Pros & Cons
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- Crisp results with moderate contrast.
- Neutral tone.
- More economical than alternate options.
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- Only available in Mini format.
- Costs more than color Instax Mini film.
Photographers who like to dabble with instant film often find the Fujifilm Instax system attractive, as cameras are fairly inexpensive and it's more economical to use than the modern Polaroid film sold by the Impossible Project. Fujifilm Instax Mini Monochrome is the first black-and-white film for the Instax system. At $14.99 per 10-shot pack, it's roughly half the price of the Impossible B&W per image, but also twice as much as Instax photographers are used to paying for color film.
Instax film is currently available in two sizes, Mini (2.4 by 1.8 inches, HW) and Wide (2.4 by 3.9 inches), with a Square format coming next year. At press time you can only get the Monochrome film in the smaller Mini format, which is a shame, as images shot on the larger format are more impactful when viewed in person.
It's less of an issue if you're scanning images and sharing them online. And the Mini film holds up to scanning quite well. It has a glossy finish and a neutral tone. There's a lovely grain structure that you can see when viewing images up close, and is even more apparent in scans.
The film is bordered on all sides by a white frame. The frame is larger on the bottom, so you can label shots with a marker if you'd like to sign your work or add a caption. The large bottom border isn't visible in the images we're sharing in this review, as I used an empty film cartridge to secure the film when I scanned it, which cuts that portion of the border off from view. I recommend using this technique when scanning on a flatbed as it eliminates the Newton's Rings effect that can plague instant images when they're scanned.
Shooting with the Monochrome is no different than using the color Instax film. Most cameras, including the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 ($153.79 at Amazon) and Lomography Lomo'Instant Automat ($114.49 at Amazon) , offer automatic exposure control. I shot the film both indoors and out, with and without flash, with the Automat.
When the film ejects you're greeted with a blank white frame. In a few minutes your photo starts to emerge, and it's fully developed in under 15 minutes. I found that exposures were pretty spot-on with the Automat, just as with the color film I'd shot.
Contrast isn't as high as it is with the Impossible B&W 2.0 film, so you get a good amount of information in the midtones and shadows. If you prefer a higher contrast look you'll have to scan and push down the blacks digitally, but fans of a more classic monochrome will enjoy the film as it comes out of the camera.
Before the release of the Monochrome film, the only way to get a black-and-white Instax image was to create one out using the SP-2 ($69.99 at Amazon) printer using color materials. When I did that, I noticed that you lost some detail in the shadows. With the Monochrome film and its moderate contrast, shadow detail is well preserved.
Conclusions
I always enjoy shooting with instant film when I have the chance. Thanks to low-cost cameras and materials—especially when compared with rival Impossible—Instax Mini is the dominant format, so it's no surprise that Fujifilm decided to launch its Monochrome film in this size. At the end of the day, my only real complaint is that I can't buy the film in the larger Instax Wide format. I hope it's only a matter of time before that changes, but in the meantime, Instax Mini owners who want take a break from color should order a few packs of the Monochrome film and have some fun.