So much money for a red dot?

Stylish

I have already seen the Leica Sofort at Photokina in Cologne. Behind a closed display case. So I was all the more excited when I unpacked it. The red dot - the Leica logo - is perfectly positioned. Not too conspicuous. Nevertheless, you can recognise it at first glance. I immediately pick up the camera and realise that it is beautiful and of high quality. The materials look expensive, almost classy. Nothing reminds me of the other instant cameras with their brightly coloured plastic design. Nevertheless, some people will ask themselves why they are paying so much money for plastic. Because the Leica Sofort is also made of plastic. But it is made of high-quality processed and stylishly designed plastic. Comparable in style and size to the cheaper Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic. Nevertheless, I like the Leica Sofort better. The Sofort is available in three colours:

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort (mint)

5

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Instant (Orange)

1

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort

1

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort (mint)

5

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Instant (Orange)

1

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort

1

First setbacks

Finally, I'm holding a real Leica in my hand. And I realise: Damn, it's big. And unwieldy. Selfies with one hand? Portrait format pictures? We'll see. At the moment, I feel safest when I can hold it with both hands. Switch on. Oh well. Accidentally pressed the shutter button. Zack, a picture is printed. I'll practise that again. The on/off button is on the back. So far so good. It doesn't have a display. In its place is the battery. The film is inserted behind it. Later I realise that a display would be really cool. Instead of a display, there is an optical viewfinder. That does the job too. Tip: Only open the film door marked with a red slider when the film is empty. Otherwise it will automatically show 10 images again, even though there may not be that many left.

"Correct" photography

Insert the film and you're ready to go. When you insert a new film, the battery must be fully charged. You can use both Leica and Fujifilm Instax mini films.

Instant filmAvailability unknown

Leica Duo Cassette

Universal

5

Instant filmavailable

CHF22.90

Fujifilm Instax Mini

Instax Mini

2498

Leica advertises the Sofort with slogans such as "Frame the Moment" or "Genuine Raw - Photography Unplugged". In a nutshell: It's all about "real" photography. No display to see the result, no delete button to delete superfluous images. Every motif has to be right here. After all, it is printed out straight away and thus captured on paper for eternity. I have a hard time with that. I wanted to test the Leica Sofort during a weekend in Munich. In the end, I didn't take a single photo, because I was never overwhelmed by the subject. If I'd had my digital camera with me, I would probably have taken a few. So after the weekend I wished I had a display for the Leica Sofort. Yes, it is an instant camera. An analogue camera in the broader sense and so there is simply no display. Wouldn't make sense either. So I went out again - and lo and behold: it worked. I found some cool subjects and I even enjoyed it. I had to concentrate on the essentials, decide whether the motif was worth investing a franc. Somehow something very beautiful and grounding in times of digitalisation.

Zoom

No other instant camera has a zoom yet. Neither the Fujifilm Instax models nor the Polaroid cameras can keep up here. The lens even has an adjustment ring. So you can zoom. Of course, the zoom cannot be compared with a normal zoom. Nevertheless, you get a different look and image detail. Especially with street photography and portraits, you can get more out of it than with comparable instant cameras. At the same time, however, I was a little disappointed as I would have expected more from the zoom. Focussing is also possible. The focus point here is not a point, not a rectangle, but a black circle. One thing is clear: background blur, bokeh and other stylistic elements of photography are not possible.

Macro, long exposure or party

Like other instant cameras, the Leica Sofort comes with a range of different modes. I have tested them all. Conclusion: The modes are carefully selected, are really different from each other and increase your scope enormously. The same subject can look completely different. For example, there is a macro, party, sports and selfie mode. You can also use a self-timer and create cool effects with the double exposure function. There is a flash for dark subjects. However, I particularly used the sun function. This brightens up the picture and gives it a friendlier look. Without the sun, the subject is often very gloomy even in optimal lighting conditions (i.e. with sun).

The selfie mirror

Are you even in the photo? And do you look good? I can actually see more in the mirror than I thought. Still really practical. If you want to take portrait format selfies or pictures, you have to turn the Instax to the right. Then the edge of the film is at the bottom. Compared to a normal camera, this is unusual at first.

Film selection

Leica films bathe your subject in warmer light. The Instax films have the typical Fujifilm blue tint. But this is only noticeable in direct comparison. And I have to be honest, even then it's really only minimally noticeable. But there are some YouTubers who make a little science out of it. So I didn't want to withhold this from you: Fuji vs Leica film paper Incidentally, contrary to popular belief that you have to shake the pictures to get them ideally dry - you don't need to do that. Just lay them down and wait. If you are travelling, you can also hold them to dry. But be careful: always hold on to the white edge - don't hold your finger on the picture that is being created (sounds banal? Hold four such pictures at the same time ;)).

Conclusion: Recommendation to buy

Now that I've been able to think about it again with a little distance: I would buy the Leica Sofort. You get a stylish and high-quality camera that could become a collector's item in a few years' time. With this new way of taking photos, you will discover many new things and see everyday subjects with new eyes. At least that's how I felt. Sure, it's expensive to buy and it costs you a francs per picture, but you have to concentrate on the essentials again and you get:

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort (mint)

5

Analogue + Instant camerasAvailability unknown

Leica Sofort (mint)

5

• Cool design
• High-quality workmanship
• Easy to operate
• The zoom
• Sensible modes that are different
• Selfie mirror
• New possibilities
• Can be mounted on a tripod

More inspiration