Instant cameras is something generally seen as nostalgic. The always less-than-perfect look, and gratification of holding the little photograph in your hands is something that is tangeable and unique. With so many different options out there, where is the best place to start? A vintage Polaroid camera or a modern instax? To tackle this, I decided to purchase two cameras I have wanted for quite sometime:
The Polaroid SX-70: The legendary camera with manual focusing. A staple from the vintage instant film line-up
The Mint TL-70 2.0: Because it is a great example of modern innotive technology, that utilises the mini instax film.
I am quite excited about this, and hopefully will have a friend or two wanting to jump onboard for some instant film videos! The SX-70, is built wonderfully well, and looks like a sci-fi device stolen from my favourite shows as a child, and thrust into the modern world. It has the look of being overly complicated for such a simple device.
The Mint TL-70 is a camera I have wanted for quite some time. I love TLR cameras, and I think that mixing the TLR design with modern instax mini instant film is a really great idea. It takes a lot to try and do something a bit different, and although the first model has some noted issues, it is good to see a company striving to be innotive in a world where doing the same old thing is the accepted norm.
How can you compare two very different cameras and films, despite both being from the instant film format? The answer is simple: All my reviews are about the experience and actually using the cameras out in the field. These are cameras I purchase with my own money, and tend to be cameras that I keep. This allows me the advantage of being brutally honest about what I review, rather than throwing lots of specs and smiling faces at you. A lot of reviews out there don’t use their own equipment, and certainly don’t use the gear regularly enough to provide an honest observation about there.
Now, shooting any kind of film does cost money every time you press the shutter button. Instant film is a little bit different to 35mm & 120 film, in the sense that it is very easy to get carried away and fire away shot-after-shot. Shooting this way can be very expensive. The packs of instax mini (10 exposures) costs around ten pounds. The Polaroid originals pack costs 16.99 each! So you really need to take this into consideration before purchasing.
However, I like the idea of a gathering or small party where you have a bunch of instant cameras and a few packs laying around just to be used to document the good times. Or even just taking it out instead of something like the Ricoh GRII, and just getting simple interesting shots.
I will end on this note: Bring the instant film challenge! I am looking forward to it, and hoping that there are no issues with the cameras. I expect that over the coming months there will be a bunch of versus videos on my YouTube channel. This excites me, as I love getting my friends involved with my projects. - Sly.