Why Instax camera for teen and not a normal one?

[NullcovoidNovember]

What am I missing?

Dd 13 wants a camera, she's into her photography... Which one is better?

Don't buy an instax. They look great and are cute but the photo quality is rubbish. Get her a proper camera (or a phone upgrade - my Samsung 10 takes better photos than any camera I ever owned).

DD 12 got bored of her instax within 2 months.

My older son has one which he used a lot at university and my younger son has Instax prints on his noticeboard which his girlfriend has taken. I think they’re seen as being fun and instant but the film is expensive and you don’t get the clarity that you have with a normal camera or phone. I think it’s around £15 for 20 basic prints and they can click through that in minutes.

Wow that's expensive!!

I can see the instant print is fun but I'll give it a miss, thank you.

Hi OP, has your DD specifically asked for the Instax? If so, I'd get her that. I appreciate the quality may be not as high as a real camera, but she's bound to be disappointed otherwise.

It depends what she wants really, if it's the capability to instantly print you can get sprocket printers that you link to via Bluetooth, and they print (small size) photos- but as you don't buy ink for them it's loaded into the paper effectively, the paper will always be expensive. If it's a camera to take digital photos then in honesty most phones take good quality ones, but if she really wants to learn to adjust contrast etc then you could get a cheap digital DSLR (depending what your budget is). If she has a phone already that takes good photos and she wants to have them on her computer, but then maybe a USB stick (can be personalised to say X's photos if you wanted something special), and the connecting cable to make it easier to transfer or something? Or a scrap book and a boots voucher so she can print at one of their in-store machines? A book on photography?

If you go with the Instax you need to consider how she would pay for the paper going forward, otherwise it will no doubt soon be discarded.

No she hasn't asked for an instax and she already has a sprocket.

She does use her camera phone but she's hinted at a real camera.

I’d just get her a digital camera, it depends on your budget as to how technical a camera you get and it’s easy to get prints done if she wants copies.

I was looking online at those digital instant cameras the other day.

It amused me that, despite the vast advances in technology over the last 40 years, they have exactly the same drawbacks as the old Instamatics - rubbish picture quality and expensive 'film'.

I love my instax and it has been a hit with children at family dos. One advantage is I can give pics to my dad (and other older relatives) that he can physically show people, but I could do that with a printer. The cost of the 'film' has come down a lot, you can get 20 photos for £7.00 if you loot around.

If she is interesting in photography seriously she will need a DSLR and they are not cheap but do last. Maybe you need to have a chat with her about what she wants to do with her camera.

I still have my SLR from my 16th birthday, I no longer have my enlarger and chemicals though.

In that case I would look on eBay for a second hand DSLR, you can pick up a canon (good starter camera but with lots of functionality even for the basic models) for around £50- they are usually a few hundred new.

If she is really into her photography, a decent camera is way better than just a phone camera or Instax.

The only thing is she does love the features she can use on her phone, the filters.. I wonder if she would find a traditional camera boring

I’ve just bought DD(13) an Insta camera from John Lewis this morning. Was £69 but got it for £54. They’re £10 off and JL emailed me a £5 off voucher the other week that needed using.
I know the film is expensive but she’s only asked for that for Christmas and some clothes and she’ll love putting the photos on her corkboard.