Overall, my cameras sucked, but the film was passable. That said, I got reasonable mid-tones and saw more detail that my Instax Color images throughout the range initially leading me to suspect that the grain was finer. Shadows rapidly lose detail while highlights are lost. Instax Monochrome’s dynamic range is limited, but not quite as badly as Instax Color. You might argue the printer might be off calibration, or that the image resolution is limited by the printer, but seeing as I got better results than from a camera, I’d say these criticisms are moot in real-world situations. Instead, I bought a Fujifilm Instax SP-2 printer. Next, I tried shooting test targets, both printed and on the screen, but my Mini 7S and 50S lack the exposure and flash control to allow that and I would never be sure if the discrepancies were camera or film-related. Given that I work mostly in black and white, I have a fairly good idea how a typical silver-based panchromatic monochrome film desaturates and this wasn’t quite the same. One thing that bothered me was they didn’t always come out as I had previsualised. I spent hours staring and squinting at the images under different lights to try and pin down what specifically was off about the images. Maybe it didn’t help that the exposure was off and I didn’t see enough detail where I wanted it, but I couldn’t be sure if it was the film or the camera at fault. Blacks didn’t seem black enough and shadows had an indistinct green cast. ![]() The results weren’t in colour but I hesitate to call them ‘monochrome’. By the end of the session, while the novelty still hadn’t worn off, I was inwardly a little disappointed at the result. I rushed out and burned through a pack in minutes. I was super excited to have a go with Fujifilm’s new Instax Mini Monochrome. I have used various products by Polaroid, even their tiny i-Zone film, various generations of Impossible Project films, and of course Fujifilm’s Instax Wide and Instax Mini. I have used integral films for almost 40 years. However, it does go into more detail than anything I’ve found elsewhere on the internet. I’m going to call this an informal assessment, because it’s neither properly a product review, nor a test report. ![]() ![]() Investigating Fuji INSTAX Mini Monochrome, Color and the Fuji SP-2 Printer - EMULSIVE Close Search for:
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