I love snapping photos with Instagram. I’ll even admit that I’m one of those annoying people taking pictures of food before I eat it.

Promoting local business through Instagram pics is something I get a lot of joy out of too – tag it, share it, instant customers for that awesome third wave coffee guy. But the one thing I’ve been starting to think about a lot lately is the lack of actual physical photos that I have.

If I wanted to make a scrapbook of photos (not that I do, but…), it would be hard to do. Sure, I could print them out, somehow, and put them together, but that’s not really the kind of instant society that I’ve become accustomed to – I want my pictures, and I want them now. So you might say that Fujifilm’s new Instax camera is targeting me – and I love the idea of it.

Instax Is Instant

Shake it like a Polaro—er, Fujifilm camera. The Instax 90 is much like the Polaroids of yesteryear. Only this camera has some professional photographer additions like various settings and features such as different bulb modes and numerous exposure options. I also like the design of the Instax. The case is made of plastic, but it looks like the solid type of plastic you’d find on a picnic table made of something like Trex, and less like a plastic Frisbee you’d buy at the dollar store. The design is also retro-inspired, so that’s fun.

You will get instant photos from the Instax, as you might have guessed, and you may also like how simple this camera is to use. All you have to do is load a plastic box inside of the camera door, shut the box, and load the film. Each box comes with ten shots (at $15 or $20 a pop), so you have ten tries to take the perfect picture. As soon as you snap a photo, a box will shoot out of the side of the camera, and you can watch the photo developing magic unfold.

Where to Get It

The Instax has been in Asia for a while now, and it’s proved to be really popular there. In fact, that’s why Fujifilm has decided to bring Instax to North America. The camera will retail for around $199.99, which might be steep for many, but this camera is mostly novelty, so it will target that crowd. The Instax is currently available through Amazon and through other retailers.

My recommendation is that you should buy this camera if you want instant photos, are tired of photos that are only stored online, or just want something novel to play around with. Will it replace a professional camera or your iPhone? No, but it’s still fun to have a physical photo once in a while, right? You also won’t feel silly carrying this camera around, since its much more grownup than the other Instax options that Fujifilm has available. Would you buy it, or is this something you really don’t need?