In Mint Condition - NYLON SINGAPORE

When you put two legends together, you’re bound to get something extraordinary out of it. Just look at Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar; they recorded a track called “Freedom” – a song that’s pretty much an African-American rights anthem about the current state of racism in American society – for her latest album, Lemonade. It’s a beautiful and fitting collaboration too, as Kendrick Lamar has spoken about black empowerment before in his 2015 album, To Pimp A Butterfly, and so has Beyoncé, in the controversial song, “Formation”.
Therefore, we were thrilled when Hong Kong company MiNT Camera decided to combine two camera legends together. Enter the InstaFlex TL70 – a camera that uses the body and system of one classic camera and combines it with the instant film technology of another. It takes after the twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera, which was very trendy in Germany back in 1929 because of the revolutionary design of the Rolleiflex (originally made by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke). MiNT Camera, in the hopes of continuing the work and dream of Polaroid founder Edwin Land, decided to incorporate instant film technology into the InstantFlex TL70.

It took them 30 months of designing, assembling, refining and packaging to come up with this twin-lens instant camera, which uses existing instax mini film by Fujifilm for its photos. The viewfinder on the top comes with a bright anti-glare coated glass pane to give you a cinematic view of what’s capture by the three-element lens, built to maximise light transmission and improve the overall quality of the image. You can also try your hand at taking creative shots with the wide aperture range, using a B mode that leaves the shutter open for long exposures, or experimenting with double exposure. The InstaFlex TL70 is 30% slimmer than traditional TLR cameras – thanks to the simplified knobs and buttons – and is the only TLR camera with a built-in flash. It’s very simple to use and even comes with a manual; all it takes is a little practice. We’re pretty sure you’ll fall in love with this old-school-meets-new-school shooting experience in no time.

MiNT InstaFlex TL70, $469. Available at TANGS Singapore Level 3, ThirtySix (311A Geylang Road, inside The Panic Room) and Analogue+ (VivoCity #02-10). thirtysix.com.sg