Second July

12 December 2010

fujifilm instax 210, finally

as promised, i give you the fujifilm instax 210 review.

big black toy

first things first, i co-invested in one about a couple of weeks ago and this thing in total cost slightly under S$150. it is purely for fun and by no means a replacement to the slr.

comes with built-in flash

i know, 150 bucks is a lot to fork out just 'for fun' and i could also point out many reasons not to get it. but if you enjoy retro things in life such as the lomo, i suppose it brings more of intrinsic value. otherwise, you can do better with a compact or slr.

let's get on to the real thing, shall we?


the camera comes with a camera strap, batteries (4 double A's) and  a macro lens adjuster (attached onto the lens in the photo above. more about this later). and this is how magic happens: you snap a photo using the shutter button on the right (or left, in the photo), viewfinder on the left.

yep, no live viewfinder. just plain ol' look-through-the-hole, which is kinda troublesome because whatever captured on the photo might not include all that you've 'framed' through the viewfinder. i know because i've (nearly) 'sliced off' someone's head with it.

and this is where the magic comes out:

slit on the top

after releasing the shutter button, wait for a few seconds and what appears to be a blank photo, about the size of 2 credit cards, will come out from the slit on top.

with the white frame, the instant photo gives a different feel compared to normal photos

the most exciting part, in my opinion, is waiting for the image to appear magically on the 'blank' photo. which brings me to my next point - the film for this camera is mad expensive. MAD. $17 plus minus for a pack of 10, which is $1.70 per shot, which almost equal to a plate of economy rice from my school's canteen.


thus, any shot must be handled with care. sure, you can spam all you want with a dslr but the instax 210 is a very much expensive toy in the long run. so be sure to frame your shots properly, folks.

the other concern that i had was the size of that thing. it is comparable to a standard dslr but on the upside, it is much more lighter. still practical for camwhorers.

comparable to the size of a lady's shoe.

remember the macro lens adjuster i mentioned? this is specially included for all the camwhorers out there. what you need to do is just attach this thing on the lens before taking a photo of yourself. firstly, it adjusts the focal length of the lens to that of a suitable one for camwhoring. secondly, it comes with a mirror at the side. thirdly, it has this pointy antenna thingy which i have no idea what it's for. still, it looks cool.



lastly, a bit of note on the settings. you can choose to lighten/neutral/darken the photo, adjust the focal length from 0.9-3m (for most normal shots) to 3m-infinity (for shots of landscape), and on/off the flash. just that few buttons, it is simple to use.


all in all, the instax 210 is for you if you have the bucks to spare, a thing for photos in hard-copy and well, more bucks to spare. considering how the lomo is gaining popularity, i suppose instant cameras have their own charms too.

Labels: The Materialist, The Snapper

posted by: JYLing @ 8:59 PM

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