My Instax adventures

[Retro-Grouch]

Picture [NODE="112"]# 112[/NODE] with the Instax Wide 300. Sunset over the Pacific ocean, winter 2022.

Absolutely sublime photo! Of course, having moved to the desert Southwest from coastal New England, any picture of the ocean makes me homesick, but this one captures the essence of the ocean's mystery.
And, incidentally, feeds my GAS. Coincidentally, I just this morning received an email alert that the Instax Evo Mini, long out of stock, is available to ship. I've wanted one since they were announced, perhaps as an antidote to my current 6x9 control-freak style of shooting. Looks like I'll soon be posting (again!) in the "What Have You Just Bought?" thread.

 

[robert blu]

Lynn, light and colours of your Instax photos are special, love them so much. And your eye is also special! Thanks for sharing these inspiring pictures!

 

[Exploring RF]

Absolutely sublime photo! Of course, having moved to the desert Southwest from coastal New England, any picture of the ocean makes me homesick, but this one captures the essence of the ocean's mystery.
And, incidentally, feeds my GAS. Coincidentally, I just this morning received an email alert that the Instax Evo Mini, long out of stock, is available to ship. I've wanted one since they were announced, perhaps as an antidote to my current 6x9 control-freak style of shooting. Looks like I'll soon be posting (again!) in the "What Have You Just Bought?" thread.

Agree strongly. As one who is more perfunctory with my instant photography, this image is really inspiring!

 

[Pál_K]

Absolutely sublime photo!
…
Coincidentally, I just this morning received an email alert that the Instax Evo Mini, long out of stock, is available to ship. I've wanted one since they were announced …

The photos in this thread are beautiful and inspiring indeed.

Maybe you’ve already done this, but watching the many YouTube reviews of the Evo and the Evo vs other Instax models might help you decide which one would be best for you. Some reviewers attracted to the Evo were later disappointed.

Early on, inspired by this thread, I decided on a Neo 90. What attracted me were the controls over focus, shutter speed, exposure, and flash. The negative aspect, to my surprise, was that having to set the controls every time (and properly), eliminated a lot of spontaneity and started to feel more like work. If only the settings would stick… I’ve wondered whether a very simple point-and-shoot Instax 11 would have been better simply because I’d have no choices. Even so, I have made nice photos, though my ratio of keepers to “that’s a test shot” is fairly low. Fuji is happy over my film purchases.

For the hybrids, which have the advantage of not printing the “test” shots and also the advantage of making multiple prints from one shot (so you can give a copy or two to your subjects!), there is the Evo and the SQ series with larger film. Watching the reviews, it seems that the SQ10 was Fuji’s best (now discontinued), followed by a cheapened SQ20 (though it does offer a frame grab of a video clip). It’s a bit maddening: Fuji has this way of introducing a new model with an enticing feature or two and at the same time removing the nicer aspects of a previous model.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

The photos in this thread are beautiful and inspiring indeed.

Maybe you’ve already done this, but watching the many YouTube reviews of the Evo and the Evo vs other Instax models might help you decide which one would be best for you. Some reviewers attracted to the Evo were later disappointed.

Early on, inspired by this thread, I decided on a Neo 90. What attracted me were the controls over focus, shutter speed, exposure, and flash. The negative aspect, to my surprise, was that having to set the controls every time (and properly), eliminated a lot of spontaneity and started to feel more like work. If only the settings would stick… I’ve wondered whether a very simple point-and-shoot Instax 11 would have been better simply because I’d have no choices. Even so, I have made nice photos, though my ratio of keepers to “that’s a test shot” is fairly low. Fuji is happy over my film purchases.

For the hybrids, which have the advantage of not printing the “test” shots and also the advantage of making multiple prints from one shot (so you can give a copy or two to your subjects!), there is the Evo and the SQ series with larger film. Watching the reviews, it seems that the SQ10 was Fuji’s best (now discontinued), followed by a cheapened SQ20 (though it does offer a frame grab of a video clip). It’s a bit maddening: Fuji has this way of introducing a new model with an enticing feature or two and at the same time removing the nicer aspects of a previous model.

Yes, the Neo 90 was also under consideration. But your observation about making multiple identical prints to hand to subjects on the spot was one of the big draws of the Evo. After blasting a subject with a monster 6x9 press camera, being able to make nice with an instant print seems the least I can do. It removes a bit of the weirdness from the situation.
Additionally, despite my aversion to digital, many of the creative options available in-camera seem really attractive, though some also seem really dumb. I want to see what I can do with this little beast. For the price of a dozen rolls of Ektachrome, plus processing, I get to experiment with something totally new; no big loss if it proves a dud.
So, as threatened a few hours ago, my order for the Evo is in!

 

[Bingley]

Picture [NODE="112"]# 112[/NODE] with the Instax Wide 300. Sunset over the Pacific ocean, winter 2022.

All your Instax photos are beautiful, lynn, but this one in particular is stunning. And inspiring. I’ve got to get back to shooting with my Sofort again… and figuring out a better way to scan the pix. Please keep posting your Instax work!!

 

[lynnb]

Absolutely sublime photo! Of course, having moved to the desert Southwest from coastal New England, any picture of the ocean makes me homesick, but this one captures the essence of the ocean's mystery.
And, incidentally, feeds my GAS. Coincidentally, I just this morning received an email alert that the Instax Evo Mini, long out of stock, is available to ship. I've wanted one since they were announced, perhaps as an antidote to my current 6x9 control-freak style of shooting. Looks like I'll soon be posting (again!) in the "What Have You Just Bought?" thread.

Thanks! Glad to see another Instax addict 🙂
I’ll look forward to seeing your pictures.

Lynn, light and colours of your Instax photos are special, love them so much. And your eye is also special! Thanks for sharing these inspiring pictures!

You’re welcome, Robert! I like your polaroids equally as much!

Agree strongly. As one who is more perfunctory with my instant photography, this image is really inspiring!

Thank you!

The photos in this thread are beautiful and inspiring indeed.

Maybe you’ve already done this, but watching the many YouTube reviews of the Evo and the Evo vs other Instax models might help you decide which one would be best for you. Some reviewers attracted to the Evo were later disappointed.

Early on, inspired by this thread, I decided on a Neo 90. What attracted me were the controls over focus, shutter speed, exposure, and flash. The negative aspect, to my surprise, was that having to set the controls every time (and properly), eliminated a lot of spontaneity and started to feel more like work. If only the settings would stick… I’ve wondered whether a very simple point-and-shoot Instax 11 would have been better simply because I’d have no choices. Even so, I have made nice photos, though my ratio of keepers to “that’s a test shot” is fairly low. Fuji is happy over my film purchases.

For the hybrids, which have the advantage of not printing the “test” shots and also the advantage of making multiple prints from one shot (so you can give a copy or two to your subjects!), there is the Evo and the SQ series with larger film. Watching the reviews, it seems that the SQ10 was Fuji’s best (now discontinued), followed by a cheapened SQ20 (though it does offer a frame grab of a video clip). It’s a bit maddening: Fuji has this way of introducing a new model with an enticing feature or two and at the same time removing the nicer aspects of a previous model.

Thank you Pál_K. I agree that Fuji’s propensity to take features away from new models is very frustrating. I like the Instax models I own, and would find choosing replacements very frustrating. My Instax Mini 9 is the only one that I can overexpose by more than +2/3EV in sunny 16 conditions, and that’s made all the difference.

All your Instax photos are beautiful, lynn, but this one in particular is stunning. And inspiring. I’ve got to get back to shooting with my Sofort again… and figuring out a better way to scan the pix. Please keep posting your Instax work!!

Thanks Steve! I use an Epson V700 to scan the prints, but it takes a fair amount of spotting to remove small hairs and dust from the scans (we have cats). More pictures coming 🙂

 

[lynnb]

Picture # 568 with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9. Sunset over the Pacific, winter 2022
Instax Mini ISO800 color film 1/60 f/12.7. Love these Fuji Instax colors.

 

[Godfrey]

lynnb: Beautiful work! Really really nice! All of it! 😀

G

 

[lynnb]

lynnb: Beautiful work! Really really nice! All of it! 😀

G

Thanks, Godfrey! I get inspired by your Polaroids too!

 

[Pál_K]

…My Instax Mini 9 is the only one that I can overexpose by more than +2/3EV in sunny 16 conditions, and that’s made all the difference.

I saw both a Mini 9 and an 11 in a store yesterday. Not knowing the difference, I went to this channel:

https://youtu.be/yxTenHHVHNQ

(She actually has, or had, several channels and I like her reviews very much)

So the important feature the 9 has that the 11 does not is the ability to adjust exposure.

I’m giving thought to a hybrid Instax simply both so that I can be selective in what I print and also to be able to hand out copies to my subjects. Retro-Grouch is correct - being able to give out copies can reduce the awkwardness of social situations.

 

[lynnb]

Some fun with my cell phone (Pixel 3a) after taking Instax Wide picture # 112

capturing the moment (Instax image # 112), winter 2022. Ref. #062941157 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

 

[pyeh]

That's great, Lynn. Very meta: an instant picture of another instant picture.
It's good to see you posting again these past few days.

 

[Godfrey]

Some fun with my cell phone (Pixel 3a) after taking Instax Wide picture # 112

capturing the moment (Instax image # 112), winter 2022. Ref. #062941157 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

Very reflexive and contemplative! 😀

G

 

[Pál_K]

Some fun with my cell phone (Pixel 3a) after taking Instax Wide picture # 112

capturing the moment (Instax image # 112), winter 2022. Ref. #062941157 by lynnb's snaps, on Flickr

Ce n'est pas l'océan!

Brilliant! I love it. Make another one just like that, but with the Instax.

There was a website, at least 20 years ago, where a guy made a Polaroid photo every day (there have been numerous such sites, including one where someone made a Polaroid photo every day until he died), the interesting thing about this old site was that each Polaroid photo actually contained the previous Polaroid photo.

 

[lynnb]

thanks Peter, Godfrey and Pál_K.

Picture # 583 with the Instax Mini 9. The Basin, Sydney.

Taken holding a yellow filter over the lens (left) and then partly desaturated in Lightroom (right). The photo would have been overexposed with the loss of sky detail without the filter.

 

[lynnb]

Some cloud pictures from this southern autumn/winter.

Picture # 551 with the Instax Mini 9



Picture # 566 with the Instax Mini 9

 

[lynnb]

Picture # 102 with the Instax Wide 300. Sunset over the Pacific ocean, October 2020.

 

[Pál_K]

Lynn, do you still find the mini format appealing? I bought the Neo 90 for its (somewhat) extensive set of controls, but only recently discovered the SQ6 has nearly the same useful set and has the benefit of a larger image. The only fault is that the square film isn’t as readily available.

 

[lynnb]

Lynn, do you still find the mini format appealing? I bought the Neo 90 for its (somewhat) extensive set of controls, but only recently discovered the SQ6 has nearly the same useful set and has the benefit of a larger image. The only fault is that the square film isn’t as readily available.

Yes, I do. My favourite is the SQ6 for the reasons you mentioned (and I also like the square format), and I have no trouble finding Instax square film (both color and bw) here in Sydney. However the Mini will overexpose more than the SQ6 in bright light and its film cost is cheaper so I often use it (and especially for family snapshots).

I use the Instax Wide 300 mostly for landscapes.