When I reviewed the Lomo'Instant($69.00 at Amazon) last year I was left wanting one thing: larger images. The Instax Mini format is just a bit too small for my tastes. Lomography's latest instant camera, the Lomo'Instant Wide ($199), uses the larger Instax Wide film format, capturing images that are about twice as large for about a nickel more per exposure. Fujifilm makes a camera that takes the same film, the Instax Wide 300($92.08 at Amazon), but Lomography's offering is a much more serious piece of photographic equipment. As such, it earns our Editors' Choice award for instant film cameras.

Design
Instax Wide film is big—3.4 by 4.25 inches including the border, with an image that's 2.4 by 3.9 inches. The Lomo'Instant Wide has to hold the film (packaged in cartridges that hold 10 shots each), so it's pretty large in its own right. It measures 5.75 by 7.5 by 3.75 inches (HWD), taking up quite a bit of room in your bag.

The camera is available in a number of colors. Our review unit is black, but you can also buy it in white at the same $199 price point. The tan-and-silver Central Park edition is $259, and the blue, silver, and teal Portobello Road variation sells for $249, but both of those models include extra lenses and accessories.

Controls are minimal. The shutter button sits at the front of the camera, below the optical viewfinder and flash. Rear buttons turn the flash on or off and toggle Multiple Exposure mode. A switch sets automatic exposure control—you can set it at 0, -1, or +1 EV. The power switch sits at the bottom right corner of the rear. It has an A position for automatic exposure, as well as Bulb (B) and 1/30-second exposures.

The Instant Wide uses an ambient light meter for automatic exposure. For the most part it does a good job, but there are situations where it's not going to nail the shot. I found that it had difficulty in darker environments, with a tendency to fire the flash to the point of overexposure. And, as with any ambient meter, you're going to have issues with automatic exposure if your subject is in darker or brighter light than the general light of your environment. Exposure compensation is certainly handy, as is the ability to set the shutter speed manually to 1/30-second or via Bulb, which keeps the shutter open for as long as you hold the button down.

You'll need to use a flash for indoor shooting—Instax film is ISO 800, but the f/8 lens means that photos in typical home lighting are going to be very dark or blurry without the aid of some extra light. The shutter can fire as quickly as 1/500-second in automatic mode. Don't worry about overexposing on bright days—the lens will stop down to f/22 when required to prevent blowing out a scene.

The built-in flash does a good job, as long as you don't get too close to your subject (in those cases I found that it tended to give photos a washed out look). If you're interested in stepping up your lighting game you can sync with an external flash, or even studio strobes, via a standard PC Sync socket, located on the left side of the lens board.

The lens is a fixed 90mm f/8 design—that's equivalent to a moderate wide-angle 35mm lens on a full-frame camera. It's a pure manual focus optic, with markings on the barrel for focus at the minimum 0.5-meter (1.6 feet) distance, as well as for subjects between 1 and 2 meters (3.3 to 6.6 feet) away, and a mark at infinity. There's a mirror next to the lens to help you frame a selfie shot.

One neat feature that you may overlook is the ability to fire the shutter via an infrared remote. Instead of including a dedicated remote, Lomo has built the IR emitter into the lens cap. Four AA batteries are required to power the camera. I shot four packs of film on a single set with frequent flash with no problems.

Pricing can vary, but you can find Instax Wide film online for about $0.80 per shot. That's a slight premium over Instax Mini film, which sells for about $0.75 per frame. It's much more affordable than the instant film that Impossible sells for old Polaroid cameras—it's priced around $3 per frame—but can still be expensive for bulk shooters. But one thing that's missing from the Instax library are film options other than color—Impossible shooters can opt for black-and-white film.

Add-On Lenses
A 35mm angle is fine for framing a shot of just yourself for a selfie, but it's not ideal for groups. If you opt to spend a bit more on the Central Park or Portobello Road editions, you'll get a wide-angle conversion lens, as well as a macro lens (supporting 0.1-meter focus) and a Splitzer. Lomo also offers the black and white versions of the camera with these extras for $239.

The wide-angle conversion lens expands the field of view to about 21mm. That's a boon for selfies, landscapes, and shooting in tight spaces. An accessory viewfinder is included—it can be swapped with the one that ships installed in the camera—so you'll be able to frame shots without guesswork.

And there's the Splitzer. It's meant to be used in conjunction with the Instant Wide's multiple exposure capability. It blocks part of the frame—at least half—but you can adjust it to block all but a slice. It's fairly easy to use if you're simply going for interesting, layered multiple exposures, but trying to use it more deliberately can be tricky. I attempted to use it for a split before and after shot of a groom getting dressed up on his wedding day, but as you can see from the image below, I didn't do a great job matching the framing of the two halves of the image.

Conclusions
If you're an instant film lover who has been waiting for a serious camera that offers some semblance of manual exposure control and doesn't limit you to the tiny Instax Mini format, look no further. Even in its base configuration, the Lomo'Instant Wide is a lot of fun to use. The tactile, physical feel of a real photograph simply can't be replicated by a digital camera. There's no Photoshop for instant shots, but you can still get creative with multiple exposures, which isn't an option with the Fuji Instax Wide 300. Choosing the package with the add-on lenses and Splitzer only enhances the shooting experience. I recommend it. But even on its own, the Lomography Lomo'Instant Wide is the best instant camera you can buy new today, and earns our Editors' Choice award.

Lomography Lomo'Instant Wide Specs

Best Camera Picks

• The Best DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras for 2020
• The Best Bridge Cameras for 2020
• The Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras for 2020
• The Best Instant Cameras for 2020
• More Camera Reviews
• More from Lomography

Camera Product Comparisons

• Nikon D7100 vs. Nikon D7200
• Nikon D500 vs. Nikon D750
• Sony Alpha 5100 vs. Sony Alpha 6000
• Canon EOS 6D vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
• Sony Alpha 6000 vs. Sony Alpha 6300

Further Reading

• Canon vs. Nikon vs. Sony: Choosing the Right Camera System
• Raspberry Pi's $50 'High Quality Camera' Supports Interchangeable Lenses
• How to Use Your Canon DSLR as a Webcam
• Canon Details Upcoming EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera
• Peak Design to Donate First Round of Travel Tripod Profits to Charity