Falling in love with the new twin-lens camera. Nope, I am not talking about the new iPhone 7. (MiNT’s new Instantflex TL70 2.0)

October 5, 2016 Leave a comment

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Exactly one year and 2 days ago, I blogged about the world’s first twin-lens instant camera, TL70 by MiNT. I had so much fun with the camera and wrote a couple of wishes on my blog. Guess what? One year has passed and the passionate team at MiNT (and FujiFilm) granted every wish I written that day!

While browsing on the web late last night, I found out that MiNT has launched a new Instantflex TL70 version 2.0 instant camera earlier this June. I couldn’t resist the temptation and visited the official product webpage. Impressively, MiNT has made a couple of big improvements in the new TL20 with an upgraded brand new magnifier and a 5x brighter viewfinder! Not just that, the new version 2.0 comes with new enhanced and improved internal mechanism. MiNT also introduced new accessories (leather strap & camera case) and lens set for the TL70 series!

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I was so excited about the new upgrade that I contacted MiNT on Facebook after midnight and the hardworking administrator replied! After making a few enquires, I decided to head down to MiNT this evening to check out the new camera.

The friendly staff, Jo at MiNT recognised me and gave me an excellent introduction about the new camera and its accessories. I managed to get a really good deal and without much hesitation, I came back with 2 brand new TL70 Version 2.0!

After snapping 2 cartridges of Instax, here are my first impressions: (Note: This is not a sponsored or paid blog by MiNT.)

In terms of design, the new camera looks identical to version 1.0 but the overall production quality and finishes of the new TL70 2.0 is much better than its predecessor. It could be due to the fact that I was one of the earliest users last year and I spotted some minor physical quality issues (misaligned leather, slight glue marks and fine light scratches). I remember the magnifying glass came off after just 1 day and MiNT exchanged a brand new one for me. But this time, everything is perfect.

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With the new enlarged magnifying and 5x brighter viewfinder, TL70 2.0 enhances user-experience by a big leap. Even under very dim lighting environment, I was able to focus, composed and snapped without any visual difficulty. Amazingly, my first indoor shot came out just perfect! I was pretty amazed by it! It is indeed a great improvement and it matters a lot!

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The new Lens-Kit comes with 3 ND filters, 1 close-up lens and a lens-hood. The lens are easy to attach and detach. At the store, I saw a couple of sample photos – the colours are so much richer and balanced. I personally like the “close-up” lens as it creates a shallower depth of field. However, user will find it a hassle to carry the lens in the original protection box when on the go.

I love the new TL70 EverReady Leather Case! Made from premium leather in Japan, the case comes in 2 colours – brown and black. I prefer brown but the current brown is a little too bright and light for me. In the end, I chose black. The leather case fits perfectly and the workmanship is excellent. I wish the case comes with lens pockets so I can easily slot in the lens-kit on the go.

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Overall, the TL70 2.o is a much reliable and better instant camera than its predecessor. It feels very good and it looks just as charming as before. With growing demand, I believe MiNT will continue to explore and enhance this series (with self-timer, +/- lights for over/under exposure including ND filter sensor, battery indicator, better glass optics and even adapters for 3rd party zoom lenses). With the newly launched Fujifilm Black-and-White Instax Mini Monochrome Film, MiNT sets itself in the right segment, empowering instant photographers with new endless instant inspirational creations.


Personally, I prefer this new twin-lens camera over the new iPhone 7. It is like falling in love again.


Filed under Cool Stuffs, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong Tagged with , ,

World’s First Twin-Lens Instant Camera – Mint InstantFlex TL70

October 2, 2015 5 Comments

Great things take time and It is definitely worth the long wait. Thanks to the passionate staffs at Mint, I managed to be one of the first few lucky ones to get hold of the world’s first twin lens instant camera – InstantFlex TL70!

When it was first announced back in March 2015, I fell in love with its timeless design instantly. Inspired by legendary twin-lens classic, Rolleiflex, the new InstantFlex TL70 offers hobbyists the best of both worlds; with an iconic leathery body powered by today’s most affordable instant-films (Fujifilm Instax Mini – about USD0.80 per film). Users of the now defunct Polaroid SX-70 pay up to USD3.50 per film manufactured by The-Impossible-Project. There is also a big time difference for instant photo development between the two. The Impossible Project films take about 20 minutes to develop while the FujiFilm films take less than a minute! Under such comparison, the new InstantFlex TL70 is a much more attractive and affordable option for those who are into instant manual-photography.

Priced at USD319, the TL70 does cost a lot more than the usual FujiFilm instant camera, however, it provides more control for those who are familiar with manual camera. It comes with a built-in flash, 2 shooting modes (auto or bulb) and a wide aperture range of f/5.6, f/8, f/16, f/22, f/bokeh with special bokeh. It also feels good and solid in the hands – not too heavy or light (at about 560g including batteries). For those who enjoy lomography or instagram effects, you will like this camera. Don’t expect to get “picture-perfect” shots in the first few trials as it takes a couple of tests to get familiar with its settings. The camera comes with a small photography-guide-booklet to teach beginners how to get nice shots.

The TL70 reminds me of another classic-looking camera by Fujifilm, Instax 60 Neo. I tested the InstantFlex TL70 alongside against it today. Loading the film cartridge and camera batteries (3 AA) was no-brainer but it took me a much longer time (30-45 seconds to compose the shot) with the TL70 as I need to adjust the focus and aperture to get the right lighting. Despite the extra effort, the TL70 produced a photo with much stronger depth and softer mood. Taking photo with Instax Neo was much quicker (less than 5 secs) and easier to focus. Using automatic mode, Neo produced a 100% focused and guaranteed-sharp photography but it was lacking in terms of depth and mood. I took a second shot with Neo (without any flash) but it turned up too dark.

Throughout my first 2-hour trial, there were a couple of limitations I faced using the TL70. These are standard limitations with all waist-level view-finder-cameras. Due to the position of its view-finder, I was unable to take a food shot from the top. Under dim lighting, it was difficult for me to look at the subject through the view-finder (thankfully, Mint added a magnifying glass on top of the view-finder window). The TL70 doesn’t come with any accessory or bag, It was a little uncomfortable for me (considering I have bigger hands than my female friend) to handle the knobs on the camera without any neck strap.

Overall, I love the TL70 (if not, I won’t even blog this in the first place). It was quite an amazing moment when I saw my first shot coming out from the view-finder. Without any doubt, the TL70 provides more options (multiple exposure, bulb setting, aperture setting) for creative photography. I am pretty sure Mint will produce more accessories (coloured filters, special lens, camera straps and bag) for hobbyists to enhance their shooting. If only FujiFilm produces black-&-white instant films, this will be the perfect instant camera for all! Till then, this will be a very cool camera to carry around. For me, I won’t bring it out to rowdy big parties as it will take up to 45 seconds to focus and compose the shots. I will use it for small gatherings between good friends/families and solo trips. Thank you Mint for this beautiful product. It is worth the wait! (For those who want to get this, click here to order: https://mint-camera.com/tl70/)

Filed under Cool Stuffs Tagged with , ,

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