Throwback Edit Version: I edited this in August 2024, checked links and converted it to the new WordPress format.
This isn’t the kind of camera I usually buy. It only takes ten small photos and it is bulky….and then I remembered the bronica. That is big, bulky and only takes 15 shots..good shots, but still only 15, plus I had to buy a new scanner to use it.
Here was this “cheki” little camera which I could get for $7. New ones cost waaaaay more than that. So I thought what the heck and added it to the pile I was already wombling this day.
The name “cheki” comes from the Japanese habit of shortening foreign words or phrases. In this instance, it stands for “check it”. This was the first version of the instax line and came out in 1998. Just when other film cameras and polaroids were going the way of the dodo, this line has been going from strength to strength. A new version was just released in 2015. Luckily, unlike most products, the film available today still fits the older versions of the camera. This website tells you all you need to know about instant cameras.
This one was very easy to use. It automatically focused on less than 3m, if you want to take shots further away you had to change the settings which moved the lens position.
So for that cheap price did it work? Well, I almost didn’t have proof that it did. I took it to work and quite honestly it caused a mini-riot with some of the Japanese staff, “ooh cheki checki..does it have film? Take a picture!!” and four shots were quickly gone. So I decided to use the rest of the film on ‘stuff’ and a selfie so the photos would remain in my possession.
And once I finished the cartridge, I also lost the camera. If my Japanese friend could not have the photos then maybe she could have the camera??? “It was cheap, you will find another??”, “I can use it with the kids?!”, “It’s for work!”
So no keep or sell…just STOLEN! But she was right, I did find another and bought it, they really are fun 🙂
And you do not have to shake it like a Polaroid picture, though some people still do it.
Cool, I’ve been considering getting one of these for a project I have in mind, mainly cos I love the look of Instax film but also cos these are pretty reasonably priced on ebay.
You can get one here for $20 but this one was really cheap so I wasn’t expecting it to work. I recommend getting one, the quality is surprisingly good.
Funny story!