As Instax and Polaroid skyrocket in popularity, many are left to wonder how they directly compare as film stocks. Today we finally have them “square off” in a side by side test of the film’s color science, dynamic range, sharpness, and camera compatibility.
Special thanks to Holly and Natt for their awesome contributions to this episode, Holly can be found at https://www.instagram.com/hollyjsalerno and Natt at https://www.instagram.com/nattmcfee. They do amazing art, follow them.
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Intax looks better, but I just like the look of the polaroid film. I have both but I often shoot more on my polaroid
Your videos are beautiful. Loved your channel so much
I completely soured on Polaroid when they decided to stop making Spectra film and introduced rubbish like speakers and such like. I really completely went off them now. I'm shooting a lot more instax film. I like the better image quality and easier use in the cold and damp Englandshire.
These films need improvement.
Try Kodak E100 color positive film in a medium format camera and you have a truly amazing color positive image that is about the same size as an instant camera picture.
Polaroid was the better film right up till 2009… The original formula will never be replicated 100%.. However most instax cameras especially the "mini" ones contain absolute garbage internals and are not sharp enough.. I have an early 2000s "wide" camera which is ever so slightly better but the "mini" versions are utterly terrible. They are so washed and soft. The lenses look cheap and the cameras fall apart so easily.
Where do I get a flash for the Polaroid supercolor 600 vintage?
te hot and cool effect is kinda cool
The fun factor for Polaroid is a huge win
When you said polaroid performed better, it kinda through me, looking at all but the black and white contrast color and everything looks much more accurate on instax. Polaroids always look like polaroids, dingy (dinjee) grey blue cyan.
Instax is better as a more modern cheaper version of Polaroid while Polaroid is the more vintage with their new cameras being just new version of old ones
Really nice video. All i can see is that Instax is miles ahead. Well done for them. Really makes me wonder how polaroid is still in the game
You're clearly a Polaroid fan boy, but just objectively using your examples, the Instax film is so far superior to the Polaroid film it's not even close.
I love this video re watching it today
I love ❤️ Polaroid. I’ve been collecting cameras since the early 60s and shoot Polaroid for years. I just wish they would come back instead of being the formula that it is now they kind of hurt Polaroid I think and I still play with the ones that I film it’s called.
One more thing- some people talk about Polaroids not holding up over time. I have not had this experience. First, my Polaroids from the 70's look as though they were taken yesterday. No degradation whatsoever. I do keep them in boxes and/or photo albums. The Polaroids that I have been taking since 2019, while not that long ago, still look as perfect as they did the day I took them. I see no degradation at all. I do of course, take proper care of them. If I had them lying around and exposed all the time I don't know that it would be the same thing. Though, I will say….I have a framed Polaroid on my wall for about 5 years now and it hasn't; faded or anything- looks as good as it did 5 years ago when it popped out of the camera!
I much prefer Polaroid, though I have both as well. Colorwise, I love the color realism of the Instax and that you can watch it develop and that it has far fewer "rules" for getting a good picture. But the Polaroid for me is a more satisfying experience. The ejection of the picture for one is a more viscerally satisfying experience than the Instax. I don't like that you have to shield the photo from view after ejection but still….the drama of what you're going to get is exciting. I know that has no appeal for some, but we are all different!!! I wish Polaroids had more contrast than they do, but there is still a "look" that Polaroids can get that I never see on an Instax photo. I feel more excited with Polaroid film especially when using my Flip camera. As a point and shoot it is miles ahead of the I-2. I love my I-2 when I am configuring the camera for the best shot….which is so much fun…..but as a point and shoot? Flip wins hands down! My biggest beef with Polaroid now is that the availability of the film is very frustrating. They've hooked us on the gold frames, the color frames, the black frames……and now they are hardly ever available. I visit the website daily and it has been like two months that SX-70 is not available at all. It has been even longer since they had the 600 color frames, which were my favorite colors. The iType color frames are nice too, but they too are not available for the longest time! And the black frames…..nowhere to be seen. And their specialty film packs sell out so fast you're lucky to get a few packs before they are gone. Polaroid is a victim of their own success right now. They can't produce enough of their films to meet demand. I hope that with all they are doing they will be able to fix this demand/supply problem so they can get back to tweaking their film formula! with more priority! I wish them the best, because I love Polaroid's vision for instant photography.
Did Polaroid pay you?
Writing in 2025, Polaroid is about 2.3 to 2.5 USD per shot. Instax shots are fluctuating but are about a dollar per shot on average for both wide and mini.
Great video! I recently found you here on YouTube, dig your channel! I shoot both formats, mostly Polaroid these days because of the size and nostalgic tones. I scan the images and make products and sell art prints, the Instax does not translate as well for what I do. But Instax is so consistent and I use it when I need more vivid color. I began exploring the manual mode with my Polaroid Now Gen 2 camera on the app, this led to me purchasing the I-2, but the Instax square and wide are still in my bag as well. I usually have two polaroids and two fuji cameras in my bag when I go out shooting. I was also a fashion photographer for over 20 years, so Polaroid will always have my heart when it comes to nostalgia.
I own several Polaroid cameras and they sit on the shelf gathering dust – a bad investment. Polaroid film is unstable and hence unpredictable. Instax at least is consistent in its low fidelity.
In Chile, the price difference its quite bigger, Instax 1,2usd/shoot, versus Polaroid 3,3usd/shoot x.x
These things are perfectly made for printing mobile phone photos…
So polaroid for black and whites and longer sensitive development, and instax for colour and quicker development with less fragility to conditions. What about at night? I'm looking to have instant cameras at my wedding which is in October so it gets dark. I just wanted something easy but clear
My take is that whilst Instax may be technically better, people do seem to love Polaroid. The noise, the history, the pastel colours. I look at it like VHS vs Beta. Beta was meant to be technically better, backed by Sony, yet it was VHS that people preferred and it won that format war. I think Polaroid is the VHS equivalent.
I been watching u since 8th grade
I have a TL70+ on the way, looking forward to see what it can do. But, do you know if there are any Instax mini backs for Mamiya 645 pro or TL? That would be nice to have for my old cameras.
Polaroid can afford $1,60 a shot tells you everything what to choose. NOTHING compares to Polaroid. BTW its $2,20 per shot in europe and it sells like crazy
This is exactly why Polaroid is suing Fuji. They took the square and made it substantially better.
I have both and love them both. I have used Hipstamitic on my phone for years. I love the random setting on it. Polaroid reminds me of that. Waiting for a Polaroid to develop is like waiting for Santa to come on Christmas. The anticipation from the development time breeds excitement plus the added randomness that Polaroid gives keeps me coming back. Not every shot of mine is a banger but each shot is unique. I effing love it.
Thanks Ben.
The only thing that annoys me with Instax is how most of their cameras have automatic flash. Whenever I go to a new city I want to go to museums and when I do that I either need a premium instax that lets me turn off flash, or a normal Polaroid.
As a professional photographer, I always take my Nikon if I want to take Good Pictures. But taking Polaroids purely for artistic purposes is just soooooo much fun as well! Also definitely thinking of saving up for an Instax.
I’m like the dog bored as fuck thank you Fuji
Very informative I wondered why the Polaroid prints suck from when I was a kid
One time I used a Polaroid camera to snap a picture of me and my brother, the flash was off, and it was in the middle of the day with very good lighting, the picture came out looking like a pitch black silhouette with green around it, I used the same camera to take a picture of a bunch of trees in the woods, it was mid day, and very light outside, so I Didint use flash, I took the picture, and it look like someone inverted the colors then blew out the picture with light, you can make it out what the scene is, but like I Didint even know a photo like that can turn out that way, I am a teenager and I don’t have all the money in the world, just 8 shots cost 20 bucks, that’s crazy.
instax: photo telephone Polaroid: retro 90s
Polaroid is suing Fujifilm, so much for the "co-existing" narrative.
Beautiful model. Love the photos you took as well.
Como haces para poner las fotos en el video? Las escaneas en impresora?
Evolving? Is Impossible Project film any different than it was 12 years ago? Nope. There was a glimmer of hope as it had gotten better from the first release but that ended once they started releasing cameras. They had said the 8 exposures was temporary because they were working out how to fit the battery in the pack. Once the cameras came out, the 8 exposure thing made it obvious they had abandoned all further advancements.
Imo the polaroid shots have more soul to them I always felt something off about insaxx. polaroids are so expensive and finicky, but I think its worth it for how the shots look.
I'm gonna grab a Canon Selphy because they have more flexibility in printing options, but the Instax was a serious contender for a bit.
Yeah so I'm not really following on what camera to get… i guess you need all 4 and know them well to get what you're looking for.
Why they never make a camera that takes all the film sizes??
Not one print comparison shown in this video produces a solid case for Polaroid, in my opinion. The Instax samples were superior to Polaroid.
Obviously a good program, but your constant, high-speed ranting makes it less attractive. Slow down and make a pause now and then, and the program would be more attractive to listen to. Thank you from Oslo.
Instax wins hands down but that damn Polaroid nostalgia. I really wanna get the new Flip camera.
Have owned loads of Instax cameras (including RB67 and Binstax – you are right – it’s not a practical Instax option) but have been shooting them a lot less of late due to my 120 obsession. That’s said, this has made me want to start saving up for a Polaroid
what camera is in your hands?
10:46
https://youtu.be/lj4m6Jp4G48?t=647