🚨 TTArtisan 203T Instax mini camera - first look

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[JeffDvrx]

It does have a rangefinder, they're getting lost in translation. Rangefinders are a telemetric focusing device, and this camera being based on the Seagull 203T means it'll have a coupled rangefinder (besides the 203 heritage, if it wasn't coupled there'd be a focusing wheel specifically for the rangefinder - there isn't, so it's coupled). About the lens, this is TTartisan... there is no chance in hell that lens isn't glass, most likely multicoated.

[pandoranbias]

The 203 was a 120 camera produced by several factories under the Seagull brand during the 1950s. It's not a surprise to me that they are looking to an old design to modify.

[AdamTV]

I wish they had made it for the square Instax film.

[hakonsoreide]

Interesting.

The rangefinder debacle seems like a clear language issue to me. If the guy had asked if it had split-image focusing, or – even better – what the focusing mechanism was, the sales reps would have known how to answer the question in a way that would have indicated it was a rangefinder in whatever terms they understood it themselves.

The kind of lens design that it mimics were lenses that usually went down to 32 and 45 or even smaller apertures, which made sense. Coupled with the rather common 1/500 fastest shutter speed of most leaf shutter designs, and the fact that ISO 25 film was readily available when this camera design was common, and you'd never have needed an ND filter as you will do now when Instax is a 5 stops faster ISO 800.

While it's not a huge deal to use an ND filter, it does make it a more serious photographer's camera rather than a snapshot camera, since you now have to calculate your exposures correctly. And it would make it very hard to use something otherwise as highly convenient as a variable ND filter.

I think one of the reasons the Instax Mini is the preferred film is more to do with how the Mini was so well established before Square was an option. This camera, though, really looks like it wants to be square, and hopefully they will make a square version at some point.

But the price, though. That sounds like amazing value for money, and it looks super retro cool and inspirational.

[WittyDroog]

As a fan of the Lomography Instax cameras this absolutely has caught my interest. Even owning the MiNT TLR for Mini I'm still excited for this format. I love and own a lot of 35mm and 120mm foldables and would love one of these to sit alongside my Voightlanders and Mamiyas

[cavanaghcreative_YT]

Going off that "on the floor" video, my interpretation of that interaction is that the _term_ 'rangefinder' isn't widely known descriptor of _telemetric focusing_ principles in China as it is overseas (USA, Europe, etc.). That's just this Aussie's 2 cents on the matter.
_(edit) OR it's a rangefinder-style focusing system that doesn't have any form of distance scale (0.5fr, 1ft, 3ft, etc.) on it. In any case, no one will know until the camera is actually released._

4 March 2025

[lucakieft]

this really looks like a kodak retina. so cool

[ArlishiaYvonneArt]

I’m excited I’ve been drooling 🤤 over it all weekend. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[theozeus]

In french a rangefinder camera is called a "telemetrique" camera :)

[alandemers]

You can do just fine shooting at 1/250 or 1/500 without an ND filter. I do it on my NONS all the time which caps out at 1/250. Just need to use F16-F22 depending on how bright out it is.

I only need an ND filter, sometimes, when shooting into the sky or doing long exposures during the day. And even then only sometimes.

[Wanking_wanker]

i have a zeiss super ikonta and it is such a good camera so I have high hopes for this one

[GoodPhotos]

Hotshoes work just fine without a battery. MILLIONS of cameras that didn't have batteries for anything but the match needle meter, had full functional hotshoes. (No "TTL Balanced Auto Flash", but they would fire the flash.)

[matthiasdamm]

Not sure if I will buy this one, but it’s extremely nice.
TTArtisan build extremely fine low-cost manual lenses. I am sure that the build quality of this thing will be top notch, and quite likely metal/glass only.

[bobmalin]

Instax is always held back by its Cameras. This is a great Option.
I can also recommend Converting a Polaroid 110a/b or 120 to Instax wide. The Pictures are great.

[LAUDITA]

It's a lost in translation kind of situation. They say "it's telemetric". Rangefinder is or similar in any language other than english probably. From latin: distance measurer, which is actually close to range finder in meaning.

[Federico]

do you believe that they will add nd filters inside the box? i don't see a way to put an nd filter on that lens

[tubuck]

Cameras do not need batteries for hot shoes. The camera would only need a battery for a hot shoe if the camera had TTL metering. Basic hot shoes just close the circuit from the center pin to the metal bracket of the shoe to fire the flash. The only thing you have to do is make sure the camera can handle the voltage of the flash. Some older flashes send a high voltage through the hot shoe. I thing there is an adapter that can protect the camera. Controlling the exposure with a basic flash is not hard. Some flashes have a distance scale with corresponding f stops. Some flashes even have a light meter build in; you just set the camera to certain f stop.

[NedskiYT]

My interest is moderate, it will take more information such as how does it focus and what is the maximum shutter speed. Of course the actual price is a huge factor! $300 is not too bad a price.
And of course, I would prefer a Wide Instax camera. The price for the Mint InstantKon RF70 is way out of my price range and I've heard too many complaints about its build quality/reliability to gamble on a camera I really don't have a great need for.

[Poorgeniu]

Hope they'll release more details about this camera soon!

[c.augustin]

For me, the interesting thing is the mechanical shutter – that's the most complicated piece of this camera! Glass lens is not the main point – 3 or 4 elements would be interesting. With Instax Mini, a 3 lens design would suffice (this was what the Seagul 203 usually had, if I remember correctly), but if TTArtisans has a more far-reaching plan to revive the 203 – they included a 4 lens design …