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Using the Lomo Instant is part skill and, at least when you first start using it, part luck and educated guesswork.
The best results come when you're shooting outdoors in bright, sunny light, so it can be quite a fun way to get some interesting and unique holiday snaps. Indoors, results are a little more varied, but with the flash you can still get some good images.
The focusing system is actually not too bad for a camera like this, and by adjusting the exposure compensation you alter the aperture, which has an effect on depth of field. In good light with a narrow aperture, most of the scene will be in good focus – it's close-ups that take a little more getting used to and estimating.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time getting to know the quirks of the camera, as well as experimenting with different effects such as long exposures or multiple exposures. This is all great fun, but of course, it costs you every time you make a mistake.
We liked
With all the fun of the instant nature of digital thanks to the print it produces, but with the guesswork, trial and error and plain old fashioned fun of an analog, the Lomo Instant helps remind you why you started taking pictures in the first place.
We disliked
Be prepared to plough a fair amount of money into film, at least at first, while you get to know the quirks of the camera. It can be pretty frustrating wasting a shot knowing you only have a limited number before you need to invest in a new pack of film.
Final Verdict
Ultimately, for a camera which is just a bit of fun, it's quite expensive – and that's just the price of buying the camera in the first place. You only get 10 shots per pack of film, so that cost soon mounts up too. For fans of instant, Lomo or analog photography though, it's definitely worth a look.
