For all of my Fuji instax lovers, this post is for you!
I have had mine for about 18 months now and this post was drafted when I first got it. After a really good (and long) trial period, I can now share this review.
I stalking the internet and Australian stores for the brand new SP1 printer to arrive around the time of its release date. After many phone calls to stores such as JB Hifi, Domanye and Harvey Norman, I realised that not only did no one in the industry know what I was talking about, they were not getting them in and were all very dismissive about the idea of helping me get my hands on one. The only helpful company was Myer and although they didn't have stock yet, they were still able to advise on price and that they would be getting them in.
Next step.... Take to internet shopping! I found a store based in Hong Kong selling these to the Australian market that wasn't trying to take you for a ride on the price. I ended up purchasing from www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au. The service and price was fantastic, it was shipped with a reputable company and I had my goods in my hands within a week from ordering. In saying this, I guess we take the risk that if something goes wrong, we don't know how they would go with repairs/returns/warranty.
Fast forward 18 months and everywhere has them!
Now to the printer...
A friend of mine and I had a ball playing with this baby over the last little while and I love it.
Let me fill you in on what this great little printer is all about. This printer is designed to print photos directly from your phone (the app is available for both apple and android) onto the instant film the same as the instax camera. The reason this printer is such a hit is that you can now view a photo, centre a photo, edit a photo (turn to B&W or sepia) and add text to the photo, all before it is printed. This will also give you the chance to reprint the same photo... how handy would this be for a baby shower, a kitchen tea, holiday with friends or a birthday?!
It is a sleek design and is relatively small considering it takes the mini film cartridge the same as the camera. It comes with 2 batteries that power this little beauty, but it will also take a power supply (which you can purchase separately). This printer is not bulky or heavy and will fit into a handbag or overnight bag perfectly. It is about the same size as the instax camera itself. Personally, I took mine on my last overseas holiday and it was the smartest thing I have done!
The batteries are CR2 lithium batteries, which sell for around $12-$15 each. The most reliable place to find them is Bunnings in Australia. I was recently in New Zealand when the batteries ran out, and I was able to get them easily. With use I have been getting around 12 months out of mine, or about 150 prints.
The app is easy to use and really straight forward.... And bonus, it is free. The only down fall is that you may need to keep connecting to it through your wifi settings as it will turn it self off after a short amount of time sitting dormant.
One of the filters on this app is the Fuji intelligence filter. I have not really seen a big difference with it but in this case one photo is a bit darker than the other. An example is below. This may also be the film depending on the age of it and the conditions that it has been stored in.
Both the app and the printer give you the option to 'reprint' the same photo more than once, which is a great way for everyone to share the same memory.
Using this method of printing photos was great for my New Zealand trip (you can see the end result here). I embarked on my first full size project life album from a previous holiday, and my Documenting December albums, and this photo size gives a great variation to the normal. I love the effect of the Polaroid look and we don't always have our instax cameras on us, but we all have a smart phone these days readily available to snap away.
Now there is one negative to this printer.... You will loose the uncentered under/over exposed photos that these cameras are so famous for. Those ones where when taking the photo with the traditional instax camera, we forgot to over compensate for the lens being in a different place to the viewfinder! But I am sure with a little bit of effort, if this is the effect you are going for, this can be replicated! :-)
Price point - retail for around $200 in Australia.
For a really good look at how this baby works, check out Elizabeth Kartchners (Dear Lizzy) video on YouTube below. Please keep in mind that this is American so the film costs are usually more substantial in Australia.
