Instant Photography

Smartphone cameras are great for a quick snap, butwe can't easily print them out and stick them to a fridge door. That's where Polaroid digital instants come in. Canon has now nudged its way into the instant party with the Ivy Cliq+ Instant and Ivy Cliq Instant cameras.

​While there may indeed be a retro appeal to analog instant cameras, digital cameras do certainly make some things easier. Polaroid has decided to combine the two – sort of – in the form of the smartphone-controlled OneStep+.

Germany's Rollei first released its Rolleiflex twin lens reflex cameras in 1927. Numerous models followed until the last one gave way to single lens reflex cameras in 1960. The brand has now relaunched the boxy camera, sacrificing roll film for Fuji Instax to become the Rolleiflex Instant Kamera.

In 2015 Prynt launched its first unit designed to turn your smartphone into something akin to a Polaroid instant camera. The first design was followed by the Prynt Pocket, which was half the size of the original. Initially only for the iPhone, the Prynt Pocket for Android has now been developed.

​​Back in 2015, we first heard about the Prynt Case – an iPhone case that printed instant photos which were taken with the phone. Now, its makers have released a more compact model, known as the Prynt Pocket.

​Kodak has announced the upcoming release of a brand new point-and-shoot instant print digital camera called the Printomatic. Designed for simplicity, the bare-bones snapper prints out photos on no-ink Zink photo paper, just like 2015's eerily similar Polaroid Snap model in fact.

The Fujifilm Instax SQ10 is a digital instant camera which produces pocketable square prints. We take the quirky shooter for a spin to see whether its digital skills make for a smarter instant camera, or if they detract from the retro experience which draws many users to Instax cameras.

Fujifilm's Instax cameras hark back to when instant photo-sharing meant passing around a freshly printed snap. Launching with a square photo format, the Instax Square SQ10 expands the shooting options, improves image quality, and can store photos digitally and apply filters before printing them.

The Instax Mini 9 is the latest cutely-styled instant camera from Fujifilm, and could be the same sort of hit as its predecessor at parties and weddings. In addition to being available in a new range of color options, the US$70 Mini 9 will gain a close-up lens attachment and a selfie mirror.

With a wide-angle glass lens, the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass Magellan camera is pitched at discerning instant photographers. We recently got the chance to have a look at the upcoming shooter at The Photography Show in Birmingham, UK, ahead of its release in April.

We recently got to go hands-on with the newly announced Leica Sofort instant camera. Read on to see what we made of the stylish shooter, and whether the blast from the past that is instant photography is worth revisiting.

Polaroid has announced a new version of its Snap instant camera, the Snap Touch. As the name suggests, the new model adds a touchscreen to the ink-free printing camera. We recently got the chance to try the new camera ourselves.