The best instant cameras are all straightforward devices, but there are a few things you may want to keep in mind before you buy: Replacement film Polaroid I-Type vs Instax Square film (Image credit: Tim Coleman) Which instant camera film is the best?

You can get creative with 4 brightly colored flash gels. By placing them over the flash, you can get warm and cool tones. By using Bulb Mode, you can take long exposure photos. For multiple exposures, use the MX switch.Who it’s for: Much like the Instax mini LiPlay, this reimagines the instant photography experience as more of a hybrid point-and-shoot where you don’t have to print every picture. If you’d prefer more control and don’t want to waste prints without seeing them on a screen first, this is the camera for you. Here there’s just the one main shutter release button, whether we’re shooting with the camera in portrait or landscape mode. Like with a DSLR, it is set at an angle on the forward slope of the handgrip, whereby it automatically falls under the forefinger. This same button is simply encircled by an on/off power lever, so we can activate the camera and soon be up and shooting in very few moves. For such a bulky camera the optical viewfinder provided is surprisingly small, yet the built-in flash, set somewhat forward of the faceplate to avoid fingertips getting in the way, is large and prominent.

InstantKon RF70 is designed to let photographers take full manual control. If you want more control you can choose manual control over shutter speed, aperture, and focus, or let the camera do everything for you by choosing auto control. Costs aside, Polaroid film's picture quality is inconsistent and requires some care to use properly. This is especially true with the color materials, which tend to produce undersaturated images with a very slight brown color cast on warm days and a blueish tint in cold weather, along with some contrast loss if you don't shield the film from light as it develops. Fuji's color Instax Square materials show natural, properly saturated color and don't require you to put them in the dark as they develop. Lomo’Instant Wide uses Instax Wide Film with larger sizes which is why this camera is perfect for traveling, parties, and weddings. With a new emulsion, this film is highly stable and it ensures true to life colors.In short, very. You don't need to worry about complicated autofocus modes, setting the right white balance, or balancing the exposure triangle – simply load your film (this can be a little fiddly first time, but should soon become a cinch) and press the shutter button. Cameras don't get much simpler than this! Some instant cameras do offer more advanced creative features, but you don't have to use them – and most instant cameras are intentionally basic to be in-keeping with the retro, no-nonsense instant camera ethos. What's the print quality like?

You’re on a budget: Thanks to its advanced features, the Polaroid I-2 is premium camera with expensive film costs to match. By the numbers, the I-2 measures 3.6 by 4.7 by 5.9 inches (HWD) and weighs about 1.2 pounds. The camera body is mostly plastic (with some metal elements) and has a matte-gray finish. It's not cheap plastic, however, and the finish makes for an attractive camera. It also feels sturdier than the plastic Polaroid bodies from the 80s and 90s. 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. You want the full instant experience: The Instax Link Wide makes prints from digital images, rather than analogue from start to finish. We may all snap hundreds of photos on our phones, but if you yearn for the days of vintage printed Polaroid-style snaps that you can pop in your wallet, put in a photo album, or frame and display around your home, you’ll find a lot to enjoy with today’s best instant cameras from the likes of Instax and Polaroid itself. What is an instant camera?Some of these models charge via a USB cable and some need batteries. They’ll often last for around 100 shots, but some cameras can manage up to 300. Flash We didn’t find too much opportunity for creativity during our review, but the payoff is point-and-shoot simplicity. The Instax SQ40 handles brightness automatically, generally adjusting well in all but bright sunlight, where it can overexpose a bit. There are just two modes to choose between: standard and selfie. The latter adjusts the focus distance to 0.3-0.5m for close-up shots. Polaroid coaxed a pair of optical engineers who worked at Olympus in the film era out of retirement to design the I-2's optical triplet lens. (If you want to geek out about the lens, Polaroid's 10-minute promotional advertisement for the camera offers lots of details.) You want creative control: The SQ40 is a point-and-shoot solution, with little room for manual adjustments or technical creativity. The I-2 is as comfortable to hold as other Polaroid cameras, which is to say it's a little bit bulky and awkward. The squarish footprint makes the bottom of the camera the natural handgrip. I keep three fingers under the camera and my right index finger over the shutter release on the front, which leaves my thumb to rest on the rear info display. To help keep the camera steady when the viewfinder is at eye level, I use my left hand to support it. I'm a left-eye-dominant photographer, which actually makes the I-2 a little easier to hold centered.