I love the look of instant film, but not enough to carry around a chunky camera or buy expensive refills. Luckily, some apps come impressively close to recreating Polaroid magic, minus the cost and commitment.

6

Gudak Cam

The Gudak app is the perfect instant camera app to provide vintage vibes in a digital age. It costs a small one-time fee to install Gudak to your iPhone, but you’ll reap the benefits for years to come. It’s not available on Android. For those who don’t want to buy the app, there’s a free lite version available too.

Gudak creates a virtual disposable camera on your phone, complete with small eye-sized viewfinder, no digital screen to preview your next photo, and no way to review photos after you’ve taken them. You’re limited by shot number like a disposable film—24 shots per film—and Gudak is even authentic enough to force you to wait 24 hours before a new film can start and 72 hours for you to receive your digi-disposable shots.

While it’s not quite the same as a Polaroid where you can see, feel, and review your shot merely minutes after pressing the shutter, you do get the same vintage film vibe, complete with sunspots and random light leaks, slight blur or chromatic abbrasion, and luckily all with minimal cost in comparison to the real printed photos of our past.

Download: Gudak Cam for iOS | Android ($1.99)

Download: Gudak Cam Lite for iOS | Android (Free)

5

Dazz Cam

Dazz Cam gives you access to multiple film-style cameras, including video effects. The free plan is surprisingly generous—there are lots of great free cameras, and you can use many of the Pro cameras for free (you just can’t save photos unless you screenshot them).

This fun app lets you try a huge variety of vintage instant image types. You can add frames or go borderless if you want more authentic results to Polaroid or film photos. There’s a camera for every mood, and the experimentation is half the fun.

Download: Dazz Cam for iOS (Free, in-app purchases)

4

OldRoll

​​​​​​​The premise of OldRoll is to embrace the charm of film photography and step back into nostalgia. Although most of OldRoll cameras are behind its premium paywall, there are a few free ones you can use to get the film effect from the app.

The app shows as the back of a film camera but with a large viewfinder, similar to a digital camera. The Classic M camera filter is the default. You can flip views from front camera to rear camera, add flash, change the exposure value to fit better with your lighting, and more settings.

To benefit from the no-print aspect of this Insta-camera, you can also set up a memories widget from your photos taken through the app. This starts a slideshow on your phone’s home screen to show memories of your past.

Download: OldRoll for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases)

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How I Edit My Smartphone Photos to Achieve a Film Camera Look

Want your smartphone shots to look like film? Use these editing tricks.

3

PoPo Frame

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PoPo Frame isn’t strictly a camera app, but rather a photo app. Instead of—like the other apps listed—replicating a vintage camera and letting you take new photos, PoPo Frame lets you upload existing photos from your library and apply a myriad of frames to them. Adding your existing photos to a PoPo Frame frame is another great way to get your smartphone photos looking vintage with minimal effort.

The frames include Instax-sized Polaroid-inspired frames, with a choice of filters to apply to the images. This fun way of getting a no-print vintage Polaroid vibe to your photos lets you change exciting photos into vintage art rather than only adding new photos to your collection.

PoPo Frame is a free app with paid extras, including more filters, editing tools to adjust the intensity, and more filters, as well as the ability to add writing or pins to the photos for a scrapbook effect.

Download: PoPo Frame for iOS (Free, in-app purchases)

2

Nomo Cam

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Nomo Cam is, again, another instant film-style digital camera app. It works in similar ways to the others listed here. You can choose a camera type—some are free and there are paid purchases available too—which has very basic functions: front or rear camera and flash.

Unlike the other film camera replicas in this list, Nomo Cam is the only one that offers a double exposure option. Hitting the Double Exposure button allows you to take two photos, superimposing them on one another in a single frame. You’ll find the results in your gallery.

There’s a list of over 50 cameras to choose from. Most are within the Pro paywall, but some are free, and there are a few you can buy outright without subscribing to Pro.

Download: Nomo Cam for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases)

Related

6 Different Ways You Can Get Polaroid and Film-Style Photos

Few things are more nostalgic than Polaroid and film photography. There are numerous ways you can achieve that vintage look in the modern day.

1

POV Camera

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This app is slightly different from the others, with less focus on the vintage photo style and more focus on the instant and mystery aspect of film photography. It does have a disposable film filter option, though.

With POV Camera, there are two options: a scheduled camera or instant use with a custom duration. The instant POV option lets you set a custom duration—8 hours, 1 week, or custom choice—and you can use the camera alone or share it with friends with limited total shots.

It can be a costly wedding feature to put a Polaroid, Instax, or disposable camera on each table of your function. You want to see candid photos of your big day or planned event, but without the cost or detriment to the environment from all the printing, then POV Camera is the perfect middle option.

Your guests can scan a QR code to download a temporary app widget to their phones—they can, of course, download the app permanently too—which sets a timer throughout the day allowing people to take photos from their point of view of your event. Once the timer ends, everyone’s photos create a joint album accessible by all invited guests.

Shared albums are available to view infinitely. Photos show up in the order they are taken throughout the timed period, with the name of who took each photo captioned on it.

This differs a lot from Polaroid styles, but it’s an awesome app to share photos in a way you wouldn’t normally.

Download: POV Camera for iOS | Android (Free)

Instant Vintage Photo Vibes Without Printed Waste

Polaroid photos and vintage styles are right on trend, but printed images aren’t due to the environmental waste it causes. This list of apps lets you have huge variety of film styles, instant film photos, and fun ways to experiment than digital cameras or your generic iPhone camera just can’t offer you. Most of the apps have sufficient free versions, but the costs are low if you wish to pay—and the cost is always cheaper than printed film photos, whether Polaroid, Instax, or film rolls.