ‘the most advanced instant camera’ – whether this is the case or not is arguable, but it certainly supports several fun features which encourage limitless creativity.

Personally, when buying an instant camera I have no interest in changing lenses. The whole point of them for me is in their simplicity, and I rarely even take the camera out of auto mode.

However, if you’re an enthusiast and want to be able to capture the widest range of photos with your camera, the possibility of changing lenses on the Lomo’Instant Automat may be appealing to you.

Two other unique features of the Lomo’Instant Automat are the ability to use the lens cap as a remote control, and the inclusion of interchangeable colour gels which you can use to change the colours in your photo.

As with the other best products shown here, aperture, shutter speed and flash output from the Lomo’Instant Automat are adjusted automatically to ensure your shots are perfectly lit, and ambient light is sucked in even in low light.

As for the actual quality of the image, the Lomo’Instant Automat certainly doesn’t produce images that are as clear or vivid as the Fuji instant cameras shown here. The prints are a little hazy and faded, more typical of cheaper Polaroid cameras from back in the day.

However, I don’t think sharp, vivid prints from the Lomo’Instant Automat was the intention here by the manufacturer. ‘Lomography’ seems like more of a movement than a brand.

With their “Don’t Think, Just Shoot” motto, models such as the Lomo’Instant Automat are intended to capture a memory with a certain nostalgic quality already ingrained, rather than to win any prizes for image quality.

I find it a little ironic that Lomography wants you to shoot without thinking, but creates an instant camera with interchangeable lenses, a remote control lens cap and coloured gels…!! But nevertheless, I can see why they wanted to differentiate their product from the other cameras on this list.

It features the kind of funky design that would be a conversation starter at any party, and I have to admit I admire Lomography’s intention with all the accessories available to the Automat, to make it the only instant you’ll ever need.

The Lomo’Instant Automat takes Fuji Instax film, and as before, I recommend buying packs of 2 cartridges or better still, packs of 5 cartridges to ensure you reap the best cost-per-print.

If you’re not completely sold on the idea of this genre of photography but still want to experience the nostagia and fun of instant film, I’d highly recommend the Fujifilm Instax Share SP-2 – a mini photo printer which can print your smartphone snaps or your digital camera shots to Instax film in seconds.

I’ve seen wedding photographers use the Fujifilm Instax Share SP-2 to print images for their wedding clients at the reception (transferring photos from either their phones or even their regular cameras to the printer) – this always has a huge impact, despite being very simple to do.

Printing from the Instax Share SP-2 takes only 10 seconds and the print resolution of 800 x 600 dots at 320 dpi is actually better than some of the Fujifilm instant cameras.

My favourite feature on the Fujifilm Instax Share SP-2 is the Reprint button, which allows you to share the same print with multiple people, without having to dig around in the smartphone’s settings.

Part of the appeal of these cameras is the imperfection of the final print, much like popular Instagram filters which are designed to make a photo look old and faded. Each photo you take with an instant camera is truly one-of-a-kind, and being able to touch the final product and write on it, pass it to a friend, or stick it on your fridge, makes the whole process a lot of fun.

Due to their huge popularity among both amateurs and professional photographers, there’s a wealth of different instant models available on the market here in 2023.

So as not to overwhelm you, I’ve narrowed down the selection to just 4 key models, plus one great little printer to give any regular digital camera an ‘instant’ printing experience.

You may have heard about the Polaroid POP, or other ‘modernized’ instant cameras featuring built-in editing functions and colour LCD screens – in my opinion, don’t waste your money on these over-priced, unnecessary contraptions.

The essence of instant photography is to keep it simple! No amount of fancy modern features will be able to improve on what is essentially a flawed process, and therein lies its beauty – the imperfection of the instant photography experience is endearing and unique.

As I mentioned at the start of the post, these cameras aren’t able to create as vivid prints as we expect in this digital age, but therein lies the allure of the medium.

Watching an image gradually develop right in front of your eyes as if by magic is still remarkable despite the age of instant film and Polaroid cameras.