Instant photography has been literally a renaissance in recent years, and Fujifilm, the manufacturer of Instax cameras, has contributed to its development.

A Hong Kong-based company startup known as Nons Studio has created the SL42 camera that can be used to shoot Fujifilm Instax Mini film, which creators say, is the first SLR (single-lens reflex) camera for instant photography that supports interchangeable lenses with an M42 mount.
The camera can be used with “hundreds of classic M42 lenses,” according to the team behind the project, which explains that pairing an M42 lens with Instax film results in a round image frame.

NONS Studio says that the company has spent “400 days” researching, developing, and prototyping the SL42. The end result looks to be a thoughtfully-designed camera with older-school functionality than the typical Fuji Instax camera, cameras which tend to be point-and-shoot affairs.

The M42 lens mount thread is a relatively old solution that has been used by cameras since the 1940s. Thanks to the unique combination, it will be possible to enjoy an instant photo with all the features of the old lenses, which is definitely positive news. Most instant cameras do not have high-quality lenses, especially in terms of aperture.
M42 lenses were originally created in the 1930s by Carl Zeiss and later went on to great success with Pentax’s Universal Screw Mount cameras, such as the Spotmatic. There were hundreds of lenses of all different focal lengths made over the span of 80 years, giving the SL42 massive versatility right from the start.

In addition to Instax instant film support, the SL42 features an adjustable aperture, manual focus, a hot shoe, shutter speed control and support for multiple exposures.
The camera runs off of 2 AA batteries, and taking a picture is as easy as loading up some Instax Mini film, choosing your shutter speed, pressing the shutter button (as many times as you’d like), and then pressing the eject film button when you’re ready. Since the M42 mount was made for 35mm film that’s much smaller than an Instax Mini frame, the resulting photos will have a circular vignette of varying size and intensity depending on the lens that you’re using.

The NONS SL42 SLR is seeking funding through Kickstarter, where it’s already raised over $27,000 on a goal of $25,750, with less of tree days to go in the campaign.

Securing a NONS SL42 will cost you at least $200 (early-bird pledge) for the body only, $220 for the camera plus two 10-shot packs of Instax film, or $230 for the NONS SL42 and an 50mm f/1.8 “M42 lens for beginners.” Prices go up from there for additional cameras and film.

Shipping to backers is expected to start in August 2020.