Worked for my wedding reception - 2-Pack Fuji QuickSnap Flash 35mm Film Camera

Forgot your camera on your trip? Perhaps you need some disposable cameras to place on tables for a special event. Whatever your need, the Fuji QuickSnap Flash 35mm Camera isn’t a bad choice, you just need to know it’s limitations.

My experiences with the QuickSnap are related to my Partner and I's recent wedding. We wanted to have the cameras at each table to capture what was happening at each table and when we were shopping, we found the QuickSnap two-packs. I've had good experiences with Fuji film in the past (back when I used film!) and so I thought the QuickSnap would be a good choice. We walked out of the store with 4 of the two-packs and went on planning our wedding.

Basics

The Fuji QuickSnap cameras use 35mm film. The film in the camera is Fuji’s 400 speed film, which provides a fairly wide range of opportunities for photos. The camera has enough film for approximately 27 photos. Some cameras may get a shot or two less or more depending on exactly how much film is in the camera. The camera also has a basic flash that you can turn on or off while you are taking photos.

The camera doesn’t weigh much, only a few ounces but is fairly bulk compared to today’s tiny digital cameras. You won’t be putting the QuickSnap in your pocket any time soon. That said, it’s easy enough to carry in a bag or in a pack without any problems.

Photo taking is very easy. Just wind the film to the appropriate spot, depress the shutter button and you’ve got your photo. Then you just advance the film to the next frame. If you need to use the flash, just turn it on and the indicator will light up when it’s ready to go.

Functionality

The QuickSnap can function in a range of situations, however I think it’s best suited to outdoor photos in fairly brightly lit situations. Failing that, if you are indoors and using a flash, you need to be fairly close to your subject, otherwise photos tend to be dark when you are taking them indoors. The flash is just not powerful enough to really light up a large area.

The QuickSnap isn’t a waterproof disposable camera, so don’t be exposing it to the elements or trying taking it swimming.

Photo Results

The vast majority of the photos that were taken during our wedding were taken inside at the reception, however a number were also taken outside of the reception building as people went outside and brought the cameras with them.

Out of the 200 or so photos that were taken on the eight different cameras the vast majority of them suffer from the weak flash being unable to really illuminate the scene inside the reception. The worst of those photos are quite grainy and really aren’t worth all that much besides perhaps capturing the overall feeling of the afternoon.

On the next step up from these very grainy, dark photos are the photos where you realize that they are really too dark, but they do have enough detail to make them interesting.

Next up are the photos were the subjects of the photos were fairly close – say a table full of people or of my partner and I dancing while they person taking the photo wasn’t too far away. These photos are generally fairly good with decent exposures and an acceptable photo overall. You can tell that it’s not quite exposed right, but the photo is good nevertheless.

Finally for the indoor shots, the best of them were the photos where the photo taker focused in on a subject and got fairly close (I’d say within 5 feet or so) and the subject is well lit by the flash and the photo itself is quite good.

For the outdoor shots they were on the whole pretty good. The camera and the film seem to do a whole lot better with these kind of shots, getting accurate colors and exposures on almost every shot.

My recommendations

Based on the eight rolls of film from these cameras that I’ve gone through, I’d have to say that the real bright spot for this camera is when you are using it for outdoor photos. They were better by far than the vast majority of the photos that were taken indoors, even using a flash.

If you have to use this camera indoors or in dimly lit areas, you need to realize it’s limitations. Without the flash the camera will take really dark photos where most detail will be lost. Even with the flash, which is fairly weak, if you are taking wider angle shots of say an entire room or something like that, the flash is not powerful enough to adequately light up the scene and your photos will be dark and underexposed.

For the best results with indoor photos, you need to stay close to your subjects and try to photograph them in areas that are already fairly well lit, even if you are using the flash. That helps to keep the overall exposure decent and results in some pretty good photos.

The most important thing to realize is that these are disposable cameras and the results simply won’t be as good as if you were using a respectable film or digital camera. They generally have better optics and their flashes are more powerful. Knowing this, I really had lowered my expectations for these photos. I wanted them more as a snapshot of what was happening throughout the reception than anything else. In that regard, they QuickSnap cameras did a good job as I have quite the record of what was happening, beyond what I saw as I was there. My partner likes them even more than me, even the dark and grainy shots - he loves how much of the wedding reception was captured, even if it's not perfect.

Final Thoughts

If you forget your camera or just want to have an inexpensive and easy to use camera around, the QuickSnap from Fuji isn’t a bad camera. It does have some limitations however. It works best for well lit outdoor shots and falters with darker, indoor shots.

Taking that into account though, no disposable camera is going to produce perfect photos. These cameras are more for capturing the moment or just having fun and in those cases, I think it really does its job.

Not all the photos I got from my wedding reception were great, but out of all of them, I got to see the reception from the eyes of my guests at each of their tables and I think that’s worth the loss of some quality in the photos themselves.

Overall I’d recommend these cameras so long as you are not expecting perfect photos and you can work around their limitations.