This instant camera takes Canon lenses!

Nons SL42 This instant camera takes Canon lenses!
(Image credit: Kibitan / Kibidango)

Have you dreamed of having an instant camera that takes Instax Mini film and Canon EF lenses? Well, now you can have one thanks to the Nons SL42 – a brand new camera that's currently being crowdfunded in Japan.

If you love the unique lo-fi look that you get from the best instant cameras, but you also want to create instant photographs with glorious bokeh, dramatic depth of field and precise focus, now you can mount the best Canon lenses – as well as other lenses that work with EF mount adapters, including some medium format glass!

The Nons SL42 enables you to choose your lens, focal length and aperture for full control over the brightness and creativity of your images. You can, for example, use a fisheye lens or tilt-shift lens for ultra-quirky instant photos. Or even take instant pics using a wide-angle lens for landscapes or telephoto lens for wildlife. 

The camera accepts standard Instax Mini film – the same stuff used by popular cameras like the Instax Mini 11 – so you don't have to worry about hunting down expensive or exotic film stock. 

There is a caveat, which is that your images will all feature a 'porthole' as if they were taken on a fisheye – something that is dictated by the image circle on the lens you're mounting, so some will be larger, smaller or softer than others. 

Like most instant cameras the Nons SL42 is quite a chunky device, as it accommodates large film packs. It measures 158 x 65 x 116mm and weighs in at 462g, and is powered by two AA batteries. 

It features a cool vintage SLR-style body, befitting the DSLR lenses you can mount to it – including M42 lenses, via an adapter included in the box. As you might imagine, there are no electrical contacts to control the lens you attach, so you'll be operating everything manually. 

The cameras possesses a hot shoe (although it appears to be a cold show on the early images of the prototype) on which you can mount a flash or radio trigger. It can shoot at shutter speeds of 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 second.

The Nons SL42 is currently available for ¥34,500 (approximately $329 / £255 / AU$468) if backed with the ultra-early discount, while its standard price will be ¥43,100 ($412 / £319 / AU$585). 

It still has some way to go to meet its target of  ¥3,500,000 ($33,423 / £25,873 / AU$47,525), but it has until 24 December to reach it. For more information, visit the Japanese crowdfunding page

Read more: 

The best instant cameras – from best instax to best Polaroid cameras
Best digital instant cameras: hybrid cameras and instant printers
Instax Mini 11 review
Early Black Friday Instax film deals – great buys on print packs in an instant!

James Artaius
Editor

James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.