Fujifilm has announced the launch of the Instax Mini 40 Instant Camera as well as a new instant film variety called Contact Sheet, which the company says mimics the look of a classic film contact sheet.
The Mini 40 lens is comprised of two components and two elements and has a focal length of 60mm. Film takes approximately 90 seconds to develop and the camera is powered by two AA-size batteries. Each fully charged set of batteries should be able to shoot approximately 10 Instax Mini film packs of 10 exposures each.
The camera, when empty, weighs 0.72 pounds and when filled with film and batteries it comes in at 1.12 pounds.
The Mini 40 is headlined by two major key features: automatic exposure and a Selfie Mode.
Though automatic exposure is common in digital cameras, it is less so when it comes to instant. With the Mini 40, the camera is able to sense ambient light when the shutter is pressed and will automatically optimize the shutter speed and flash output accordingly. Fujifilm says that this addition makes it much easier for a wider variety of photographers to get a properly exposed photo regardless of if the image is captured inside or outside.
The Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 shoots with a programmed electronic shutter that shoots from anywhere between 1/2 second to 1/250 second based on the automatic exposure reading.
The Instax Mini 40 has a built-in Selfie Mode that Fujifilm says is also good for taking close-up images. It can be activated by pulling out the front-end edge of the lens and then powering on the camera.
The Instax Mini contact sheet is what Fujifilm calls an homage to classic film photography. The idea of a contact sheet probably brings to mind a single sheet that has multiple exposures on it, which photographers would use to review either a portfolio or select the images they wanted to focus on. Fujifilm’s version isn’t that, but rather just a black border around each exposure. When lined up, they do resemble a contact sheet.
Individually though, less so.
It’s a nice touch, but calling it a contact sheet may be slightly confusing to those who come into it with a preconceived notion of the term.
The Instax Mini 40 will retail for $100 and each pack of Contact Sheet film comes with 10 exposures and will retail for $15. Both are expected to be available for purchase at the end of April.