Brilliant Lego Instax Mini camera accepts and ejects Lego-fied Instax Mini film "prints"
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
A brilliant design for a Lego Instax Mini camera, which actually "takes" Lego Instax Mini film "prints", is currently being showcased on the official Lego Ideas website.
The design features a white camera, which is very close to the actual dimensions of a real Instax Mini 11. It can be loaded with a Lego instant photograph, likewise very close to the proper dimensions of Instax Mini film, and features a mechanism that ejects the photo – and even rotates the picture counter indicator as it does so.
As you can see, while the frames of the instant prints are made of Lego, the actual images are real pictures. As such, these "photos" can be customized either with designs featuring Lego characters or with your own images.
The physical design of the camera is highly impressive – not just because of how faithful it is both in terms of accuracy and scale, but also thanks to it being capable of actually ejecting an image just like a real Instax camera (by turning the lens) rather than just being a pretty, static shell.
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(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
(Image credit: MScarletto07)
For those unfamiliar with the Lego Ideas website, it's an official portal by the Lego Group where prospective Master Builders can submit ideas to the company. Operating a bit like a vote-based Kickstarter, fellow users are invited to support interesting designs by voting for them; if sufficient support is shown, the designs could be turned into actual retail products.
It may seem unlikely, but there are countless Lego products that started as fan submissions in this way, including sets based on The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, The Big Bang Theory, Disney's WALL•E, Doctor Who and numerous NASA spacecraft sets.
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"My idea is for Lego to make an official Instax instant camera with pictures. I conceived and built this Idea because I'm a photography fan at heart, and I've always loved Instant cameras," says designer MScarletto07.
"Also, I'm a sucker anything with a retro feel to them. There is something really cool about having a tangible photo after taking the picture. Lego has now expanded from bricks to Art and Fashion, I see Photography as a natural progression and expansion of the brand."
For more information and to vote for this design, visit its page on the Lego Ideas website. And be sure to check out MScarletto07's other designs on Instagram.
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.
