Polaroid which to buy

Forget phone pics and overcomplicated gear! The best instant cameras strip photography right down to its core. No more megapixels, no more swiping through screens to see what you've shot — instant photography is picture taking in its purest form, and it gives you a one-of-a-kind print that can never be replicated.

Could instant photos be the original NFTs? The best instant cameras don't just produce a unique physical memento of your treasured memories, they capture those moments in a truly unique way. Thanks to the photochemical process employed by analog cameras from Polaroid, Instax and Lomography, photos possess a distinct, low-fi, retro look that's almost impossible to duplicate in Photoshop. And most importantly, the thrill of seeing your unique images develop in front of your eyes, puts the fun back into photography!

Of course, there are also digital instant cameras from the likes of Canon, Fujifilm and Kodak that combine the thrill of instant photography with the convenience and quality of modern-day technology. The result is a much smaller, digital camera with an image sensor to capture every minute detail, and a digital printer built in.

While the image quality of instant cameras is never going to measure up to that of the best DSLRs or the best mirrorless cameras , the physicality of printed media is beyond compare. A physical image displayed in your home or given to a friend is worth a thousand digital files languishing on a hard drive.

We've divided our guide to the best instant cameras up into sections for film and digital. In addition to light painting, aperture priority, double exposures, portrait mode, manual mode, tripod shooting and more many of which are only available via the app , it also boasts physical lens filters: starburst, red vignette, and blue, yellow and orange colors for in-camera effects.

It even has a lens cap! Instant photography remains expensive when you work out the cost per exposure, but if you accept that as the price of admission then you will have more fun using this than any other instant camera — and you'll get results that can only be achieved on this one.

Excitement abounded in the instant photography community when The Impossible Project bought the Polaroid name and announced the debut of a new line of instant cameras harking back to that golden era. These include double exposures, light painting and even noise trigger, which allows you to trigger the shutter with a short, sharp sound such as a hand-clap. This is of the most exciting and best instant cameras around, now improved and made even better, a no-brainer for any instant-photography fanatic who also wants to tap into that retro vibe.

Instax cameras are knockabout fun with a side of lo-fi cool, and none exemplify this more than the beautiful Instax Mini With its stylish black-and-silver trim, the Mini 40 looks the part, and it's incredibly simple to operate.

There are no exposure controls, or really controls of any kind; you just point, and shoot. This might be a bit too simple for some users, but if you're the kind of person who just wants to produce instant images without having to worry about it, this is a fantastic buy. The simplicity also makes it a good option for kids, who will be able to easily get the hang of operating it. Instax prints are smaller than Polaroids, but still look pretty great, and will develop with unbelievable speed. Plus, let's not forget, the film is cheaper to buy, and these costs will add up over time if you're a frequent shooter.

The Instax Mini 40 is an excellent instant camera for families and parties alike. Note: The Instax Mini 11 is pretty much the exact same camera as this, albeit without the textured finish.

It's probably available for a cheaper price if you're looking to save some cash. The Fujifilm instax mini 11 is a really approachable instant-print camera.

Powered by two AA batteries, it's at the cheap and cheerful end of instant photography, but its lack of sophistication is hardly a negative — here it just widens its possible audience, and families with kids in particular will find this an ideal fit. Close-ups of 30cm away from the subject are also possible. Simplicity is the watchword here, with simple point and shoot operation. With retro styling, it feels like it's pitched at the photo enthusiast, with some manual control over exposure and even the option to disable the built-in flash if you feel pictures are too bright.

A double exposure mode extends creativity options for the curious although results can be a bit hit and miss here as does a shutter-release button above its lens, which doubles up as a selfie mirror another shutter-release button is in the usual top-plate location. The advantage here over a cheaper instant-print camera is an LCD display strip at the back revealing your chosen settings. As usual, the viewfinder is tiny but adequate for purpose, while the faux leather finish to the bodywork adds a splash of style.

Powered by four AA batteries rather than the usual two, the Fujifilm Instax Wide is the big daddy of the Instax print camera range. It's practically medium format camera-like heft enables it to deliver larger prints it uses Instax Wide film packs rather than Instax Mini that more closely resemble standard print dimensions. A lever that encircles the shutter-release button on its bridge-camera-style handgrip powers this one up and extends its 95mm lens, while the built-in flash is similarly huge and automatic, save for a fill-in option.

The Polaroid Go is a palm-sized camera that everyone will fall in love with faster than it takes a photo to develop. Bigger instant cameras balance exposures better, and rival Instax Mini cameras deliver slightly better image quality indoors — but neither are as fun to use, or will make you as many friends, as the Go… which still produces pleasing pics. And the Go boasts double exposures, which you won't get unless you opt for pricier options like the Instax Mini The wide angle of the Mini Shot camera also distorted our images for some unflattering results.

Features such as endless multiple exposures are interesting, but controls are marked with difficult-to-decipher hieroglyphic symbols. Aimed at the advanced instant shooter, most of the cameras in this series are bundled with fish-eye, wide-angle and close-up lens attachments, which we found more cumbersome than useful.

Famed luxury camera brand Leica dipped its toe into instant cameras with the Leica Sofort. Manual focus! It has also gotten criticism from DPReview for poor build quality. Daven Mathies and Hillary K. Grigonis, The best instant cameras for , Digitaltrends. Erin Lodi is a freelance writer reporting on cameras and camera accessories at Wirecutter. She started her career as a photojournalist working in newspapers—shooting film—and was the mobile-imaging editor at DPReview.

She is also a professional photographer who has made her living photographing everything from rock stars to humpback whales. Our pick. Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 The best instant camera It is easy to use and produces the best instant prints at a better price than the competition. Upgrade pick. Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay A high-quality hybrid This tiny instant-and-digital hybrid camera delivers instant prints and a digital review screen.

Budget pick. Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 A fun camera at a great price Fun and simple to use, the Mini 9 takes smaller, lower-quality but still good for instant photos for less money. Also great. Fujifilm Instax Wide Bigger and wider photos The Wide produces larger, wider prints at a lower price than the Instax Square SQ6 and runs on AA batteries, but the camera is quite a bit larger than most modern instant cameras and gives you fewer options.

Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us What is an instant camera? Why you should trust us. What is an instant camera? Who this is for. How we picked. Battery life typically stretches to two packs of 10 images, but even with an SD card installed, it won't take any more pictures once you're out of film. The 8MP sensor is merely on par with today's entry-level smartphones, and with no built-in screen, you'll need a computer to review your digital snaps. It seems a lot simpler than other hybrid cameras, but built-in Bluetooth support lets it perform double duty as a portable printer.

Being able to turn your smartphone snaps into physical prints gives it an edge over bulkier instant cameras, and it's sensibly priced too. If the Instax Mini 11 see above looks just a little too toy-like for your tastes, the Mini 40 is a more design-centric alternative. It has the same retro styling as Fuji's more expensive instant cameras, only underneath the skin it's mechanically identical to the Mini With variable shutter speed, an automatic flash and auto exposure system that work together to ensure more of your photos produce usable results, and an adjustable lens barrel that's purpose-built for selfies, it's easy to recommend for both newcomers to instant film, and those that already appreciate the medium.

It uses Instax Mini film packs, which is still among the most affordable kinds on the market. There are no extra features, shooting modes or accessories to think about, which might put off anyone looking to get creative with their photography, and it also carries a price premium at launch.

That makes it less easy to recommend than the Mini Big hardly covers it. The Instax Wide is the size of an old-fashioned medium-format rangefinder camera, even a small folding field camera. You power up with a spring-loaded switch around the shutter release, which extends the 95mm lens. The Instax wide format is much larger than a digital sensor, so this equates to a moderate wide-angle lens.

For a big camera, though, the Instax Wide has a tiny viewfinder. It takes practice even to get your eye lined up with the eyepiece. Shaped like the Instagram logo and very much targeted at the kind of younger user who shares their creations on the platform, the camera runs on a pair of CR2 batteries and spits out 6. Instax square prints feel like more serious photographs, with their larger size giving your subject more room to breathe.

Fujifilm throws in orange, purple and green flash filters to allow for an instant injection of colour into images, and as the body is nowhere near as cumbersome as some of the other options here, it ends up being as convenient to carry as it is fun to use. Combining retro-analogue charm with modern-day digital credentials, this is essentially a basic, low-resolution digital camera with a printer built-in for making instant snapshots.

This gives you the opportunity to properly frame up your subject, and check it's something you actually want to print, before wasting expensive film it uses Instax mini. One of the gimmicks of the LiPlay is the function to record a sound along with your image capture and "embed" it on to your print in the shape of a QR code. You can then gift that to a friend and ask them to scan the code to playback the sound - modern digital ways are much easier though so how much you bother with that remains questionable.

You might find that purchasing an Instax mini printer is a better option for better quality prints, but the LiPlay is a fun option for kids and parties. Instant cameras might seem a little old-school in , but they're definitely still being made. Inspired by retro cameras from the days when analogue film was the norm, these modern remakes are designed to recapture the accessible fun of point-and-shoot photography.

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to buy an instant camera in Unlike smartphone photography, instant cameras give you a physical print to hold in your hands straight away, stick on the fridge or share with your friends.

Another bonus is how easy it is to shoot with an instant camera. The best options are really simple to use, making it straightforward to capture warm vintage prints.

Most feature just a handful of buttons and limited shooting modes, leaving you free to focus on framing. That means they can be a great way for kids to get into photography, too.

Analogue photography has enjoyed a revival in recent years, and the trend shows no signs of going away any time soon. Instant cameras let you have a slice of the throwback pie without the steep learning curve, expense and hassle of more complicated film photography techniques. Learn more. The pocketable form factor makes it easy to tote it around and enjoy the immediate gratification of an instant camera.

As a bonus, if you want to print a photo from your phone, you can do that with the mobile app. The LiPlay has a nice glass lens, a mirror for selfies, and the ability to review images before committing them to paper. We found the embedded QR codes for audio gimmicky, but many users enjoy them.

If you're aiming for the best photo quality, this Fujifilm camera is the best instant camera the company makes. Compared to some of the other Instax Mini cameras, the Mini 90 Neo Classic is compact, comes with a long-lasting rechargeable battery, and gives you more creative control with a push-button close-up lens and a double exposure mode. We like its dual shutter buttons, which make it super easy to take a selfie from just about any angle.

Like its predecessor, the Instax Mini 11 is popular for good reason. It's available in a wide array of bright hues, plus a few neutral options. The plastic housing is easy to grip, and the built-in selfie mirror assists with setting up good shots.

The camera will automatically adjust its exposure to suit your lighting. It includes shutter button accessories, which are cute, but you'll need your own adhesive since the built-in sticky backing isn't durable. The film is relatively cheap, which is good because you'll be using a lot of it! If your budget is extra tight, the Instax Mini 9 —our previous recommendation—is still a good cam, though it might not be that much cheaper. The Instax Mini 40 falls somewhere between the Mini 90 and Mini