My passion for instant photography runs deeeeep. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love it! There really is nothing that beats the thrill of an immediate physical photo you can pass around to all your friends. So when Lomography reached out to ask if I’d like to review their Lomo’Instant Honolulu Edition, a camera I had been admiring for a while, I was more than excited. On top of that, they offered to host a giveaway for y’all but more on that in a bit. First, lets talk about this nifty camera!
What is it? The Lomo’Instant was designed by the fine folks over at Lomography and brought to life by kickstarter backers in 2014. They wanted to build the ultimate instant camera! The Lomo’Instant uses Fujifilm Instax Mini film, which is readily available not only online but in lots of stores, including Target! With this camera you can shoot long exposures, unlimited multiple exposures, or add color gels to the flash. There is even a front mirror for selfies! Basically, the possibilities for what you can do with the Lomo’Instant are endless!
There are three extra lenses available for this beauty including fisheye, portrait, and close-up. The kit includes directions for not only the camera but each of the three lens, as well as sample photos. The sample photos are true to the size your actual photos will be. On the back of each photo there are some tips on how to replicate a similar shot as well as the settings used. I found this to be super handy, especially considering the fact this camera has a bit of a learning curve.
The bottom of the camera even has what each symbol on the camera means and when you should use that setting! It’s incredibly useful when you’re on the go and seem to have forgotten everything you just read up on in the instruction booklet. *Ahem*
So far I’ve shot through two packs of film with my Lomo’Instant. I’ve found the camera to be a bit of a challenge – a fun challenge though! You definitely have to plan your shot (against the rules of Lomography!) Even then, despite all the different controls, the photos do remain fairly unpredictable. I don’t think I would recommend this camera for people who are impatient, who aren’t interested in experimenting or who expect to get the perfect shot every single time. You definitely need a bit of patience here.
If you’re open to playing around, and possibly shooting some things that aren’t exactly what you imagined when you composed the shot then by all means, get yourself a Lomo’Instant! While not everything that I shot turned out very nicely, the ones that did came out even better than expected. You can’t use this camera expecting to take photos that will rival your DSLR, or even your iPhone for that matter. What you can expect are lots of happy accidents! The bottom line is that it’s a super cute camera that is a blast to experiment with.
Below are some examples of what I shot. The one of Klaus (my puppy dog, if you’re new here) and the abandoned building ended up being my absolute favorite despite the fact I did not even plan that shot. Just turned the camera on and released the shutter without looking through the viewfinder.
