Before Instagram, there was Polaroid. Those with first-hand knowledge of the nineties surely remember the heyday of instant cameras and how cool it was to see a picture develop in front of your eyes. I was way too poor and way too Eastern European to own one back then and when Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2008, that seemed to be it.

But like other nostalgia-tinged items, instant cameras have made kind of a comeback. Although they are far from rivalling modern cameras and mobile phones that now take fantastic pictures with extreme ease, many different models exist and seem to be quite popular. I think this is partly because of the current love for filters: polaroid pictures make everything look faded and cool – you can take a photo of your old socks and they’ll appear nonchalantly elegant in a slightly grungy way. And the thrill of seeing the picture coming out of the camera never really went away.

We bought a Fujifilm instax mini 70 camera for our daughter, so that she could take her own photos during the Japan trip. She loved it, but I suspect we loved it a little bit more. This s a nice model that’s completely adequate if you simply want to take physical instant photos – just don’t forget to buy enough film, as you don’t get any with the camera itself.

I’m so in love with the results, however, that I’m considering buying another camera for myself. This one not only looks good, but also saves digital copies of the photos that you can use on social media or however you like. I also imagine I’d use the physical photos for mood boards and taking them would be a fun thing for parties and other outings with friends. Of course, you need to make sure you actually store or file them somehow, rather than finding a couple of them in every bag and drawer, as is maybe possibly hypothetically a bit the case at the moment. So I might stick to stealing my daughter’s camera for the moment, until I’m sure I can handle the outcome.