The best instant camera gifts

Buy it for

Anyone. Beginners, teenagers, adults, children over about eight.

Skip it if

Someone who has specifically asked for a big print or a Polaroid.

• •Twist the lens to switch it on, press the button, print comes out. Nothing to explain.
• •About **85 cents a shot** on film sold in supermarkets, so they can afford to keep using it.
• •Two AA batteries, available anywhere, roughly 100 shots per set.
• •The cheapest mistake in the category: a wasted frame costs 85 cents, not $2.37.

Running cost: instax mini works out at $0.85 a shot. See every format’s cost.

Buy it for

Anyone who will use it at gatherings — which is most people who want one.

Skip it if

Someone squeezing the budget who will never use a timer.

• •A **2- or 10-second self-timer**, which no other simple instax has.
• •Same 85-cent film, same AA batteries, same simplicity.
• •The current entry-level instax, so film and accessories stay easy to find.

Running cost: instax mini works out at $0.85 a shot. See every format’s cost.

Buy it for

An adult, especially one who likes considered objects.

Skip it if

A tight film budget, or anyone who will resent buying CR2 batteries.

• •A 2.4 x 2.4 inch square picture for about **$1.15 a shot** — under half Polaroid's cost.
• •Engadget rates it the best instant camera overall, citing the leatherette detailing and retro design.
• •CR2 batteries last about 30 film packs, so battery anxiety is not part of the gift.

Running cost: instax SQUARE works out at $1.15 a shot. See every format’s cost.

Buy it for

Anyone whose camera roll is thousands deep and whose walls are empty.

Skip it if

Anyone who wanted the moment of a print developing in their hand.

• •About **42 cents a print** — half the cheapest instant film.
• •Bundles usually include media, so it works out of the box.
• •Connects by Bluetooth **or cable**, with a Lightning adapter included — no pairing required.
• •Prints come out dry, laminated and smudge-proof.

Running cost: Kodak 4PASS 2.1 x 3.4 works out at $0.42 a shot, so a hundred photographs in the first year puts the real total at about $139.97 including the camera. See every format’s cost.

Buy it for

Someone who named the brand specifically and wants something pocketable.

Skip it if

Anyone expecting the classic big print. The Go photograph is smaller than an instax mini.

• •The cheapest route to real Polaroid film, at **$89.99 listed**.
• •Genuinely pocketable at 251.9 g, with a self-timer and double exposure.
• •Go film is Polaroid's cheapest at about $1.37 a shot.

Running cost: Polaroid Go works out at $1.37 a shot, so a hundred photographs in the first year puts the real total at about $243.92 including the camera. See every format’s cost.

Buy it for

Someone who will take a lot of photographs and hate paying for the bad ones.

Skip it if

A child, or anyone who wants one simple object.

• •A screen means wasted frames cost nothing, which roughly halves the real cost per keeper.
• •A hundred lens-and-film effect combinations, reached with two physical dials.
• •Also prints from a phone, so it replaces a separate printer.

Running cost: instax mini works out at $0.85 a shot. See every format’s cost.