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Features

3 Small Instant Film Cameras You’ll Love to Shoot With

Chris Gampat
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01/19/2022
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm SQ1 review product images 1.41-2200s1600

Last Updated on 01/20/2022 by Mark Beckenbach

If you like shooting with instant film, then you probably know how large the cameras can be. Not everyone wants to tote around an elephantine camera. Luckily, there are lots of small instant film cameras out there. And better yet, we’ve reviewed a bunch of them. Some are much better than others. So we’re rounding out some of our favorites in this list.

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The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear that we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Pro Tips on Having Fun with Small Instant Film Cameras

There are a lot of instant film cameras. But small instant film cameras that you want to bring with you everywhere don’t really exist. Here are some tips with using some of the best:

  • These cameras shoot Instax film, which is basically the same as Polaroid film chemically. As long as there are emulsions in the image, then it’s actually analog. 
  • All of these cameras have been tested by us. They’ll fit in a camera bag, a jacket pocket, a hand bag, etc. We’ve tested them ourselves.
  • Instax film and Polaroid film don’t do well in the cold. This is because the emulsions inside are liquid. And liquid freezes in the cold. 
  • Small instant film cameras can accompany your digital cameras as something on the side to bring around for fun.
  • These cameras have a plastic build, so be careful with them!

Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay

Shake Things Up!: The LiPlay is a fascinating combo of both digital and Instax photography. It blends the Instax Mini format with a pretty small camera that fits into a jacket pocket easily. It can be your favorite party camera for sure!

In our review, we state:

“One of the cool things about the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay is its integration into the digital world. You’re going to need to shoot a photo and then figure out if you want to print it later or not. You can use it as a classic compact camera if you wish and when you’re ready to print the photo, you can add a bunch of fun filters. In some ways, this is a response to Polaroid’s offerings. However, Fujifilm’s interface is far simpler. Despite the low-resolution LCD screen on the back, the interface of the Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay is still pretty simple.”

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Lomography Lomo’Instant Square

Shake Things Up!: The design on this camera mimics an old-school Kodak design. It’s a collapsible camera with a bellows system that lets you shoot Instax Square film with ease. It’s seriously one of our favorite cameras for Instax Square.

In our review, we state:

“Here’s the best part of the Lomography Lomo’Instant Square: the image quality. This is the sharpest lens I’ve seen from Lomography, and when you get the focusing perfect you’ll realize that too. It’s possible to get bokeh and all that stuff, but I think the image quality could only have benefited from manual functionality. Couple that with just how good Fujifilm Instax Square film really is and you’ll get some very impressive and fun photos.”

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Fujifilm Instax SQ1

Shake Things Up!: The cool thing about the SQ1 is just how good-looking it is while being pretty small. It’s impossible to not have fun with this camera. We think you’ll really like it.

In our review, we state:

“The Fujifilm SQ1 is Fujifilm’s most visually appealing camera yet in the Instax lineup. This color is called Terra Cotta. And on the front, you’ll find the handgrip with the shutter button. There is a flash and a viewfinder too. But taking up most of the real estate is the lens.”

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instant film instant film cameras instax small instant film cameras
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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