Black & White Photography - September 2015 UK

76

B+W

LIKES

LIKES

DISLIKES

DISLIKES

Captures an eight-shot

sequence on one photo

Simple point and shoot camera

No batteries required

Produces reasonably large

instant pictures

Includes close-up attachment

Built-in flash

Fixed focus, aperture and

shutter speed

Requires bright light to work well

Lift-up viewfinder

No black & white film available

Flash always fires in dim light

Little exposure control

T

he Fuji Instax Wide 300

is a big and chunky

instant camera that

uses Fujifilm Instax

Wide film. On paper, this film

occupies the perfect niche,

being considerably larger than

Instax Mini film and much less

expensive than Impossible

Project Polaroid film. That said,

it’s still at least 75p a shot,

which could be pricey for high

volume users, and there is no

black & white option available.

The photograph measures

86x108mm, with an image size

of 62x99mm. Pictures have that

classic instant film look, slightly

washed out and with little

detail. It’s also very consistent

and tends not to display any of

the wild developing accidents

you might find with vintage

instant film. The camera sports

a retractable 95mm f/14 prime

lens, which when twisted shifts

from a 0.9m-3m focus distance

to 3m-infinity. The lens will also

take a close-up attachment,

which allows you to get as

close as 40cm to a subject.

The flash fires automatically in

dim conditions and the only

manual control is exposure

compensation to lighten or

darken the image.

T

he Oktomat is perhaps

the essence of a toy

camera in that it’s

small, cheap and fun

to use, while giving the most

unexpected results. The flip

side to this is that it’s built like

a throwaway camera, offers

next to no control over the

exposure and, more often than

not, produces disappointing

pictures. Still, the idea of the

Oktomat is intriguing, in that it

uses eight lenses to capture a

series of shots over 2.5 seconds

on a single frame of 35mm film

• creating a sequence of images
  in one photograph. With its fixed
  focusing, a fixed f/8 aperture and
  fixed 1/100sec shutter speed all
  you have to do is point and shoot


• except of course, the photos
  are often more interesting when
  you move the camera during the
  shot. There is a lift-up viewfinder
  but it doesn’t help much. The
  Oktomat takes any kind of
  35mm film but benefits from
  a fast film used in bright light.
  Images are of low quality, but
  the light leaks and inconsistent
  colour capture add to the charm.

OKTOMAT FUJI INSTAX WIDE 300

TECH SPECS

TECH SPECS

Film 35mm

Focusing distance None

Flash None

Viewfinder Lift-up frame

Tripod mount No

Battery None

RRP £39

Contact microsites.lomography.com/oktomat

Film Fujifilm Instax Wide

Focusing distance 0.9m-infinity

Flash Built-in

Viewfinder Optical

Tripod mount Yes

Battery 4 x AAA

RRP £129

Contact shop.lomography.com/gb/cameras/instant-cameras/fuji-instax-

wide-300

EIGHT SHOTS IN ONE LARGE INSTANT PHOTOS

A sequence of eight

shots fit onto a single

35mm frame with

the Oktomat

‘On paper, this fi lm occupies the perfect niche,

being considerably larger than Instax Mini fi lm

and much less expensive than Impossible

Project Polaroid fi lm.’

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