Gadget Review: It’s a throwback to the Polaroid era

Before we could take pictures of anything and everything at all times, there was the Polaroid camera. Although it did not deliver the best results, it did give the quickest results. The Instax Mini 70 plays on this nostalgia. It lets you capture memories, 10 memories to be exact, which works out to Rs 50 per memory. A total of With 10 images per cartridge, the throwback to the Polaroid experience does not go easy on the pocket. One of the reasons that the Polaroid went out of commission were expensive reels, and the Instax 70 fails in the very same respect at this. With only 10 clicks per cartridge, and Rs 500 per cartridge, one feels a slight pinch in the wallet region whenever the click button is pressed.  As a result, the camera does give us a valuable lesson on the judiciousness of a snap.

With the addition of the selfie feature, Fujifilm attempts to fuse the classic with the modern. The mode automatically adjusts brightness. But before a selfie is clicked, one has to decide if a picture of one’s face is worth Rs 50. Most of the times, it’s not. 

When it comes to design, it is attractive enough to catch the eye but feels way too delicate for rough use. A product cannot survive on nostalgia alone. The quality of the images clicked is nothing noteworthy. Images captured in daylight are either too bright, or a bit too dark, but indoor photographs turn out desirably. The amount of focus on the images change automatically according to the mode — landscape, portrait, selfie, and hi-key — which is convenient for beginners. The Hi-Key mode is ideal for indoor shots, but tends to give overexposed results in natural light.

Available in bright colours which Govinda would approve of, such as canary yellow, Island blue, and moon white, the device is undeniably attractive and targeted towards the youngsters.

The credit card sized photographs that it produces fit comfortably in the pocket and will appeal to those who like to not take pictures of everything at all moments. 

. Due to the novelty of the product, there will be no dearth of friends (along with people you’ve never talked to) scrambling to get a picture of them clicked. 

If you like to travel a lot but are not a trigger happy photographer, the Instax Mini 70 will appeal to you. One must also always be armed with extra cartridges. Due to dodgy quality during outdoor photography, we wouldn’t recommend it for the hardcore photographer. 

As far as durability goes, it feels like the camera might not be able to endure much. If one does not expect too much from the camera, it is a satisfactory buy.