Fuji Instax 210 with attached “selfie” mirror. It clips on the front of the lens when the camera is turned on so you can see what you are photographing when the camera is facing you.

I’m late to the game on this one but I figured since my post on Polaroid vs Fuji Instant Mini Cameras was so popular I’d do this review as a follow up to that one. It’s really weird to me that’s my most popular post but hey, you guys like what you like so I’ll take it.

I had the privilege of playing with my friend V’s Fuji Instax Wide a few weeks ago while visiting my boyfriend in Florida. I was thinking about getting one but wasn’t sure if it could keep my attention long enough to warrant the price tag (about $100). I’ll just get right to it and say that I absolutely love this camera.

The controls on it allow you to choose between light, natural and dark settings. Light for close up and dark for further away. You can also have the flash setting on or off. My only turn off is that it is quite large (7in x 4.6in) but that’s a given considering the prints that come out of it are pretty big compared to the wallet sized ones from the Polaroid 300 and Fuji Instax. If you take two of the wallet sized ones and put them side by side vertically you have about the size of one of the wide prints.

Two Polaroid mini exposures (same size as the Fuji Mini) above one exposure of the Fuji Instax Wide.

Size comparison of prints

Not gonna lie, film is crazy expensive for this. A hundred exposures will run you about $80 at BH Photo. Recently I found a deal on Amazon that was a twin pack (twenty exposures) for $15 but I am not sure for how long (or how frequently) that sale appears. In saying that, I will also say that the film rendition is beautiful. The surface is glossy and the skin tones always look natural while also having vibrant colors. The contrast is perfect, not too high and not too low.

I think the reason I’m so about this camera is because I miss the thought of photos being something physical. Now we share, take and look at photos on a screen. Very rarely do they ever make it to a physical form unless it’s in a newspaper or hanging on a wall. How many people do you know have photos taken only for them to end up on a CD at the bottom of some desk drawer because no one ever put the effort into making them into prints?

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That brings me to the next question this camera posed to me; what am I supposed to do with all of these little gems once I get over the thrill of watching them develop? They’re too pretty to stick away in an album. I give you…”photo desk”!

I was doing some office work at my desk when I gave into procrastination and started looking through a pile of polaroids (well, Fuji technically but for familarity’s sake we’ll call them polaroids, kinda like we call all tissues “kleenexes” or all bandages “band-aids”). I laid them all out on my desk and thought it would look awesome to glue them and put a piece of plexiglass over top to protect and hold them in place. Nifty, yes? I don’t have enough polaroids to cover my entire desk quite yet but when I do I’ll post photos and make a how-to guide on the project.

Lastly, I’ve gotten a few compliments on the flowered strap (thanks guys!). I bought it off of Amazon for $20.00 and just typed in “camera strap” to view options; this was one of them. The rigging is the universal camera strap kind so it’ll go on any camera, not just this one.

Bottom line: Is this worth the money? Yes. But only if you’re someone who enjoys the photo as a physical object. Great control, sturdy build and decent sized prints that look great displayed. Across the board yes!