Instant Cameras

An instant camera is a kind of camera that has a self-developing film. Edwin Land invented the Polaroid 95, which is the first and original instant camera, a decade after the Polaroid Corporation was founded. Polaroid instant cameras are considered as the most popular brand of instant camera since it was introduced many years back.

Some types of Polaroid instant cameras include Polaroid One, One600, One 600 Classic, One 600 Pro Business Edition, I-zone pocket, Officemax and the Joycam.

But even with the inception of the Polaroid 95 model, Polaroid, however, is not the only company that has developed one-step, instant cameras and film. There are also some non-polaroid instant cameras - licensed products that may or may not have permission or compatibility with Polaroid products. Here are some of the following.

Berkey Keystone. Apart from the built-in electronic flash that most Keystone instant cameras are equipped with, it also comes with an entirely different flash autoexposure system. Keystone’s electronic-flash instant cameras are more costly than some variants of Polaroid instant cameras. Other Keystone instant cameras include the XF-1500, XF-2000 and Wizard XF-1000. The Wizard XF-1000 has identical looks, features and specifications with the Polaroid Pronto. It also has a built-in tripod socket and is competitively priced with the Pronto.

Fuji. With a film that is compatible with Polaroid and Kodak instant cameras, Fuji has also developed instant cameras that resemble Kodak’s Kodamatic 940 and the Kodamatic 960. Some of Fuji’s instant cameras are taken from the old Kodak instant camera process but have a different format and cartridge design. Features and functions of some Fuji instant cameras, such as the Instax and Instax mini are made to compete with Polaroid’s One Step camera line.

Fuji also once launched the Polaroid-compatible packfilm instant camera known as the FP-1 Pro. However, it was not officially brought into the US market. Compared to other camera brands, Fuji instant cameras do not really ring bells to majority of the US market. This is because Fuji does not export them into the country. Some US camera stores do not sell them as well.

Kodak. Once sued by Polaroid over a landmark patent infringement case, a feature of the Kodak instant camera line is that it does not necessarily require a mirror, with the exception of the EK4 and EK6, which makes for a more attractive format than the SX-70. Moreover, Kodak has licensed some of their technologies and film formats to other camera manufacturers, unlike Polaroid.

Konica. The Konica instant press camera is an answer to folding pack cameras equipped with professional-grade lenses and shutters as well as an affront to Polaroid 180, 190 and 195 cameras. The Konica instant press has a larger format and a full bed folding design that gives the camera better protection when folded and lens or film alignment, which is better than Polaroid’s versions.

Minolta. Produced under license from Polaroid, the Minolta Instant Pro camera looks very much the same as with the Polaroid Spectra and Image instant cameras as well as similar component parts such as the AF system and even the lens. The Minolta Instant Pro has the same features and functions as with the Polaroid Spectra Pro.

LOMO. Produced in the 1950’s, an instant camera named “Moment” was said to be a replica of the Polaroid 95 model. Compared to the 95, the shutter and lens aperture are more conventionally designed and the camera is a bit larger when folded. Even if a film was also made for the ‘Moment’, its production, however, was limited. The ‘Moment’ was developed by USSR’s Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Union (LOMO), formerly known as GOMZ.