Monday, September 4, 2017

Having your cake and eating it, too: Fuji Instax Square, Mini, and Wide all in one camera!!



Fuji has just introduced a new camera and film format. It is Fujifilm Instax Square. I wrote a blog in October of 2016 (Fuji Instax Wide and Mini, dual film camera- how to hack the Instax Wide)about modifying an Instax Wide 210 to shoot both Instax Wide and Instax Mini, and I gave a nod to the Instax Square which was to be released in the spring. It ended up released in May, and I ordered a pack, even though they made it sound like it was specifically designed for the Instax Square camera.
Now, with the announcement that Lomography has a kickstarter out for their new analog square format camera(check it out- it is nice!), I am motivated to the challenge of a THREE format Instax camera (why, o why didn't I do this months ago??)! No surprise, it worked fine down to the last image in the pack! I can now shoot with Instax Square also!!!
Check my old blog for the specifics of how to do the original mod but suffice it to say the only change for adding the square film is to shrink the left (as viewed from the back) tensioners by ½ inch. Once that is done, you are ready to shoot!
Two future mods worth exploring are 1. making the tensioner new from a 3-d printer instead of cutting your own, and 2. making a slightly higher tension spring. Though I have had zero issues with jamming of the tensioner, I could definitely see it happening at some point.
One caveat- getting your subject centered is even harder now!You could put tape on the right side of your viewfinder as seen from the back, adjusting for the square or mini. Personally, I have always found Instax viewfinders to be awful, so struggling with centering already feels natural with this camera!
So there you have it- A Fuji Instax camera that shoots all three formats of film!
http://www.lofianddiy.com/2016/10/fuji-instax-wide-and-mini-dual-film.html





2 comments:

  1. Hello, I've been reading through your articles on instant photography, wonderful blog you have here. Do you have a link to the conversion instructions?

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    1. Sorry- here is the link for more information. It is a really easy hack! http://www.lofianddiy.com/2016/10/fuji-instax-wide-and-mini-dual-film.html

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