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The film format is the running cost, and it is chosen at the till

The best instant cameras for 2026

An instant camera is bought once and its film format is bought forever, which makes that the first decision and the expensive one. Formats differ in print size and aspect — a credit-card-sized print, a square, a wider rectangle — and each is sold only by the maker that defined it, so the camera commits you to a supply chain as much as to a look. Everything else is simpler than a digital camera and more consequential, because there is no reviewing and no second attempt. Exposure is either fully automatic, automatic with a lighten-and-darken control, or manual, and that control is what saves a backlit picture from being wasted film. The flash is usually always-on by design; the ones that can be switched off are the ones usable in a room where the light is already good. A close-focus or selfie mode changes the lens for arm's-length subjects, and its absence shows up as a soft face. The viewfinder is offset from the lens, so parallax is real at short distances and some cameras mark the correction. A hybrid model photographs digitally and prints afterwards, which turns the film back into a choice rather than a consequence. We compare film format and print size, exposure control, flash behaviour, close-focus mode, viewfinder and any digital printing path.

The bodies and lenses we compare here

  1. Fujifilm instax mini 12 in Pastel Blue, instax mini film, automatic exposure

    instax mini film · credit-card print format stated · automatic exposure and flash · close-up mode with parallax correction · selfie mirror · up to 100 prints per set of batteries · no digital printing path · print size in millimetres not published

    An instant camera that removes every setting on purpose: exposure and flash are automatic, a mirror handles framing for selfies, and the only figure published anywhere is one hundred prints per set of batteries.

    Best for: Parties, trips and gifts, where handing someone a physical print immediately is the whole point and nothing needs adjusting.

    ≈ $93 / £68 / 72 €

    Check price on Amazon Read the review

  2. Polaroid Now Generation 3 bundle with a double film pack, 16 photos

    Polaroid i-Type and 600 film compatible · full-format prints · bundle with double film pack, 16 photos · two-lens autofocus · self-timer and double exposure · tripod thread · USB-C rechargeable · 40 per cent recycled materials · print size in millimetres not published

    A bundle that arrives with sixteen photos and a two-lens autofocus system, sold on the largest print in this family and on a tripod thread that no other instant camera here provides.

    Best for: Someone who wants the large square print and will use the self-timer, the double exposure and the tripod thread rather than only pointing and shooting.

    ≈ $160 / £140 / 133 €

    Check price on Amazon Read the review

Each amount in a write-up is what the listing showed when that page was written. The figure next to the product is pulled in as you read, and it is the one that counts.