Instant Cameras: Lomography vs. Fujifilm

If you’re in the market for an instant camera, you may be looking for information on which one to get. What makes one instant camera different from another? Which one is the best? Fujifilm’s Instax line is the most well-known of the “Polaroids,” but Lomography has made a name for itself on Kickstarter, pushing its instant cameras into the mainstream market. As an owner of two Lomography instant cameras and one Fujifilm Instax, let me share with you what I consider the better camera.

By the way, you can click the images below to view the full image using a lightbox effect.

One essential thing to remember when deciding between the two brands is their marketing objectives. I’m talking about segment — who are the brands trying to reach? With Fujifilm, the Instax is presented as a fun camera to capture fun moments. Lomography, on the other hand, showcases photography as an art form. Unlike Fujifilm, which wants to highlight an element of fun, Lomography markets its cameras as those meant to be used by artistic photographers who want to create surreal images. Lomography also utilizes a lot of travel and wanderlust elements in their advertising campaigns.

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Now, why is this important? Well, it all comes down to the effects the cameras produce and the functions they have. Lomography Lomo’Instant cameras have a wide variety of features not available on Fujifilm Instax line. Such features include flash hot-shoe port, multi-exposure, long-exposure, a remote control lens cap for selfies and timed shooting (remote control lens cap applies only to the Lomo’Instant Wide and Automat. The standard Lomo’Instant does not include this feature), a variety of lenses, and some gel color filters. The Lomography cameras can also be mounted onto a tripod, a feature only the Instax Wide 300 and Instax 90 Neo Classic offer within the Fujifilm brand. With the Fujifilm Instax, many of the aforementioned features are not included, but the features it does have are simpler and can be adjusted with a single, easy-to-use button. Both include high and low exposure adjustment settings, focus abilities (the Lomography cameras are manual while the Fujifilm cameras are automatic), and a selfie mirror. There are also macro and colored lenses compatible with the Instax cameras available for separate purchase. Both companies offer a wide range of designs and colors to choose from.

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While the Lomography cameras do come with extra features that definitely are super cool and give flexibility in terms of the types of photos that it can produce, the Fujifilm Instax Cameras produce sharper images. There is no guessing game in adjusting the focus, albeit the Instax may occasionally result in soft edges. The colors are brighter and richer. Since the photos are sharper, they look clean compared to the ones produced by the Lomography cameras. The Lomography cameras produce more of a hazy, dreamlike feel, which can be good or bad depending on your style of photography and what you want to create.

Furthermore, I find that the Lomography cameras work great with the first several shots, but they break down and become quite finicky after some use. I haven’t used the Automat too much since I generally use my Instax Mini when I travel (more on this later), but I feel like the battery depletes at a faster rate. My Wide camera is definitely not the most trustworthy either when it comes to taking photos. I find that I have to push down on the shutter button multiple times for it to work, and sometimes the exposure is either too much to where it prints out a completely white photo or either too dark to where you can barely see the picture. Oftentimes, it just prints a black photo or a blur of color. Plus, the remote control shutter has a small range in which it connects to the camera. I find that I have to press several times like the actual shutter button.

Additionally, with the Fujifilm Instax, the lens cover automatically retracts when you power the camera, but with Lomography cameras, the lens cover needs to be manually removed. Since the viewfinder isn’t connect to the actual camera lens, I’ve taken so many photos that print out all black because I had forgotten to remove the lens cap. This might just be a personal issue, but it’s something to keep in mind, especially since instant film isn’t cheap. The Lomography cameras also have a dotted line across the viewfinder to ensure your picture is in frame, but I find that it isn’t very accurate. Top that off with having to switch viewfinders when you want to change to the wide-angle lens, it just makes for a cumbersome experience. The switching of viewfinders makes sense since the frame would change where the dotted line is, but on top of the dotted line not being accurate, the viewfinders are not securely clicked into place. Sometimes they can fall out inside your bag. Since the viewfinder is not directly connected to the lens, the manual focus can be a guessing game as I mentioned previously. While this may give photographers a bit more creative freedom, there is no way to really foresee the focus result until the photo fully develops.

In terms of the extra features like multi-exposure and the variety of lenses, the Wide overexposes the multi-exposure photos to where one shot is white-washed and the other is a white silhouette. It worked great the first time I used it but now it does not work well. I used to carry around the lenses, but they are quite bulky and I don’t use them too often. The wide-angle has too much of a fish-eye effect for the photos to come out nice in my opinion. I also don’t use the gel color filters, but I will say that they are a neat idea. While I do like experimenting with artistic photos, the fact that this camera wastes too much film in trying to get the exposure correct, it is not worth it in my opinion.

Overall, the Instax camera is more durable and travel friendly in my opinion. I’ve had my Fujifilm Instax Mini 25 years before I even discovered the Lomography brand, and it’s still the most trustworthy instant camera I own because I can rely on clear, color-rich images every time. It is extremely frustrating when I pack my Lomo’Instant Wide to take travel photos only for it to not work. It’s also slimmer than both my Wide and Automat cameras from Lomography. My Instax Mini is also slimmer than both the Wide and Automat, which makes slipping it into a small travel bag much easier. Nowadays, I generally just take my Instax Mini for cute Polaroids and my Canon G7 X Mark II for other photos and videos. I wholeheartedly recommend Fujifilm instant cameras because although some of them can be lacking in design (namely the wide models, most of the mini ones are super cute), the durability and clear images produced are really worth it. Plus, the Fujifilm instant cameras generally seem to be less expensive than the ones from Lomography. Fujifilm has long been in the instant camera game, and they have the expertise to create a quality, long-lasting instant camera. If you’re debating between the two brands, I recommend Fujifilm.

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