The Best Instant Cameras for 2023

Read on for the top instant cameras we’ve tested, followed by everything you need to know to find the right one for you.

There are lots of reasons to reach for an instant camera. First and foremost, nothing in the digital realm beats the feeling of handing off a physical photo to someone right after you’ve snapped it. That’s why instant film is a big hit at weddings and parties; it can be a great way to capture moments for posterity in a way that’s very different than just another smartphone image . Younger millennials and Gen Z photographers might also look to it as a step away from the digital doldrums, and a way to keep any truly private images away from hackable cloud data services. And you can’t discount artists, who are always looking to make their work stand out in a crowded landscape.

Instant film has made a big comeback in recent years. Fujifilm’s Instax business, for instance, has enjoyed mainstream success. And you can still buy film for many old Polaroid cameras despite various ownership and branding changes over the year. Don’t forget about the newer Panasonic models that use modern I-Type film packs either.

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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11

Best Affordable Instax Mini Camera

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is the easiest, most affordable way to try out instant photography. The all-plastic camera offers easy one-button operation, bettering older models that require you to adjust the lens for different types of light. Instax Mini film is conveniently available online and in brick-and-mortar stores, while color and black-and-white options open up lots of artistic possibilities.

Who It’s For

The Instax Mini 11 is the camera to get if you want an instant camera just to have one. Teens and college-age kids should enjoy it for capturing memories without the risk of leaving a digital trail. And it’s sure to be a hit for family photographers who want to fill up physical photo albums or decorate their fridge.

PROS

• Inexpensive
• True automatic exposure
• Mirror and close focus for selfies
• Available in many fun colors
• Uses color or black-and-white Instax Mini film
• AA battery power

CONS

• Can overexpose in bright light and when focused close
• No tripod socket

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List Price

Price

Amazon

$76.95

$70.00

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Read Our Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Review

Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1

Best for Instax Square Prints

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

Older millennials and Gen X members grew up with square instant prints—Polaroid 600 cameras were everywhere in the ’80s and ’90s. Fuji’s Instax Square format rekindles the square nostalgia, and the SQ1 is the most accessible way to use it. This model offers one-button operation and can take color or black-and-white film, all at a lower cost per picture than modern Polaroid entries.

Who It’s For

Photographers who like the square format should find the SQ1 easy to appreciate. It’s a point-and-shoot with a plastic lens that produces quality photos. That said, it’s not the most versatile option. Pick the Lomo’Instant Square or the Nons SL660 if you’re after an Instax Square camera with more manual control.

PROS

• Fun, square instant prints
• Very easy to use
• Close focus and mirror for selfies
• Color and black-and-white film available

CONS

• No self timer, tripod socket, or double exposure support
• Smaller photos than Polaroid cameras
• CR2 batteries aren’t always easy to find

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List Price

Price

Amazon

$139.00

$139.00

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Target

$119.99

$119.99

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Read Our Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1 Review

Lomography Lomo’Instant Automat Glass

Best Glass Lens Instax Mini for Shutterbugs

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

We love the sharp wide-angle lens of the Lomo’Instant Glass, which takes the same film as cameras like the Fuji Instax Mini 11, but captures a broader view with sharper details. It’s a good pick for shutterbugs who like to take photos of larger groups or who want to try out the artsy multi-exposure technique.

Who It’s For

The Lomo’Instant Glass costs around $100 more than the basic Instax Mini 11, so it’s not as much of an impulse purchase. It’s worth spending more if you like the look of a wide-angle lens (its view is similar to a 21mm full-frame lens) and crave sharper prints than you can get with plastic-lens alternatives.

PROS

• Compact.
• Sharp, ultra-wide lens.
• Automatic exposure.
• Built-in flash.
• Selfie mirror.
• Multiple exposure support.
• Includes close-up filter and split frame mask.
• Color and monochrome film options.

CONS

• Uses CR2 batteries.
• Instax Mini format is a little small.

Sold By

List Price

Price

Lomography

$189.00

$189.00

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Adorama

$189.00

$189.00

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Read Our Lomography Lomo’Instant Automat Glass Review

Lomography Lomo’Instant Wide

Best for Instax Wide Prints

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

Out of Fuji’s three instant film formats, Instax Wide makes the biggest prints. The Lomo’Instant Wide is the camera to get if you’re interested in taking instant and impactful snaps with that format. It offers more artist-friendly features than you get with the Fuji Instax Wide 300, including multiple exposures and a split-image attachment for the lens.

Who It’s For

Photographers with an artistic eye are the typical target market for Lomography cameras. The Lomo’Instnat Wide requires some know-how to use, so you feel comfortable setting manual focus by distance and experimenting with the creative attachments before you purchase it. The big prints you get in the end are worth the effort.

PROS

• Uses large Instax Wide film.
• Exposure compensation control.
• Built-in flash.
• Multiple exposure capability.
• Manual focus lens.
• Sync socket for external flash.
• Wide-angle and macro conversion lenses available.
• Selfie mirror.

CONS

• Bulky.
• Can be expensive for high-volume shooters.

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List Price

Price

B&H Photo Video

$149.00

$149.00

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Read Our Lomography Lomo’Instant Wide Review

Lomography Lomo’Instant Square

Best for Fans of Folding Cameras

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

The Lomo’Instant Square is one of the quirkier instant cameras on sale today, but sometimes quirky is good. This instant folder uses a glass lens and works with Fuji Instax Square film to produce sharp, attractive prints. Support for multiple exposures comes in handy for artsy shots, and the included wireless remote gives you more freedom to set up selfies and group photos.

Who It’s For

The Lomo’Instant Square is an instant camera for camera nerds. The folding design is a throwback to 1970s Polaroids and allows you to toss the camera into your coat pocket for jaunts outside the house. It is a manual focus camera, so you need to estimate subject distance and set the lens manually before taking a photo, at least if you want in-focus results.

PROS

• Purely analog instant camera.
• Glass lens.
• Folding design.
• Automatic exposure.
• Multiple exposure support.
• Built-in flash.
• Includes wireless remote.

CONS

• Tricky viewfinder parallax.
• Some trial and error.
• Instax Square film costs more than other formats.
• CR2 batteries aren’t as common as AA.

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Price

Amazon

$139.00

$139.00

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Lomography

$124.90

$124.90

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Read Our Lomography Lomo’Instant Square Review

Nons SL660

Best Instant Camera With Interchangeable Lenses

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

If you crave the creative flexibility of interchangeable lenses, but still like the idea of Instax Square film, the Nons SL660 is worth a look. It works with Canon EF glass and creates better photos than basic instant cameras with fixed, plastic lenses.

Who It’s For

Photographers after ultimate creative control should consider the Nons SL660. The ability to change lenses opens up macro, wide-angle, telephoto, and blurred-background photo opportunities that simply aren’t an option with most instant cameras. The SL660 costs more than others on this list, but we think the results are worth the premium.

PROS

• Uses Instax Square film
• Supports Canon EF SLR lenses
• Ample battery with USB-C charging
• Multiple exposure support
• Hot shoe for external flash

CONS

• Viewfinder doesn’t show full frame
• ND filters needed for bright light
• Audible mirror thunk

Sold By

List Price

Price

Amazon

$599.00

$599.00

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Read Our Nons SL660 Review

Polaroid Now+

Best for Classic Polaroid Square Prints

4.0 Excellent

Why We Picked It

Although most of the instant cameras we recommend use Fuji Instax materials, Polaroid remains an option if you can make peace with the $2-per-picture pricing. For the money, you get prints that match up with the square format of SX70 and 600 series film from yesteryear. The Polaroid Now+ is the best camera you can get that works with the company’s modern I-Type film. As for features, this model supports long and multiple exposures, as well as remote control over Bluetooth. The package also includes a set of lens filters; you can use those to add a color gel or get more dramatic skies from black-and-white film, for instance.

Who It’s For

Photographers with an artistic eye or serious nostalgia for classic square-format Polaroid should enjoy the Now+ most. Today’s Polaroid film is a little trickier to handle and use than Fuji Instax materials, but the 3.1-inch square format is roomier than Instax Square (2.4 inches) and offers a healthy dose of artistic options, including short-run materials like Black and Green Duochrome. The Now+ has some features you don’t get with the basic Now camera, but it’s still a point-and-shoot with a plastic lens. Photographers who want to relive their Polaroid days with a semi-pro camera should look into a restored SX-70 from Retrospekt instead.

PROS

• Big, square instant photos
• Color, black-and-white, and limited-run films
• Easy one-button operation
• Smartphone app for creative control
• Tripod socket
• Convenient USB charging

CONS

• Color film delivers inconsistent results
• No selfie mirror
• Film is expensive

Sold By

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Price

Amazon

$146.62

$146.62

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Polaroid

$149.99

$149.99

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Read Our Polaroid Now+ Review

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo

Best Digital Art Filters for On-Demand Prints

3.5 Good

Why We Picked It

The Fuji Instax Mini Evo is a digital-instant hybrid camera with a chic retro style and a plastic-fantastic build. The digital design means that the camera works in dimmer light and focuses closer than analog models that take the same Instax Mini film, while on-demand printing ensures that you don’t waste film on missed photo ops.

Who It’s For

The Instax Mini Evo is a good camera for anyone who wants to make instant prints, but just not for every photo. It includes a bunch of in-camera filters for creatives and is easy enough for anyone to pick up and use. Pros and photo hobbyists likely won’t like the editing and file transfer limitations Fuji built into the system, but the rest of us can enjoy the charming photochemical prints it produces.

PROS

• Slick retro styling
• Fun digital filter effects
• Lets you print only what you want
• Digital capture with chemical film prints
• Bluetooth connection and smartphone app

CONS

• Poor LCD quality
• Inelegant controls
• No in-camera editing tools
• Can only send printed images to smartphone
• 5MP sensor isn’t anything special

Sold By

List Price

Price

Amazon

$260.98

$195.99

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Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

Best One-Button Wide Format Instax

3.5 Good

Why We Picked It

If you’re a fan of the extra-big Fujifilm Instax Wide picture format, but prefer one-button, focus-free operations to the more manual Lomo’Instant Wide, the Fuji Instax 300 is the camera to get. Just note that it leaves out the multiple and long exposure options you get with the Lomo’Instant Wide though.

Who It’s For

You should get the Instax Wide 300 if you want to use Wide format film without the hassle of manual controls. It’s also a good camera to take along to a party or a wedding because the large film size creates more impactful keepsakes than what you get with the Mini format.

PROS

• Uses large Instax Wide instant film.
• Includes close focus adapter.
• Creates charming physical prints.

CONS

• Limited exposure control.
• Big.
• Can be expensive for high-volume shooters.

Sold By

List Price

Price

Amazon

$190.15

$190.15

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Read Our Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 Review

Buying Guide: The Best Instant Cameras for 2023

What Are the Different Instant Film Formats?

Getting your head around the various instant film formats is an important first step before you make a purchase decision. Let’s start with the most popular option, Fujifilm’s Instax Mini. This film is about the size of a credit card when you take its border into account, and the image area measures 2.4 by 1.8 inches (HW).

Fujifilm Instax Mini 11
(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Film is available in color or monochrome, and is compatible with tons of cameras from Fujifilm, Leica, Lomography, and Mint. Our favorite entry-level model, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11, sells for about $70 and is available in many colors. If you’re a more serious shutterbug, consider the Lomo’Instant Automat Glass, which has a wider-angle lens (better for selfies) and supports multiple exposure images.

Color Instax Mini film is pretty affordable. Prices vary a bit across retailers, but you should expect to spend between $0.50 and $0.60 per photo. Black-and-white film is a little pricier, at around $0.80 per image. And if you want film with colorful borders or other special finishes, the costs can double from there. Buying in bulk is one way to save money in the long run.

The Lomography Lomo’Instant Wide uses Instax Wide film
(Credit: Paul Maljak)

If you prefer a bigger image, you can opt for the Instax Wide format, which is also available in color or black-and-white. The image size is about double that of Mini—basically two mini shots side-by-side (2.4 by 3.9 inches). Thankfully, this film doesn’t cost double that of Mini—expect to spend around $0.75 per color photo and $1.30 for each black-and-white image.

For some photographers, instant film is film, which means a square format is a must. In that case, you want Fujifilm’s Instax Square film. It has long been available in color, with a per-shot cost of about $1.00. Fujifilm has recently added Instax Square Monochrome to its catalog for black-and-white shots, but it’s slightly pricier at close to $1.50 per frame.

Lomography Lomo’Instant Square
(Credit: Zlata Ivleva)

Can You Still Use Polaroid Cameras?

But what if you’ve got an honest-to-goodness Polaroid camera? The company has been reborn in the 21st century—it’s gone through some name changes over the years, from the Impossible Project to Polaroid Originals, but today it’s just called Polaroid. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

You can still get color or black-and-white film for an SX-70 or 600 series camera. It’s expensive, though, at around $20 for a pack of eight shots. If you don’t already have a vintage instant camera and like the idea of repurposing old tech, you can look to a shop like Mint Camera(Opens in a new window), Retrospekt(Opens in a new window), or Polaroid(Opens in a new window) itself to get a refurbished SX-70, 600 SLR, or another classic. We recently took a Retrospekt-restored SX-70 for a test drive—check out our story if you’re thinking about going the true vintage route.

Polaroid film is bigger than Instax, but the quality of its color stock just isn’t as good. Colors shift in cold temperatures, overall saturation isn’t as deep, and you must take care to shield it from light as it develops. The black-and-white film is a lot better though. Both have a larger image area than Instax Square, so the more impactful image might make it worth the hassle.

The Polaroid Now+ is the lastest I-Type camera from the iconic brand
(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Polaroid makes new cameras too; the Now+ is the latest. It works with I-Type film ($17 per pack of eight shots) and supports Bluetooth connectivity for app-based remote control. It’s a solid option for artistic photographers and includes a set of color balance filters for gel looks and better black-and-white photos.

You can go smaller, too. The tiny Polaroid Go uses similarly tiny film, available in color only. It’s cute, but we think it’s worth it to use classic Polaroid or Fujifilm Instax Square film because of their bigger image size.

How to Convert Digital Pictures to Instant Prints

If you’ve got an itch to shoot film again and don’t want to have to find a local lab to develop your shots, instant film can scratch is a good alternative. It deliver results that almost match digital in their immediacy.

If you have a favorite image that you shot with a digital camera and want to preserve it on instant film, you’re in luck. You can print any photo from your smartphone onto Instax Mini film using the Instax Mini Link, onto Instax Wide with the Link Wide, or onto the square format with the Instax Share SP-3 or Polaroid Lab.

On the flip side, you can also digitize your instant prints. Check out our guide to preserving your photos for tips.