Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-13)

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 7 September 2019 51

OUTOFthebox,I had trouble

gettingtheMintInstantKon

RF70toworksensibly at all. But

afterdiagnosingand addressing

itsproblems,I wasable to get

moreacceptableresults. It’s

clearthatthecamera is capable

of producingsomeattractive

images,withitslens delivering

sharperresultsandgreater

backgroundblurthan the Instax

Wide300’ssimple95mm f/14

opticcan.Astowhether Instax

film’sratherlow-fiaesthetic

justifiesthecostand effort

required,that’ssomething

eachphotographerwill have

todecideforthemself.

Thisreviewhasprobably

comeacrossasa hatchet job

ona smallcameramaker, but

it’sreallynotmeant to be. I love

thefactthatwelive in a world

wherecompanieslike Mint can

existandmakeoddball cameras

likethis.I actuallylike the RF70’s

concept,butsadlyit just doesn’t

workaswellasit should. If

anything,thisis a salutary

reminderof justhow diffi cult

it is tomakethesewonderful

precisioninstruments that we’ve

cometotakeforgranted.

Ve r d i c t

Filmtype InstaxWide

Imagesize 99 x 62mm

Lens 93mmf/5.6

Minimumfocus 0.75m

Shutterspeeds 1-1/500sec

Exposuremodes Aperturepriority, Manual

Metering Single-cell reflective

Exposurecomp +/-1E V

Flash Built-in,auto brightness

Viewfinder Realimage, 0.44x

Power 2xA Abatteries

Dimensions^182 x 122 x 64mm

Weight 806g

Data fi le

Film ejection is separate from
the shutter release, and instead
activated using a top-plate lever,
which makes it easy to experiment
with multiple exposures. For
indoor photography there’s a
pop-up electronic fl ash, released
by a sliding switch, but it’s fully
automatic. On one side of the
body you’ll also fi nd a 2.5mm
sync socket that can be used
to trigger studio strobes.

In practical use
On paper, the RF70 has
everything you need to engage
in creative photography. But
operationally, it’s decidedly quirky.
Indeed, in my fi rst couple of
sessions shooting with it, almost
every shot came out badly.
Out-of-focus, fogged, under- or
overexposed – you name it, I got it.
So what are the problems?
First, detailed testing of the
rangefi nder reveals that it suffers
from hysteresis; in other words,
the indicated focus distance is
different depending on which
direction you move the focus ring.
In fact, it’s only accurate when you
start from the near-focus position.
But as the lens should be set to

infi nity when you open the

camera, it’s easy to see how you

can get poorly focused shots.

Second, I found the fi lm

was highly prone to fogging in

daylight. Examination of the prints

suggested light was getting in past

the fi lm-door, so I covered up the

gaps using black insulation tape,

which seemed to help.

Third, exposure is rather

hit-and-miss. Being a direct

process, Instax has minimal

latitude: overexpose by a stop and

the prints will look washed-out,

underexpose and they go dark

and muddy. This demands a more

accurate metering system than

the RF70 possesses. In fl at lighting

the camera generally exposes a

touch too light for my tastes, while

in bright light it’s all over the place.

Switch to manual mode, and you’ll

fi nd that the green LED unhelpfully

indicates ‘correct’ exposure across

two or three stops range.

Part of the problem appears

to be that the metering cell is

mounted very close to the surface

of the body, meaning it has a very

wide acceptance angle and can be

overly infl uenced by a bright sky.

One fi x for this is the old trick of

pointing the camera downwards

to meter off the ground, but I’d

also be tempted to build a hood

for the cell out of Sugru to narrow

its angle. Indeed on Fujifi lm’s own

Instax cameras, the meter is

recessed much more deeply.

There’s a further problem in

bright sunlight, as the ISO 800

fi lm requires the minimum

exposure settings available,

namely 1/500sec at f/22. So if

you want to shoot with a larger

aperture for creative effect, you

need to use one of the proprietary

ND fi lters. But while the camera

will indicate which fi lter it thinks

you need, it has no way of

knowing whether it’s fi tted, so

auto-exposure won’t work. The

upshot of all this is that you’ll

probably get the most consistent

results if you’re prepared to

shoot in manual mode using

an external lightmeter.

Top right: The circular
rangefinder window is
positioned just below
the viewfinder

Right: The focusing
and aperture rings
encircle the lens

Far right: The folding
design results in a
relatively slim body

The monochrome film can give

attractive results, but contrast is low^