Instant Prints Ready for the Road with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 41 Bundle

Fujifilm put together a simple bundle around its Instax Mini 41 camera, priced at $99.95 (was $117), that lets anyone grab quick shots and walk away with physical prints in about 90 seconds. The bundle includes the camera itself, one 10-pack of Instax Mini film, a hand strap, two AA batteries, a quick start guide, and a one-year limited warranty. Credit-card-sized prints measure roughly 2 by 3 inches overall, with the image area at 62 by 46 millimeters, and they develop on their own once ejected.

Classic lines define the camera’s body, which is made up of black and dark silver surfaces with a splash of brilliant orange. It provides the camera a sleek retro appearance and can be effortlessly slipped into a bag or hung from the wrist strap. At 104.5 by 122.5 by 67.5 millimeters, with a weight of 345 grams when devoid of batteries or film, it is truly something you can throw in your luggage and forget about for all-day carry-on travels or weekend trips.

Operating the camera isn’t difficult either, as you simply twist the lens to turn it on, then twist again to switch to close-up mode, where you can photograph subjects between 0.3 and 0.5 meters away, as the built-in parallax correction ensures they look right in the finished print. If you want to take a self-portrait, there is a small mirror next to the lens: simply line yourself up, click the shutter button, and let the camera handle the rest, with flashes and exposure automatically sorted.

Most common day-to-day circumstances, whether daylight or indoors, have exposure totally set to auto. The shutter speeds range from 1/2 to 1/250th of a second, and slow synchro can be used if the light becomes too dim. The built-in flash starts up with automated brightness adjustment and can handle subjects ranging from 0.3 to 2.2 meters; it recycles in around seven seconds on a new set of batteries. Power comes from two AA alkaline cells, which provide enough juice for around ten full film packs under regular use. They also have an auto power-off mode that activates after 5 minutes of inactivity to save the batteries.

You feed the film into the back, there’s a little counter to keep track of how many exposures you have left, and the camera will print the image for you after the shutter is fired. The photographs hold up well, with the same old Instax appearance and feel, and they can even withstand a little water if you get caught in a downpour or put them in your wallet.