Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 40 is an instant film camera much like last year’s Instax Mini 11 but with a new retro look and $30 higher price tag. It’s as easy to use as the Polaroids of yore (once you get the film in), with only two buttons, a built in flash and a “pop-out” closeup lens.
As with the Instax Mini 11, you load the film cartridge in the back and press the button under the lens to pop out the lens and turn the camera on. Once you hit the shutter button to snap a photo, the camera does the rest, selecting the proper exposure to optimize shutter speed and flash output. That helps beginners (including kids who are big Instax users), take photos easily in most situations. It also offers both Normal and Selfie modes. For the latter, you simply pull the lens out an extra half inch and that’s supposed to make closeup photos sharper. It has a small mirror on the front to help compose shots.
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The Instax Mini 40 is not the most environmentally-friendly product, as it runs on a pair of AA batteries that deliver just 100 shots and the large plastic cartridges only allow 10 photos in total (film in general is not very green). Still, if you’re looking for an instant camera that’s a little better looking than the Mini 11, it’ll be available by the end of April for $100. Fujifilm has also introduced Instax Mini Contact Sheet instant film (above), with a black border and red lettering designed to look like old contact sheets. That’s also coming at the end of this month at $15 for 10 exposures.
