Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-13)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 7 September 2019 49

AndyWestlakeexperiments

withanunusualinstantcamera

that features full manual control

Mint

InstantKon RF70

Testbench

At a glance

£719

●Instantfilmcamera

●UsesFujifilmInstaxWidefilm

●Foldingbellowsdesign

●Rangefinderfocusing

●Full manual control

RF70,a foldingcamerawith

rangefinder-basedfocusingand

fullymanualexposurecontrolthat

usesFujifilmInstaxWidefilm.The

tinyHongKong-basedcompany

previouslymadea twin-lensreflex

camerabasedaroundthesmaller

InstaxMiniformat.WhenI heard

abouttheRF70I wasintrigued,

andwhenAPreaderAdrian

Johnsontoldushe’dboughtthe

cameraandofferedtolendit tous

fortesting,I jumpedat the chance.

Designandbuild

WiththeRF70,Minthasuseda

classicfoldingdesignreminiscent

of oldroll-filmcameras.The

shutteris builtintothelens,while

themainbodyholdsthefilm,two

AAbatteriesandtherangefinder

mechanism.Thetwoparts

arelinkedbyflexiblelight-tight

bellows,whichallowthecamera

tofoldupconsiderablysmaller

thana rigid-bodyequivalentcould

possiblybe.TheRF70is stilla

sizeablebeast,butit’slessbulky

thanFujifilm’sownpoint-and-

shootInstax 300 Wide,whichis

muchdeeperfront-to-backowing

toitsretracting-lensdesign.

The front cover is opened by

W

hilewenaturally

focusmostof

ourattention

onmainstream

camerasaimedat theenthusiast

audience,wealsokeepa closeeye

onmoreleft-fielddevelopments.

Forexample,aspartof the

analoguerevival,there’sa clear

resurgenceof interestin instant

film.Theone-off,unpredictable

natureof instanthasalwaysheld

a certainappeal;manymedium-

formatfilmcamerascouldbefitted

withinstantbacks,andwhilethey

weremainlyusedto checklighting

set-ups,somephotographerssaw

theresultantPolaroidsasartin

theirownright.Butit’snowalmost

impossibleto finda cameracapable

of shootingmoderninstantfilmthat

offersanythingmorethana basic

point-and-shootoperation.

Whichis alla roundaboutway

Despite its folding design, the InstantKon RF70 is a sizeable beast of introducing the Mint InstantKon

TheMintRF70is a

foldingrangefinder

camerathatuses

Instax Wide film