Instant costs....

 Someone asked me recently about my re-discovered interest in photography and why Instant Photography this time around.  "Steven, you use to shoot Leica and stuff, you now shoot Polaroid stuff???"  "Polaroid is expensive and the results are.... meh."

Instant film is a challenge.  Without going into great detail, dynamic range (the ability of the film to distinguish light and shadow) is really limited.  You need to think if you want some work to come out the way you want.  Details and colors are also a challenge.  Plus the camera I am using to do the serious instant stuff costs between $500-$1200 each (and there's 4 of them).

You want beautiful, technically perfect stuff, shoot something with a sensor or your cellphone.  But enough of this for now, we are talking costs here.

Sticker shock - a pack of Polaroid film with 8 shots runs about $18 or about $2.25 a shot.  So each time you press the shutter button, you just spent $2.25.

Fujifilm is cheaper with the Mini film running about $0.75 a shot, Square film about $1 and Wide film about $1.15 a shot.

The normal reaction - "Damn... that's expensive"

So I broke the costs down for a roll of 36 Color Print film.
Consumer grade stuff like Kodak Gold.

1 Roll of film = $10 (costs have gone way up) = $0.28
1 - Process the negative = $12 = $0.33
1 - 4x6 Print = $0.21

For a 4x6 print = $ 0.82 per photo.

Now we need to tack on going to the photolab and back
Runzheimer estimate about $0.45 per mile (we will assume a lab within 10 miles) = $4.50 = $0.13

So the cost of 1 - 4x6 print = $0.95 a shot.

So 35mm film is cheaper = YES but.... and it's a BIG BUT.....

You have to wait for your results.
The look on a person's face with an instant print is priceless
and the big thing.... it's a 1:1 original.

Factor all that in and it's really not that expensive.

"Cheaper than Crack" a photo buddy once told me.