Film is making a comeback whether you like it or not. No, not just the film reserved for the stereotypical, elitist art school types, but also the more accessible instant film that took the world by storm in the ’70s. As a professional photographer, it’s not going to replace my professional cameras and lenses, but it’s one of those things that you can easily throw in your camera bag, it’s a fun idea I use for family beach photos, and/or just a good gift.

Whether we have Instagram, young people, or nostalgia to blame for the resurgence of film photography, there’s no denying it never lost its appeal. The imperfect, typically bordered images from instant cameras are always a hit on weddings, parties, or just about any time the current generation rediscovers the joy of owning a memento of a fleeting memory — coming to life right before their eyes.

Instax, Fujifilm’s instant camera wing, sold a measly 100,000 units in 2004. Jump more than a decade in time and you’ll see this figure ballooning to 6.5 million in 2016. Now that’s just Fujifilm alone. There are now more players entering, or for some, re-entering the instant camera game, leaving us with more options for instant cameras than ever.

So in today’s guide, we’re taking a look at five of the best instant film cameras you can get in 2021, whether you’re a professional photographer or a Gen Z-er looking to add a fun little creative gadget in their bags.

Polaroid Now (and Now+) – The Best Overall Instant Camera

You can split modern instant cameras into two categories. On one hand, you’ll see a crop of cameras that’ll let you be as technical as you want with your instant photography. On the other, you have your typical point-and-shoot instant cameras. The Polaroid Now offers the best of both worlds.

At the time of writing, the Polaroid Now offers the largest square image size at 3.1 inches. This large image surface makes way for rather impressive sharpness and contrast especially when comparing it to other instant cameras in this range.

The Now+ is like the original Poloroid Now, but you can now hook it up to your phone via Bluetooth and access different shooting modes that’ll let you fiddle with manual settings, light painting mode and more. You’ll also get a bunch of different filters such as color filters and fun creative ones like a vignette and starburst filter so you can replicate that ‘70s L.A. summer vibe to your heart’s content. There’s also a tripod socket if you’re going to be shooting your Polaroid a lot in a studio.

One potential deal breaker, especially for the budget-conscious creative, is that the large film packs on this beauty won’t come cheap. An 8-shot color pack will run you around $19 or $2.37 per shot. But if you can get behind that, the Polaroid Now is about $115, and you can get the newer Polaroid Now+ at $150, and they’re easily one of the best instant cameras available today.

Fujifilm Instax Square SQ1

Now what if you have zero intention of being all too technical with your quick little snapshots. You want to go off “photographer mode” and would like to just point the camera at your friends, click the shutter, and get a photo. If that sounds like you, then consider the Instax Square SQ1.

You won’t be getting any of the fancy electronic features as many of the instant cameras we’ve rounded up, not even a timer or double exposure mode, but what you do get is incredible ease of use. The SQ1 turns on with a twist of the lens. This also puts the lens in the standard focusing range, and with a twist further, puts it on a selfie mode for those arm’s length self-portraits. There’s a handy mirror on the lens that’ll help with your framing.

The SQ1 produces classic square instant photos, as the name might have given away, with a 2.4-inch image area. That’s admittedly smaller than Polaroid Now+’s 3.1 inches, though you’ll be getting a lot more photos for your money. The basic Instax square twin pack gives you 20 exposures for around $19 or right about $1 per shot. For people looking for a “set it and forget it” camera on a budget, the $120 Instax SQ1 is an excellent choice.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 40

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 is a repackaging of the Mini 11 for $20 more. They share the same feature set, or lack thereof, that caters to more of the casual shutterbugs and offers a very economical entry point for an instant film camera. What you do get for that extra $20 is a sleek retro makeover that I think is well worth the price premium.

The Instax Mini 40 sports a beautiful faux-leather body and fake-metal rails that give it a more “serious” vintage camera appeal as opposed to the older Mini 11’s toy-like curves. A significant change in terms of functionality and ease of use however is that you can now pull on the lens (after powering it up) to access a close-focusing mode tuned perfectly for selfies. On the Mini 11, you’d have to plop on a mini lens adapter every time you want to take a portrait of yourself and your buddies.

The Polaroid Go is also at the same $90 range, though I’ll still steer you towards the Mini 40 and here’s why. The Go has an even smaller 1.8-inch square image surface than the Instax Mini film’s already wallet-sized 2.5 x 1.8-inch printed images. On top of that, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 will get you consistently sharper images than the Go’s more washed out look which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.

Fujifilm Instax Wide 300

The Instax Wide 300 isn’t like any of the instant film cameras on this list. It takes Instax Wide film packs, and prints out pleasantly sharp photos thanks to a wide image surface that doubles that of the Instax Mini, coming in at around 3.9 x 2.4 inches, and a 35mm full frame equivalent prime lens.

This allows for fairly wide portrait snapshots and landscapes that you won’t be able to easily get on most instant film cameras. It’s also got more exposure control available to you such as some level of exposure compensation, a flash toggle button, and a close-up lens attachment for tight shots and selfies.

All these features however will come with a pretty big cost; the Instax Wide is a big camera that has single-digit DSLR pro body-dimensions. However, you should note that while it’s pretty enormous for an instant film camera, it’s not as heavy as you might have imagined thanks to its plastic build.

The Instax Wide offers more control than your basic Instax, prints large photos, but it might not be for everyone because it’s not as approachable as the others. The close-focusing attachment for one has a weird plastic arm sticking out in front of the viewfinder to guide you on what’s exactly going to be in the shot when using the attachment.

Overall, the Instax Wide is an awesome instant film camera. It’s feature-packed and produces some of the most stunning instant prints you can get today. It might take some time, but I think the learning curve and effort you put into this camera would be well worth it, especially at its $90 price point.

https://youtu.be/3S9XQwQGO3U

Lomo’Instant Automat Glass

The Lomo’Instant Automat Glass edition is by far the coolest instant film camera in this roundup. You can think of the Glass as the souped-up version of the Mini 40; the Lomo’Instant Automat Glass delivers the sharpest images possible on the Instax Mini format.

Before I tell you how awesome the Glass is, you must first know that it’s got a 21mm full frame equivalent lens which is sitting comfortably at ultra wide angle territory. If you’re okay with that focal length, then you’ll be treated with some of the crispiest images you can get out of an instant film camera thanks to the honest-to-goodness glass on the lens barrel.

The Automat Glass’ 21mm also has a fast f4.5 aperture which makes it awesome for low light, a clever lens cap that that doubles as a remote control shutter that conveniently hangs on a leash, the basic exposure control settings you’d expect plus a multiple exposure mode. You’ll also get a standard tripod mount and fun creative lens filters. There’s automatic exposure, though, like the Instax Wide, you need to adjust the focus yourself with the Glass having three zones: 1 foot, 2 feet, to infinity.

It’s surprisingly compact, quick and fun but doesn’t compromise on quality at the slightest. If you’re a pro or an enthusiast willing to spend around $180 for an instant film camera, I think you could do a lot worse than the Automat Glass (not to be confused with the non-Glass version).