Week 49 - White Bora Bora model of the Lomo'Instant Automat I received as a Kickstarter reward. This is an instant camera using Fuji's Instax mini film format which features a 60mm f8 (35mm equivalent) lens. The Automat has a fully automatic shutter with a +1/-1 exposure compensation button, bulb setting (up to 30 seconds), and the ability to shoot unlimited multiple exposures. It also has a tripod mount and there's a remote in the lens cap to trigger the shutter for selfies or to shoot long exposures with the bulb setting. It has zone focusing with three focusing distances on the lens - portrait, group and mountain (infinity). The flash can also be turned off, and there are flash gels to add color to your flash photos. My camera also came with Fisheye, Wide Angle, and Close Up lenses as well as a Splitzer accessory.
I have the previous model of the Lomo'Instant from the first Kickstarter, which I used in week 45, a camera that I've had for two years and enjoy shooting, but I wanted to get this new model hoping it would have better exposures. I found the Automat to be a little lighter and smaller than the original Lomo'Instant, and so far my impressions are that it has better exposure quality. The two have different lenses, which means that I'll be keeping both of them (I really just love all instant film cameras!) The Automat also has the nice added feature of the shutter remote in the lens cap.
I had ordered a boatload of Fuji Instax Mini film from ebay in anticipation of receiving the Automat - the new Monochrome, Black Frame and Sky Blue Frame. There is a treasure trove of unique film borders to be found on ebay for Fuji Instax Mini film if you're into that sort of thing. I found the outdoor shots with the Monochrome to be very contrasty in bright sun, but I really liked it with the close up lens on a slightly less sunny day. The Black Frame is nice with outdoor color shots and I think it looks great with brightly colored subject matter. The Sky Blue frame looks nice as well, looking pretty sweet on a close up photo I shot of silvery Dusty Miller still standing in my front garden. The focusing on the Automat seems pretty accurate if you use the guidelines in the enclosed brochure for the focusing distances for zones and for each of the lenses. There is less vignetting on the photos than in the original Lomo'Instant.
I have not had a chance to fully test all the features, but my first impression of this camera is that I love it already - light and compact to carry around, nice features to give you some control over your photos, and better exposures than the original Lomo'Instant. I think I'll be diving into the world of Fuji Instax Mini frames available on ebay, they all look so tempting!