Instax

Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 camera

Packs of Instax Mini film

Instax Mini is a 54 mm × 86 mm (2.1 in × 3.4 in) (approximately ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 credit-card-size) integral daylight ISO 800 color film designed for use with Fujifilm instax mini compatible cameras. In Japan the Instax Mini cameras are called and referred to as cheki (チェキ without mini), after the sound of camera shutters, and instax mini 10/20/… is the model name.[5] Instax Mini is available in colour and black and white.

The Digital Instax Pivi line was intended as a digital/analog hybrid. The original intention was to produce a new format to feed a series of digital instant cameras similar in approach to the Olympus C-211, a digital camera with a built-in Polaroid 500 film printer. Fujifilm eventually released the FinePix PR21, a digital camera with a built-in Instax mini printer, in 1999.[7] A stand-alone printer was planned from the start but was not the primary focus, but this changed with the advent of mobile devices. This device made it to market in 2004 (as the Pivi MP-100), after about five years in development.

Instax Pivi film looks physically identical to Instax mini, but it takes a different formulated film producing a color-inverted image when used in a mini camera, making them incompatible.

Fujifilm Instax 500AF camera

Instax 100 camera

Called Cheki Wide in Japan. Released the year after the mini film and cameras, the negative was increased on this format to create an image size based on the golden ratio.[4] Upon introduction, this format was simply called Instax without any suffix (making it the normal, not mini, Instax film), Fujifilm gradually embedded the "Wide" moniker into the name of the product. That rebranding pattern can also be seen on the Instax 210 which is now described on the Fujifilm web site as Instax Wide 210, despite not being referenced elsewhere in such a way.[8] Instax Wide is available in colour and black and white.

Instax Square SQ10

Called Cheki Square in Japan. Instax Square is a square size of Instax film released in 2017, available in colour[10][11]. The manufacturer initially only offered a hybrid digital camera/printer. Later, a separate printer and cameras offering fully analog exposure became available[12][13].

On September 25, 2018, Fujifilm launched the Square SQ 20[14] which has a configurable "Motion Mode" function that allows recording of video (max 15 seconds), and the selecting and printing of a frame.

Kodak ceased production of instant film cameras when it was successfully sued by Polaroid for patent infringement in 1986. Fujifilm, through an agreement with Polaroid specifying they could not officially distribute in certain territories (such as the US) until the original patents expired in the mid-1990s, continued to manufacture and market their own line of films. As such, Fuji produced several lines of instant films starting in the early 1980s.

Instax was released to consumers in 1998[3][4] and was based on those earlier instant film systems, having the same film speed and dye order.

Fujifilm originally wished to release the Instax series worldwide including North America and Europe simultaneously,[16] but chose to work with Polaroid on the mio camera based on the Instax mini 10/20 for the US market. The mio product was discontinued after a few years.

With Polaroid ceasing production of instant films in 2008, the Instax system was the only integral instant film system in production until Impossible Project (now Polaroid Originals) launched their integral film in early 2010. The Instax Mini system is also sold in some markets by Polaroid itself through the Polaroid 300[17] and Polaroid 300 Film[18] brands (in reality, rebranded Instax Mini 7S and Instax Mini film).

In 2014 it was reported that the Instax Mini 8 was outselling flagship models like the Fujifilm X-T1[19][20] and Sony α7R.

In 2016 it was reported that sales of Instax cameras had risen to 5 million units the previous fiscal year, up from 100,000 units in 2004.[21] Also that year, Fujifilm released a monochrome formulation of the film.[22]