Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 40 is an instant film camera, much like last year’s Instax Mini 11, but with a new retro look and $ 30 higher price. It’s just as easy to use as the Polaroids of old (once you enter the movie), with just two buttons, a built-in flash and a ‘pop-out’ close-up lens.
As with the Instax Mini 11, load the movie cartridge in the back and press the button under the lens to make the lens pop out and turn on the camera. Once you press the shutter button to take a photo, the camera does the rest and selects the right exposure to optimize the shutter speed and flash output. It helps beginners (including kids who are big Instax users) to take photos easily in most situations. It also offers both the normal and the selfie mode. For the latter, you simply pull the lens out an extra half inch and it is supposed to sharpen close-up photos. It has a small mirror at the front to compose shots.
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The Instax Mini 40 is not the most environmentally friendly product, as it is used on some AA batteries that produce only 100 photos and the large plastic cartridges allow only 10 photos (film is generally not very green). Still, if you’re looking for an instant camera that looks a little better than the Mini 11, it’s going to be available by the end of April for $ 100. Fujifilm also introduced Instax Mini Contact Sheet instant film (above), with a black border and red letters designed to look like old contact sheets. At the end of this month, it’s also $ 15 for 10 exposures.