Say cheese for Hello Kitty!

HERE’S A CAMERA that will stand out in any crowd of shutterbugs – the Fujifilm Instax Mini Hello Kitty is actually shaped like the Japanese cartoon character.

It looks comical, but it does take decent pictures – and they’re instantly printed on Fujifilm Instax Mini Film, much like a Polaroid, though Fuji has its own patented process.

The camera is a handful at 86x54mm, whereas the prints are rather small at 62x46mm, printed at in 254dpi resolution with 256 levels per RGB colour.

The reason the camera is big and the pictures small is because an entire pack of Instax Mini film and the processor is housed inside, while the film feeder is on top.

Nothing could be simpler to operate. You load the film pack and make sure it then stays closed until all 10 shots are taken. You can see how many shots are left at the back of the camera.

Press the button beside the lens to turn on the power. An exposure dial rings the lens and must be manually adjusted according to available light – indoor, cloudy, bright, very bright sunlight or Hi-key. Hi-key mode further brightens the photo and has the effect of softening the subject matter.

The camera measures brightness via two small apertures next to the flash, and flash is always used, ensuring a shutter speed of 1/60 second. For best results, keep at least 0.6 of a metre away from your subject, and the flash remains effective up to 2.7 metres distant. 

A close-up lens is provided to create enlarged images, and for that you can get as close as 35cm to the subject. A mirror near the lens lets you take self-portraits as well.

Once you press the shutter, the printing mechanism “encodes” the film and rolls it out through the feeder. The whole procedure takes about 16 seconds, but what emerges is a blank piece of paper. Anyone who’s used a Polaroid camera will know that the film is still developing. Just be patient, keep your fingers off the surface and soon enough – about a minute – the image will appear in full colour. 

The result is quite sharp and clean and decidedly retro in appearance. The print is relatively tiny, but you’re just doing this for fun, of course. It’s bound to be a laugh at a party.

Fujifilm earlier offered an Instax Share SP-1 printer for getting images like this off a digital camera or smartphone. With this camera, you have the option of instantaneous images right from the camera. Yes, you’re back to the pre-digital likelihood of wasted shots, but that ought to make you more careful setting them up properly.

The Instax Mini Hello Kitty retails for Bt3,490 and a pack of 10 shots costs Bt250. For Bt300 and up you can also get film with cartoon characters pre-ingrained – Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Toy Story and more.

 

n Film: Fujifilm instant colour film Instax Mini

n Picture size: 62x46mm

n Lens: Two components, two elements, f=60mm, 1:12.7

n Viewfinder: Real image finer 0.37x with target spot

n Shooting range: 0.6m |to infinity

n Shutter speed: 1/60 seconds

n Exposure control: Manual switching system (LED indicator in exposure meter)

n Film feeding out: Automatic

n Flash: Constant firing flash, recycling time: 0.2 to 6 seconds; effective flash range: 0.6 to 2.7m

n Power supply: 2 L46/AA-size 1.5V alkaline batteries; |capacity: 100 shots

n Dimensions: 169x145x69mm

n Weight: 395g (without |batteries, strap and film pack)