I've been a photographer for 13 years now so believe me when I say that I've used just about every type of camera you can get. I love instant cameras, and though I'm an Instax lover at heart, this deal on the Polaroid Now+ reduced by $60 from $149.99 to just $84.95 at B&H Photo is close to converting me (or at least adding another camera to my haul). See our Polaroid Now+ review to find out why we like it.
Even the best cameras aren't as fun or exciting as an Instant camera. They beat vintage medium format film cameras, night vision and thermal imaging cameras, drones, pinhole cameras, and even robots with 4K cameras attached.
Maybe it's the anticipation of waiting for your photos to develop that makes it feel magical. I know how lame that sounds as I type it out, but seriously, if you've never used an Instant camera before then you're missing out. We might see better deals once Black Friday officially kicks off over the next few hours, but I'll keep you updated with the top instant camera deals as and when I find them.
Instax Black Friday camera deals
What's a good price on an Instant camera?
Nostalgia doesn't come cheap, and instant cameras can be pretty expensive when you add up the cost of buying film packs for them too. As a rough guide, you can expect to spend up to $1/£1 per photo printed using an instant camera depending on the cost of film for that specific brand - so keep that in mind if you plan to print LOTS of images.
The average price for an instant camera can be around $150/£150 if you're looking for the absolute basic features such as printing an image instantaneously, also depending on how new the model is and when it was released. Once a new model of instant camera is released, we'll likely see a discount or price drop on the previous generation model.
Be sure to keep a close eye on other big camera retailers this Black Friday such as B&H, Adorama, Walmart, Best Buy, and Jessops or Argos in the UK for deals that might even undercut Amazon.
What is a hybrid instant camera?
When shopping for an instant camera, you may come across the terms "analogue" and "hybrid". Traditional instant cameras are primarily analogue, and will do the absolute basics such as snapping a photo and printing it out instantly - it might also have a flash too if you're lucky.
Digital instant cameras, however, are becoming more modern and combine analogue and digital elements with features such as app compatibility, selfie modes, and the option to apply filters to your images. "Hybrid" is a new term used to describe an instant camera that doubles as a smart digital printer, such as the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo.
What this means essentially is that you can browse through and edit your captured photos in-camera or via a smartphone app before you choose to print them (as opposed to it being printed instantly) – and it also enables you to turn images from your phone into real Instax prints.
This will save you from wasting expensive prints on images you aren't particularly fond of or would rather not print, and also allows you to view images and make changes to them before printing. These instant cameras are obviously more expensive but allow you to be more considerate in deciding what's really worth printing.
