Feb 29, 2024 9:00 AM

The Best Instant Cameras You Can Buy

Instant photo printing is like disco: It will never die. Which makes it perfect for your most precious memories.

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smartphone cameras have only gotten better with time, but there’s an impermanence to digital photos that simply can’t compete with instant, physical photos, like the Polaroid pictures of old. There’s a wealth of printing cameras on the market from manufacturers like Fujifilm, Polaroid Originals, Lomography, and even Leica. We’ve also checked out a few printers that can make instant photos of your smartphone pictures.

If you can’t get enough of unique camera gear, be sure to check out our guides to the Best Compact Cameras, the Best Action Cameras, and the Best Mirrorless Cameras.

Updated February 2024: We’ve removed some of our older picks that are no longer available, and updated prices and info throughout.

Photograph: Fujifilm
Best Overall
Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay
Fujifilm's latest Instax offering, the Mini LiPlay (8/10, WIRED Recommends), works as a camera and a printer. 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.
$150 at Amazon
Photograph: Amazon
Best Photo Quality
Fujifilm Instax Mini 90
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. It often sells for around $120, so check prices often.
$200 at Amazon

Photograph: Fujifilm
Best on a Budget
Fujifilm Instax Mini 11
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.
~~$77~~ $68 at Amazon
$79 at B&H Photo
Photograph: Fujifilm
A Middle-Ground Instax
Fujifilm Instax Mini 40
The Instax Mini 40 falls somewhere between the Mini 90 and Mini 11. It's a bit bigger than the Mini 90 and otherwise has the same features as the Mini 11, with the exception of its surprisingly good selfie mode. Pull out the lens to swap into a focus designed especially for close-ups of your mug (or a macro-y non-selfie.) The pebbled feel and retro black-and-silver look may make this camera more appealing than the bright and bubbly Mini 11. It's a good option for those who don't need all the bells and whistles of the Mini 90.
$100 at Amazon
$100 at Target

Photograph: Lomography
For Extra Abilities
Lomography Lomo'Instant Automat
If you have artistic flair, try Lomo’s latest camera on for size. This Instax Mini-compatible cam is great on its own, taking sharp shots (especially if you opt for the glass-lensed, wide-angle Magellan edition) and including features many Fuji-made cameras omit. Long exposures, multiple exposures, and some exposure compensation abilities let you further express yourself. If you spring for this Automat’s bundles, you’ll get macro, fish-eye, and wide attachments, along with the fantastic lens-covering Splitzer, which divides the frame up into sections that you can expose individually for a collage effect.
$149 at Amazon
Photograph: Fujifilm
For Square Prints
Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6
Fuji’s first square film camera was kind of a dud, but this one is not. Its reasonable price and easy-to-use design make it a great choice if you just gotta have the classic, 1:1 aspect ratio, Polaroid-style shots you remember from days gone by (and from Instagram). The Instax SQ6 has plenty of modes, from basic to double exposure. Even if you don’t plan on experimenting, it’s dead easy to use. It’s not our favorite Instax Square camera, but it’s incredibly simple.
$148 at Amazon

Photograph: Lomography
For Luxe Square Prints
Lomography Lomo'Instant Square
If the idea of Instax Square has you intrigued but you find the above SQ6 a little ... square, then this is what you should buy. Lomo has applied its excellent Automat tech to the Lomo'Instant Square (8/10, WIRED Recommends), making it the funky, fun, creative pick for Square shooters. From its unique folding design to its excellent, optional attachments and built-in infrared remote, it works to justify its higher price. And if you need to save a buck on film, an adapter lets you shoot cheaper and smaller Instax Minis instead of Instax Square.
$149 at Amazon
Photograph: Polaroid
Polaroid, but With an App
Polaroid Now+ Instant Camera
The Polaroid Now+ has the typical features you'd expect from a Polaroid: vintage aesthetics, roll-out film, and a nice chunky body with easy-to-find buttons. What sets it apart is the smartphone companion app. As of press time, the app is not the best, but it does give you the option to use features like Tripod Mode, Manual Mode, or setting a custom f-stop in Aperture Priority Mode. The Now+ also lets you take intentional double exposures. It's pricey, but it does offer a good blend of modern methods and vintage execution.
$150 at Polaroid

Photograph: Fujifilm
For Extra Wide Prints
Fujifilm Instax Wide 300
If you want to shoot with Fujifilm’s wider film, you have to buy a larger camera. The Instax Wide 300 is the only first-party camera to shoot Instax Wide film, but it’s not our favorite. Sure, it has the right features, but its huge, plasticky body isn't portable compared to a Polaroid-compatible shooter or an Instax Mini camera. Its biggest drawback is the viewfinder, which can make framing close-up shots challenging. But if you want to go wide and don't mind the bulk, it's decent.
$122 at Amazon
$107 at Adorama
Photograph: Fujifilm
For Parties
Fujifilm Instax Mini Link
Fujifilm's Mini Link is close to our top pick, the LiPlay, but ditches the camera functionality. Instead the Mini Link prints images from your phone. Fujifilm's new mobile app is much better than its past efforts. I'd recommend this over the older SP-2 printer for that reason alone, since the results are otherwise similar.
What makes the new app more fun? Fun Modes. Party Print creates collages from multiple phones, while Match Test takes images of two people (or two images of one person) and prints a combined image. It'll also tell you how "compatible" it thinks the pair is, which is gimmicky, but what party doesn't lighten up with a little gimmickry?
$100 at Amazon

Photograph: Fujifilm
For Portability
Fujifilm Instax Mini 70
For those of us who value portability, Fujifilm offers the Instax Mini 70. This tiny camera can go anywhere with you, and it doesn’t skimp on things like the valuable selfie mirror. There are two wrinkles that make the Mini 70 less desirable than either the Instax Mini 9 or Instax Mini 90: It’s more expensive than the Mini 9, and it requires the less common CR2 batteries. But if you’re lucky, you can sometimes find it at a significant discount.
$115 at Amazon
Photograph: Amazon
Best Instant Printer
Fujifilm Instax SP-3 Mobile Printer
Here's another one like the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link. It's a portable printer, and while the app for your phone can be a little fiddly, the printer itself is simple to set up and use. If you want to edit photos first, skip Fujifilm's app and use a dedicated photo editing app to save the results, then print. We prefer the square format of the SP-3, but if you want the rectangular prints, the Instax Share SP-2 printer ($180) is another option. The price fluctuates a little on this, but try to get it for around $100.
$200 at Amazon

Eric Ravenscraft is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED, based in Austin, Texas. He's guided readers on how to use technology for nearly a decade for publications including Lifehacker, OneZero, and The New York Times. He also streams on Twitch for WIRED occasionally and can be found on YouTube... Read more

Product Writer and Reviewer

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