Fujifilm Instax Share SP-3
A pricey way to catch special moments
The app has access to your camera roll; there’s no drawn-out import step
£179 FROM Instax, instax.co.uk features Wi-Fi, 318dpi square-format prints
The Instax Share SP-3 printer certainly costs plenty to run, with film in packs of 10 costing around £9.
That’s way more expensive than using a photo lab or even a desktop printer.
But the whole point of this printer is to produce a handy instant memento. On-the-spot photo prints are enjoying a significant resurgence for this very reason – and the Instax Share SP-3 provides them, without the bulk, cost and relative crudeness of an instant camera.
Instead, you simply send pictures from your smartphone to the printer, via Wi-Fi, from the free companion Instax Share app. The app has access to your camera roll, so there’s no time-consuming import process.
Colour charm
The SP-3 isn’t exactly pocket-sized, but it’s small enough to slip into a shoulder bag and is entirely self-contained. It’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and a coloured LED lamp on the top lets you know how much power it has left.
Also on the top is a row of 10 white LEDs that correspond to the 10 prints in each film pack. Every time you print a picture, an LED goes out. Swapping empty film packs for fresh ones is easy. You press a button on the side to open a large access door – don’t do this if you still have unexposed pictures inside! – and remove the empty cartridge. New cartridges have a protective lightproof sheet. When the door is closed, the printer automatically removes and ejects this sheet ready for your first print.
The colour rendition of the prints is a little on warm side and there’s quite a lot of contrast, so subtle highlight details tend to disappear. These aren’t really issues, though, because the Instax Share SP-3 is about capturing memories, and the quirky, oldfashioned look rather adds to their charm.
Given the pretty high cost of both the Instax Share SP-3 and its film packs, it’s impossible to offer any practical arguments for buying the printer. But of course, it’s not about the price tag. The appeal is purely emotional, offering an easy and permanent physical token of a fleeting event.