We’re big fans of Fujifilm’s Instax Square SQ10, a digital camera that uses analog film to crank out square Instagram-style instant prints. It’s one of the most fun cameras you can use today. Analog purists who want to enjoy the same square instant prints, though, may want to look at Lomography’s newest product: the Lomo’Instant Square Camera.
An analog camera designed for use with Fujifilm’s Instax Square film, the rig gives you an all-analog alternative for your Instagram-style instant photo needs. Whether you want to use instant prints as party souvenirs, photos for a scrapbook you’re putting together, or just a personal collection you can stash in your bedside drawer, this thing lets you do it in full analog glory.
The Lomo’Instant Square Camera has a 45mm equivalent F10 glass lens that should enable much sharper photos than some of their toy cameras with plastic lenses, with programmed automatic exposures that can automatically adjust shutter speed, aperture, and flash output to ensure your shots are perfectly exposed. It even has exposure compensation, which can darken or lighten your frame, depending on what the shot needs.
The camera itself is visibly larger than Fujifilm’s digital square shooter, although it packs down into a neat bundle that can slot into the front pouch on backpacks when not in use. When shooting, however, the body folds out and expands into an awkwardly-shaped rig about three times as thick as its collapsed size, making it appear more comparable to the Polaroids of yesteryear.
As with the rest of Lomography’s camera line, the Lomo’Instant Square Camera is equipped with a whole load of photographic skills, allowing you to create fancy, artistic shots. For instance, it’s got a built-in flash to add light to your shenanigans, which you can turn off if you want a more mysterious air to prevail in your frame. There’s a multiple exposure mode that lets you expose the film to different scenes to create crazy-looking layered images, as well as a long exposure mode that lets you keep the shutter open for up to 30 seconds to allow a good load of light in the frame.
A built-in 10-second self-timer allows you to delay the shutter release, giving you time to strike a pose in front of the lens, while a remote control lets you trigger the camera from a distance, allowing you to keep taking photos while immersing yourself right in the thick of a scene. Since this an analog shooter, there’s no built-in Instagram-style filters, so you’ll have to use traditional color gels to alter the lighting in your frame.
You only get 10 frames for each batch of Instax film, each one indicated by a LED light on the body, so you’ll probably need a bunch of rolls if you’re going to spend the time taking instant prints at a busy party. It has two optional lens attachments available, a portrait glass lens and a Splitzer lens that splits the frame into multiple segments.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Lomography Lomo’Instant Square Camera. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $139.