Lomo'Instant WIDE Review

I've always had a bit of a drawing to instant cameras.  Growing up my parents had a Polaroid OneStep Instamatic camera.  We used it a lot for family events as it was just easier to use than having to load a film camera and then go and get them developed and prints made.

Digital cameras have made the process of getting images a lot easier than they were in the past, and sharing them lightning fast.  There is something about an analog process that is still appealing to many of us.  Probably part nostalgia, part simplicity of process.  Everyone has a different motivation and I've not the degree in psychology or sociology to get into that kind of discussion.

I own a few instant cameras, of which I've already reviewed the Diana f+ with Instant Back.  You can read about my thoughts on that camera, if you wish.  That camera looks like the images below.

Diana f+ images © Lomography

Diana f+ back

Diana f+ front

The Diana f+ instant back utilizes the Fuji Instax Mini film.  While this is a good film, it can some times be a little small.  I wanted something bigger!  Options could be getting  another Polaroid camera and using the Impossible Project instant film packs(that is another review coming in the future so look out for that!!) or investigate the Fuji Instax Wide cameras available.

I've used the Fuji Instax 210 before, and while it does a decent job it does not have the manual capabilities that a photographer might desire.  After doing much research, I settled on 2 options, the Lomography Belair X6-12(review coming on that soon as well) and the Lomography Lomo'Instant WIDE.

So lets dive into the lomo'Instant WIDE world for a while!  Please note, I am not going to compare the Fuji Wide cameras versus this.  Plenty of other internet reviews already doing that.  My only comment for people is going to be this.  If you just want to press a button and get an Instax Wide print, no fuss, no muss - get the Fuji.  If you are a photographer that likes to experiment, loves tinkering with exposures and having more granular controls - Get the LOMO.

I picked up a used camera in white.  Not my optimal camera color, but I'm not one that lets camera color get in the way of a good deal.   You should see my m43 cameras.  Mostly black bodies and silver lenses because I got better deals on the silver versions.

Lomo'Instant WIDE images © Lomography

Here is the front of the camera:

Starting at image left, we have the viewfinder.  Optical, no special anything except the inclusion of an offset for close focusing.  You can see the offset as the black dashed marks in the viewfinder.

Across the top, the flash unit.  This has slots on it that will accept supplied colored gels.  This is not an option that I really use, but it is nice to have there.

Right next to the flash unit is the exposure meters.

Now, going down between the viewfinder and the flash unit is a black switch.  This is your shutter release.

The silver ball between the shutter release and the lens unit is the "selfie mirror".

Then, you have the lens.  Focus is a manual zone focus.  You twist a ring to change from 0.6m, 1-2m, and 3-infinity.  A small bump on the side of lens unit is a PC sync port in case you want to use this camera with flash units, you can trigger them that way.  There is no hot shoe on this camera.

The top of the camera is where the film ejects and is the only feature there.

The back of the camera contain the controls.  The large black square in the top middle(my copy is all white) is the film back release lever.  Just to the right of that is the window for you to see if the film is loaded.  The orange line that are on all Fuji instax packs shows here.

Moving to image right is the rear view of the viewfinder.
Below that we have the flash controls.  The flash can be manually controlled to fire or not.  One light lets you know if the capacitor is charged, the light is red when charging and green when ready to fire.

Next down is the "MX" button which stands for multiple exposure.  The number of multiple exposures is unlimited!

+1, 0, -1 are for your exposure compensation settings.

Under that, we have the power switch.  The switch in the position you see is the OFF setting.  The "A" is auto mode, which gives the camera all the control over the exposure, "B" is bulb mode,  and 1/30 is used when you are wanting to add in external flash.

Just to the left of the power switch is the film exposure counter.

The Lomo'Instant WIDE is powered by 4 AA batteries.  This is great as they are cheap, plentiful and easy to find.

Oh, and lets not forget to mention the lens cap.  The lens cap is not just a lens cap, it is also a remote shutter release and a bulb setting trigger!  Pretty cool!

The attached lens is a 35mm equivalent lens( to a 135 film size camera) which means it is a 90mm on a medium format camera.  Aperture ranges are either f/8 or f/22 and these are all controlled via the camera.  Auto shutter speeds are 8s to 1/250 of a second, the 1/30 for flash use and bulb.

The filter thread is 49mm.  You can also get a macro and wide angle adapter lens for this camera.  The macro gets you down to 0.1m

IQ

Honestly, its pretty good for what it is.  I'll just let the images speak for themselves below.  As with any lomography style camera or film, you need to determine if this is an aesthetic and style that is right for you and the subject you are shooting.

Handling/Weight/Size

Because of the size of the negative and the film itself, this is a big camera.  I've read/watched quite a few reviews about people not liking the lack of a grip like is on the Fuji 210 or 300.  I don't really care.  I'm not one that uses one hand to shoot anyway, so I'm always supporting the camera underneath with one hand and then triggering the shutter with my other.  I also use a strap of some kind as well.

The shutter button is right where you'd want it to be and all the controls are on the back.  The thumb of my right hand crosses over the buttons and gives additional support.  I've so far had no problems with accidentally hitting a setting button.  Others have had some issue with that.

I like the mechanical focusing mechanism.  Not a whole lot is going to go wrong with that and the power is not going to camera operation other than metering and ejecting the film.

Personal preference on the viewfinder - a lot of people do not like having the camera obscure the face.  I fall into the camp of - I don't care.  I can drop the camera for a few seconds and talk to someone if I need to which is no different that working with my digital cameras.  What might be of interest to left eyed shooters though is that the viewfinder is on the right side, so your head position is on the opposite side of almost every other rangefinder styled camera out there.

One struggle since moving to a mirrorless kit for a lot of my every day carry needs is finding a place in my bag for this camera.  It can be done, but it is not an after thought like being able to take the Digital Holga.  Some pre-planning is going to be required!

This one was a little over exposed.  :D

Focusing

I'm generally not a fan of zone focusing on my digital cameras.  In that world, I use auto focus most of the time.  This camera does not live in that world.  With the stock lens, you are looking at 0.6m for close up portraits, 1-2m for mid range shots and 3m-infinity for far away shots.  My biggest issue is remembering to change the focus distance manually.  The viewfinder is not connected in anyway to the view you see through the lens, so I've been known to snap a pic and then realize that I had the focus set to 1-2m or infinity instead.  Like this selfie image below.  Had the camera set to 1-2m.  Oops!  lol

Conclusion

As has been mentioned before - lomography, lo-fi, "vintage" type stuff is not for everyone.  I love it and love using it from time to time.  It is fun for a lot of people and I'm using it professionally and in my private shooting.

Is it worth the higher price tag over the Fuji equivalent?   Only you can answer that.  For me, I required the flexibility of the Lomo.  If Fuji released a WIDE camera that had the controls/features more in line with the Neo Classic 90 - it would have been a more difficult decision.

There are great things coming for instant film.  Fuji has released black and white mini/wide film and they just released a square format film and camera as well. 

Look out in the future for more reviews for the instant cameras like the Polaroid Sun600 with Impossible Project film, Fuji Neo Classic 90 and we will also review the Fuji Instax SP-1 printer!!!!!!!!!!

Bringing Out The Diana f+ Instant

My wife's family has a lot of traditions, one of which is the annual Christmas Tree Day. On this occasion, we go out in search of that iconic item for the holiday season - the fresh cut Christmas tree!!

Being the photographer that I am, a camera comes with me!! :D

This year, I decided to change it up a little bit and not only document the occasion with my digital mirrorless kit(which my wife affectionately calls my gimp loadout*) but also bring the Diana f+ Instant with me as well.

For sure there were quite a few images taken with the digital cameras, but i thought that I would share some of the Diana images.

The Diana f+ instant back uses the Fuji Instax mini instant film. One of the frustrations with the Diana is that the viewfinder is not wildly accurate, so sometimes you get a framing that is not exactly what you envisioned. The best way to combat that frustration? Use the camera more! Like anything else, get familiar with and learn your gear in order to use it to its fullest potential. I do not use it enough to be 100% accurate.

This is one of those inaccurate framed shots.  I thought there would be more to the right side of the image then there was.

The other thing I learned about the Diana and its fabulous plastic lenses - flare and low contrast when pointing into a light source. In this case - the sun. There are 2 images here that got blasted because I was shooting toward the sun.

Lastly, in order to share these with you, I scanned these using an old Epson all in one device. The printer stopped being useful years ago, but the scanner is still kicking and going strong. Imported into light room and they are treated just like any other digital asset.
Please forgive the dirty scans, my scanner is in need of a good cleaning. LOL.

This is one that I accidentally over exposed.  They were in the shade, so I put the camera in "partly cloudy" mode.  I should have used the meter on my camera to verify.

*gimp loadout is a term that spawned itself when I needed to find a quality camera kit to work around the fact that my arm surgery from early November 2014/recovery process did not allow me to (a) hold a camera/lens of any appreciable weight and (b) the brace they had me in did not allow me to hold a camera in such a fashion that I can utilize the viewfinder. Anyone who is familiar with the Call of Duty console/PC games will understand the "loadout" reference. If not, it is the unit of armaments and skill sets that your character deploys into the imaginary battlefield in the game.

Diana f+ Camera Has Just Arrived

After several weeks of waiting, I've finally received my Diana f+ Instant Camera.

The kit I received came with the Diana f+ camera, the Instax Mini back(adapter lens), the 120 film back(120 take up spool and spool adapter,masks for endless panorama and 12 shot), Diana Flash, flash adapters, flash gels, and manuals and close up adapter.

My first impression is that despite the camera being made of plastic, it appears to be pretty well made.  All the backs and adapters fit together well and all the buttons function as they should.  The controls are pretty straight forward.

Getting the kit seemed like the best deal.  I really wanted the instant back to potentially use with some other film cameras I have.  My thought was that if the plan didn't work out, I could still use the Diana camera with the Instax Mini film.

Instead of having numeric representations of shutter speed and aperture, the Diana camera has letters and symbols.  Below I will list the generally accepted values for the settings on the camera(culled from various sources around the internet and my own experience with the camera):

Shutter Speed
"N" = 1/60th
"B" = bulb - as on any camera with this setting, the shutter stays open as long as the shutter release is held down.  The Diana comes with a small plastic piece that can be placed into the shutter slot to keep it down during particularly long exposures.  The way I use this, is that I setup the camera in the position and aperture setting I want to use.  I leave the lens cap on, set the shutter into the down position and then remove the lens cap.  Wait for the desired time, then replace the lens cap.

Aperture
Pinhole = f/150
Sunny = f/22
Party Cloudy = f/16
Cloudy = f/11

Film
Any 120 film will work with the 120 back installed.  If using a meter to determine exposure, do so as normal.
The instant back uses the Fuji Instax Mini film.  This film is rated at ISO 800.  When the adapter lens is fitted to the camera body, behind the lens, it drops the exposure by 1 EV, so treat the film as ISO 400 when taking into account exposure readings.

My one issue with the Diana Instant Back is that it uses the not common CR2 batteries. It would be great if the camera allowed for use of AA or AAA batteries(alkalines or rechargeables).  The CR2 are expensive purchased locally, so I recommend getting them from an online retailer.  I've found them online in various places for half of what it would cost me in a brick and mortar store.

Exposure
This is an all manual camera, so I used my light metering app on my Moto X to verify the what the instructions for the camera said to some hard values.  It was pretty spot on.

Parting Thoughts
Really - this is a fun camera to shoot.  I still have a lot more time I want to spend with it, but I can see me using this more and more.  Once I get the hang of it, I'll try and adapt the Instax back to other analog cameras I own to see if we can make it work with them as well.