Dubai: Anybody can become a photographer with the present high-quality cameras on smartphones since digital photography has dramatically improved the art of picture taking.
But millennials are bringing back the old pleasure of using cameras that make instant prints.
Fujifilm, Leica and Lomography have all churned out cameras that aim to pick up where Polaroid left off.
But Polaroid is back this year by showcasing its latest instant cameras at Photokina 2016 show in Germany.
While the quality of photos taken with an instant camera can’t match those of a good digital shooter, Makoto Ose, marketing manager of Fujifilm Middle East, told Gulf News that younger buyers are the age group most enamoured with instant prints.
“Many under the age group of 30 don’t even remember the original Polaroids and film photography,” he said.
Fujifilm has been producing instant film cameras since 1998, but the company started to focus its attention on that segment again in 2011.
Sales figures
Ose said that instant film cameras are hot these days and his company has sold five million units globally in fiscal 2015 and expects to sell 6.5 million units this fiscal year which end in March. In 2014, it sold 3.8 million.
The compact design camera gives you a print in hand within 10 seconds of taking the shot and the paper loads in the back of the camera and comes in packs of 10 sheets.
The Instax cameras cost between Dh299 and up to Dh599, with a pack of film (10 exposures) costing Dh39 for the standard white-bordered prints and Dh45 for designed borders.
“The interesting part is the fun of using it, especially for kids, the fun of having a physical print to show off within seconds and the stylish designs are also helping to attract interest,” Ose said.
Fujifilm offers four different Instax cameras — mini 8, mini 70, mini 90, Wide 300, and the new designs attempt to follow trends by offering features such as a “smart selfie” mode.
“We started selling the devices in the Middle East from 2011 and the trend is similar to other parts of the world. We have sold 190,000 cameras last year and our target is more than 250,000 units this year,” he said.
Wi-Fi printers
At Photokina 2016, the company launched a square format print paper size of 85.6mm x 72mm but the print area is 62 x 62mm.
The ones available in the market have the paper size of 86mm x 54mm but the picture size is 62mm x 46mm area.
To sweeten the experience, Fujifilm also has pocket Wi-Fi printers SP1 and the recently launched SP2 which lets you print any photo from a smartphone or tablet on the spot using the “Share” app available on Apple or Google app stores. It is priced at Dh799.
