I bought my mum an Instax Mini 12 for Christmas and I dare say you won’t find a better quality little camera for the price. It truly is one of the best instant cameras on the market. And yet, at a glance, Instax Mini film can seem rather expensive. But when I found out how instant cameras work, I was astonished to find that the real tech isn’t really the camera but the film itself.
Every single sheet of Instax film – or Polaroid film for that matter – is a scientific marvel. A single sheet of Instax Mini film is comprised of 18 super-thin layers, all working to produce that instant magic. Fujifilm calls sheets of Instax film a “mini darkroom” a– nd that’s not hyperbole.
You see, the photosensitive layers are designed to react to different wavelengths (or colors) of light. Only when layered together do you get a full-color image. But the technology doesn’t stop there – exposure is only one half of the process – the image still needs to be developed.
Despite learning how to use an instant camera years ago, I had no idea why a sheet of instant film had a thicker border at the base of the image. Turns out, this is where the developer fluid is housed. An Instax camera has two rollers; after the film is exposed it’s pushed through the rollers, which results in two key processes.
The thick border that houses the developer fluid is pushed through the rollers first, which breaks the seal and releases the fluid. That fluid is then spread evenly across the image as the Instax film is ejected.
Interestingly the fluid is black, which Fujifilm says simulates a darkroom. Neat, eh? So, the next time you buy a new pack of Instax Mini film, remember, that you’re really purchasing a pack of 20 miniature darkrooms.
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