My Instax adventures

Picture #252 with the Instax Mini 9

On very bright days at the beach, overexposure is unavoidable. However I don't mind the effect. 1/60 f/32 (the film is ISO800). This is Freshwater beach, Sydney, in April 2020 - autumn in the southern hemisphere.

U27021I1587830195.SEQ.0.jpg
 
Picture #264 with the Instax Mini 9

I think this sort of subject is well suited to the Instax Mini format. As always I love the Instax colors.
Found at Dee Why rock pool, Sydney, April 2020.

U27021I1587911416.SEQ.2.jpg
 
Instax Square Monochrome film

I was excited when Fujifilm finally released monochrome film in Instax Square format. I had found it difficult to get pleasing results with Instax Mini monochrome film - which I attribute to overexposure (the Mini 9 has a fastest shutter speed of only 1/60, and its apertures range from f/12.7 to f/32).

The Instax Square SQ6 has a programmed electronic shutter release, 1.6 sec - 1/400 second. As I hoped, the results were much more encouraging.

Picture #266 with the Instax SQ6

Parallax problems led me to take three exposures before I got what I wanted. There are no parallax correction lines in the SQ6 viewfinder. The lens focuses down to 0.3m (12") in macro mode.

U27021I1604557980.SEQ.1.jpg
 
A few more Instax Square monochrome images:

Picture #274. I held an orange filter in front of the camera lens to take this picture of a storm moving up the Sydney coast in November 2020. There's no filter threads on the SQ6's retractable lens. As the camera's exposure meter is not near the lens this image is underexposed by 1.5-2 stops. I was happy with the result. There is even some definition in the white water highlights where the waves break against the rocks, something I've never achieved with Instax Mini monochrome film.

U27021I1604557981.SEQ.2.jpg


Picture #277 - blind alley, Sydney, November 2020. Slight contrast increase of the print scan in Lightroom6.

U27021I1606175536.SEQ.0.jpg
 
So nice to see you back at this thread. Your colour images have a delicate palette, watercolour like which I appreciate very much. The B&W are very classic and inspiring.
Love #264 🙂
 
A few years ago, when living in Central Europe, I was able to buy a large stash of Instax Mini and Wide film, at a very low price on Amazon Germany. Since then, I moved to SE Asia and the Instax film moved to North America. Looking at these pictures, I still blame myself for not bringing the Instax film with me to Asia when travel was possible. At the time, I was afraid that the airport scanners would fry the Instax film. Since then, I've learned that this is not a problem.

If I read your comments correctly, you continue to scan your Instax shots with a flatbed scanner?

Thanks for your feedback. Cheers, OtL
 
robert blu said:
So nice to see you back at this thread. Your colour images have a delicate palette, watercolour like which I appreciate very much. The B&W are very classic and inspiring.
Love #264 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks Robert!

Out to Lunch said:
A few years ago, when living in Central Europe, I was able to buy a large stash of Instax Mini and Wide film, at a very low price on Amazon Germany. Since then, I moved to SE Asia and the Instax film moved to North America. Looking at these pictures, I still blame myself for not bringing the Instax film with me to Asia when travel was possible. At the time, I was afraid that the airport scanners would fry the Instax film. Since then, I've learned that this is not a problem.

If I read your comments correctly, you continue to scan your Instax shots with a flatbed scanner?

Thanks for your feedback. Cheers, OtL
Click to expand...

Hi OTL, yes I still scan with the Epson V700 - force of habit more than anything else.. I need two small light panels before I can try using a macro lens on my 6D. I also haven't yet tried the scan function on my Pixel cell phone - it merges 4 exposures to negate reflections.

Instax film is cheap compared to Polaroid. You can often find it discounted. Maybe you could keep an eye out for some?

Cheers,
 
Thanks for your feedback, lynnb. The Instax cameras are not with me and so I'll wait until the travel restrictions are lifted and I can bring, both the film and the cameras to Saigon. For now, I'll make an effort to shoot more film.

Wishing you and your loved ones Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year. With kind regards, OtL
 
lynnb said:
...
Here is how the TIFF file looks after importing to Photoshop. Quite fuzzy. That will change after resizing and unsharp masking...
49925702403_502ed917e2_z.jpg

...
Click to expand...

Is the actual Instax print from the camera that soft, though? Or is it just the scan itself that’s soft and you perform the unsharp mask operations to produce an image close to the actual print?

I must admit the appeal of your photos, the high key and impressionist look, is very great - I don’t think I’d be able to achieve that with my use of Polaroid Originals / Impossible film. I’ve been thinking of getting the Fuji Neo 90, but now I see they have an SQ20 “hybrid” from which you can select a photo (a frame) to print from a short video sequence. It has other time-sequence functions as well. So apparently the camera is printing from digital capture.
 
paulfish4570 said:
which mini would you suggest, lynn? i do like to have some control ...
Click to expand...

Paul the Instax Mini 9 has a 1/60 fixed shutter speed and manual click-stop apertures from f/12.7 to f/32. The Mini 9 is now replaced by the Mini 11 which has programmed auto exposure with a programmed electronic shutter 1/2 to 1/250 sec. and slow synchro for low light (it has the same aperture range but you can't select apertures manually).

The shutter speed range on the Mini 11 will avoid overexposure but that means no pastel rendering either. I'd go for the Mini 9. You should be able to find one cheaply on the internet. I paid USD$30 at Aldi for mine.

I regard the cameras as essentially disposable, as the real cost is the film.

If you like the bigger square format I can highly recommend the SQ6.

Keep an eye out for film specials at BH. Recently they had Instax Square for under $10 a pack.
 
Pál_K said:
Is the actual Instax print from the camera that soft, though? Or is it just the scan itself that’s soft and you perform the unsharp mask operations to produce an image close to the actual print?

I must admit the appeal of your photos, the high key and impressionist look, is very great - I don’t think I’d be able to achieve that with my use of Polaroid Originals / Impossible film. I’ve been thinking of getting the Fuji Neo 90, but now I see they have an SQ20 “hybrid” from which you can select a photo (a frame) to print from a short video sequence. It has other time-sequence functions as well. So apparently the camera is printing from digital capture.
Click to expand...

The print is not quite that soft, but unsharp masking definitely improves on the original.

The hybrid Instax cameras don't interest me as I believe they have a different, digital look.

The Neo 90 is a good camera for the Instax Mini format as far as I can see, but it's expensive. It's got exposure compensation, unlike the cheaper models. You can compare the specs on all their models on the Fujifilm site.

You can get an Instax Square SQ6 for around the same price as the Neo 90 and I'd recommend the SQ6 for its larger square 6x6cm image.
 
Picture #445 with the Instax Mini 9. Dee Why beach, Sydney, spring 2020.
1/60 f/32. Getting the horizon level with grab shots like this is difficult with the small viewfinder on the Mini 9.

U27021I1602659454.SEQ.1.jpg
 
Picture #459 with the Instax Mini 9. Squall line under a shelf cloud, Dee Why beach, Sydney, November 2020. Shelf clouds are not uncommon as cold fronts move up the Sydney coast. They move rapidly. My wife and I were enjoying a coffee outdoors at a beach cafe when this one appeared in the space of a minute. I dashed across the reserve to the beach to get a few photos as it passed over.

U27021I1606225513.SEQ.0.jpg
 
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