The PowerShot G7X Mk3 has been unobtainium for a while (over a year) as my G7X MkII has been malfunctioning/breaking down, and I couldn’t replace it unless I got a Sony.
There was rumors, and they are true. Canon unveiled the PowerShot V1. This video-first camera is their answer to the Sony ZV-1, the “vlogging” camera. One big caveat: you can only get it in major Asian markets, in April 2025.
A few bits: the sensor is roughly the size of a m4/3 sensor, but in 3:2 aspect ratio, which is larger than on the G7X, it has IS, audio jack for input and output, articulated screen, 4K, and a 16-50mm equivalent.
From the picture it looks more bulky, with a bigger grip than the G7X.
To be determined is the price, and the availability in Canada (and the rest of the world).
For reference the G7X MkIII has a MSRP of CA$1069.00, and the MarkII was about CA$100 less, the Fujfilm X-M5 with the kit lens is CA$1199.00, and the Sony Z-V1 II is CA$999.00
It’s a 35mm “redscale” negative film in the standard C-41 process. It’s a new emulsion based of the Phoenix colour film. Rated at 125 ISO it can be shot between 50 and 400 ISO for different effect. It comes in a 36 exposure roll.
No more respooling to save on costs, which is what a lot of reseller were doing. Paying USD$8-9 for a roll of Ektachrome instead of USD$22 from Kodak was a significant saving.
Eastman Kodak has temporarily paused all film production. The news comes as part of a shutdown in November allowing the company to upgrade and modernize its Rochester, New York factory,
I tried to not make the headline click-bait, like the bits I saw earlier this week.
This is actually a good news in which Kodak need to pause production to better produce, due to increased demand. Increased demand is good, as it means film is alive.
In 2020, Eastman Kodak said demand for film had doubled between 2015 and 2019, after a decade-long period of decline following the start of consumer digital photography.
Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, and, along with some help from Samsung and other manufacturers, it would change photography forever. However, iPhone sales didn’t really take off until around 2012, and, what do you know, that’s when the compact camera crash began.
The author isn’t enthusiastic on point and shoot cameras making a comeback. Charts show the very steep decline in the number of models released and the steep rise (and mostly plateau-ed) number of smartphones sold.
As I previously linked manufacturers were unprepared for the point and shoot camera revival when some demand for advanced compact camera came following some influencers, and it might be that we’ll only get these more costly compact camera. The Fujifilm X100VI is basically unobtainium and the already few years old Canon G7X MkIII is even worse. The Ricoh GR III availability is trending that way too, while Leica has the D-Lux 8, a rebadged Panasonic that cost as much as the Fujifilm. As for Sony, it seems that their focus seems to be on the ZV series that are geared towards video, this being stripped down version of the RX100 that hasn’t an update for a while. The only not too pricey segment that seems to exist is the rugged cameras, combination of tough and underwater resistance for which both Ricoh and Olympus have updated model.
I just bought a Fujifilm Instax Square Link. It is a device that print Instax Square picture. Send from your smartphone a picture, obtain a hard copy on Instax Square instant film. If you have an Instax Mini Link, this is the same for Instax Square.
What’s in the box?
The box contains the printer, a light manual and a USB-C to A cable for charging.
The printer is battery powered (hence the cable). There is no film. I got a pack of white border and a pack of black borders.
The printer is like a big bar of soap. It is still slightly larger than my Instax Mini 90 Neo camera, but that’s to factor in the difference in size of the film pack.
I has two buttons, large one having a LED to show the status, a large door at the back for the film cartridge and a small trap door hiding the USB charging port and a reset hole. The latter is for cases where the troubleshooting involve turning it off and on. There is no display, like for the number of frames left.
The Instax Square Link compared for size to an Instax Mini 90
The initial setup consist of charging the printer using the provided USB cable (or any USB-C cable for that matter) and a charger (not included); and loading the instax square cartridge. That step is exactly the same as loading you favourite Instax camera.
To turn the printer on, press the big button for a solid second, it will light up white. The colour will change to flashing purple when printing
Print job
Screenshot of the Instax Square Link app
To use it you need a compatible smart phone (Android or iOS), install the Instax app and connect to the printer with Bluetooth. Within the app you can select images to print, and it’s fairly easy. There are other features within the app but beside the collage or frame print, I really don’t get it.
From my phone I printed a picture I posted a while ago on Instagram, works great. I also printed a picture I took recently directly with my phone. As long that the image is on your phone, you can print it.
Once you printed a picture, you can press the smaller button to reprint it, until the printer turns off. Otherwise you can use the application history to re-print later on. In some circumstance it doesn’t recollect the picture printed on the iOS app. This seems to happen if you use “share” to the Instax Link Square instead of selecting the picture from the application.
The Instax Square Link ejecting the print.
Fujifilm manual state that the print takes 90 seconds to develop, but in my tests after 2 minutes it wasn’t developed.
The print developing after 2 minutes.
In the end you obtain a colourful print.
Print from the Instax Square Printer
The output ressemble a lot to the scan.
Instax Camera
One of the feature in the app is the “Instax Camera”. It is basically the camera app to take the picture before printing it. It put the live view inside a small Instax frame. It allow adding the date time superimposed, printed as a 9 segments led display, another bout of nostalgia that the demographics of that device have no recollection of.
Cost
The printer cost CAD$180 (I got mine on sale at CAD$160). On regular price, it’s priced between the SQ1, the cheapest Instax Square and the SQ40 the more comprehensive model. It’s not gonna break the bank.
The 2x 10-pack of film with white borders was CAD$28, and the single 10-pack of black border was CAD$17. That make a cost per print to CAD$1.40 for the white border and CAD$1.70 for the black border. There are other colours a bit more fancy if you like. You can buy the white border film in bigger pack which bring down the price per unit. A 100 pack bring the cost down to CAD1.20 a print. Also while I can find Instax Mini at my local pharmacy, Instax Square is less common. This is to be considered if you need resupplies in a hurry.
Instax Square film pack in its protective packaging as coming out of the box
Specs
The image size is a 62mm square (2.4in). The image printed is 800×800 pixels, which boils to 318 dpi. That’s a resolution similar to any print you got from a minilab. According to the manufacturer you can print around 100 pictures (that’s 10 packs) with a single recharge.
– Requires a phone app, very limited interoperability.
– Unlike older models can’t be used from a Fuji-X camera.
– What will die first? The printing mechanism or its battery that can’t be replaced.
After thoughts
I enjoy using my Instax Mini but I’m often left off guard with the quality, and it seem all related to the optics on the camera and the exposure, with a limited dynamic range. It’s possibly part of the challenge. The printer demonstrate that the film rendition is good and that an hybrid like the Instax Mini Evo would probably offer similar results. Sadly the hybrid Instax Square SQ10 and SQ20 cameras that were in the earlier Instax Square lineup are no more so the search for a better image quality will probably need to be sought out of the other camare makers like Lomography, MINT or NONS.
