Topic: my Instax trick

[astrobeck]

I made an Instax pinhole print by taking one sheet out of its original cartridge, then loading and exposing it in a little tin can pinhole, then unloading it out of the tin can pinhole back into its original cartridge and putting that back in the instax camera, thus ejecting it to squash the chem pod and develop the print.....whew!
Yes it's a lot of work for a small reward...but hey, it is fun, and it's easier and easier the more you do it.

Here's my favorite of the ones I've done of the volcano that's been erupting since late March in Iceland.
I'm holding the small print in front of the TV screen.

I did this one Wednesday night when the house was dark and I could eliminate extra glare off the TV screen. The pinhole camera was about 8 inches from the TV and the exposure was 4 minutes long.

Instax is ISO 800 and it has to be exposed through the back side of the little print.

I don't think I violated any copyrights as my hubby thinks this is fair use....we can discuss that later.....

[Francois]

That's gotta be the easiest way to travel

[John Robison]

I’d like to try that with Instax Wide in 3x4 film holders. Have 3 working lenses from Kodak Tourist cameras that should be suitable and have enough coverage.

[Bryan]

I’d like to try that with Instax Wide in 3x4 film holders. Have 3 working lenses from Kodak Tourist cameras that should be suitable and have enough coverage.

I was just wondering what other cameras it would fit in. 

Becky, now you can tell all your friends you went to Iceland, you have the photo to prove it.  I don’t think it’s a copyright violation if it’s for personal use, only if you use it commercially, so don’t try to sell it.  Kind of like the mix tapes I used to make in the 80’s recording music off the radio.  Don’t take legal advice from me, I’m a Geologist, not a lawyer.

[astrobeck]

Yes, I've been tempted to get a wide pack of instax just to tryout in a dark bag and a rolling pin, (pastry roller). I don't have the wide camera to reload it in and squish the chem pod...

[Indofunk]

I don't think I violated any copyrights as my hubby thinks this is fair use....we can discuss that later.....

Is it "later" yet? 😁 The way I see things like this, both for music and photography, is if it's for "educational" purposes (eg, you are educating us on a process you use) and if it's not making you any money, you're in the clear. If it starts making money, of course the copyright holder will want a piece, but you can deal with THAT later as well 😉

[John Robison]

Thought about the Instax Wide again and looking up the size, it won’t fit a 3x4 holder. Probably need to build a custom holder out of hobby plywood. Diagonal of Wide image is 116mm so lens from a 6x9 should have sufficient image circle to cover.
The rolling pin idea is interesting.

[ManuelL]

I used Instax Wide in a 4x5 holder by cutting some small slots into an old sheet of 4x5 film to hold the corners of the instax film and then inserted the 4x5 sheet holding the instax film into the holder.

There is an instruction here: https://youtu.be/LuDwwTMwr1I

It works quite well, but I find it a bit too cumbersome to do this more offen.

[Adam Doe]

I did this very same thing with Impossible Project film when their b&w it first came out. It was fun, but not enough fun for me to repeat the process. Mine was BW and the early IP films didn't look very good in my opinion. The color on that instax shot looks great!

[Francois]

I always believed that color was the Instax's strong point.
While the colors on the original Polaroid were luscious, the Instax's really pop.

[astrobeck]

I've ordered some Wide Instax to play with...I dont' have the camera to eject the sheets and squish the chem pods, so will resort to the rolling pin trick...
The delivery of the wide stuff is tomorrow, so maybe by the weekend I'll have some "masterpiece" to share. 

[Francois]

The rolling pin trick definitely works.
I used to do that with some sheets of 4x5 Polaroid that had turned semi-solid.
They used to make a satisfying crunching sound when I squished them 

[John Robison]

I’m assuming that in total darkness you would be able to feel the bump of the film pod? A hard even surface would be needed also. I have a very smooth and flat laminate board, about 18in. square that would probably suffice for a developing surface.

[Francois]

I used to do it on my lab's countertop and it was plenty flat.
I had a metal roller from an old copy machine.

[astrobeck]

yeah, the rolling pin trick works pretty good.

My next question is, is the wide stuff the same thickness as the mini stuff?
I'm thinking I'll just make some kind of frame for inside a pinhole camera to hold it in place....thinking, scheming...

[Francois]

Yeah, they're all exactly the same. Only difference is the width that the film is cut.

[astrobeck]

and the film size is
108 mm × 86 mm

is that fairly accurate, if you have one on hand to measure

[Francois]

My instax prints are 108x85mm