PhotoBite recently enjoyed the rare privilege of an audience with Andreas Kaufmann, Chief Executive of Leica, during the biannual photo event Photokina in Cologne, Germany.

It was during this chat that we asked Dr Kaufmann about the recently announced Sofort camera.

We asked him about the reasons behind the company’s decision to release an instant camera; quiet possibly the cheapest Leica you could ever own. He replied with a short story about an encounter with close friends and their teenage daughter.

He recounted: “We had met for dinner and as you might expect, the girl was glued to her smartphone; disinterested in our conversation and the gathering in general. It was only when a Fujifilm Instax Mini camera was pulled out as the evening progressed, that she lit up, full of curiosity and amazement at the fact that the camera could produce an instant photograph”. He continued: “She became animated and immediately joined in the conversation. For the rest of the evening, she had joined us and it was entirely down to the camera. It was at that moment that I realised that this was a camera that could build pathways for young photographers to take an initial interest in image-making, beyond snapping with their smartphones”.

So there it was, the collaboration with Fujifilm ensued and earlier this year Leica’s Sofort was launched! We managed to get hands on with the Sofort (see Christmassy pictures in this review, as shot at PhotoBite Towers) and we had just about as much fun as you’d imagine. It travelled to a kids party, went along to a business networking event and at each stop, it commanded the exact attention that Dr Kaufmann described in his original story.

Coming in three colours, orange, mint and white and taking Fujifilm’s instax Mini film, the functions on the Sofort are many and various and allow complete control or complete automatic function for when you just want to snap away. These comprise of:

• Macro
• Bulb
• Automatic
• Self timer
• Party and People
• Sport and Action
• Double Exposure
• Selfie

This camera gave us just about as much fun as you can imagine having whilst making instant memories. It’s been painful sending it back and so we’re hoping Santa will leave one under our tree for real. Pricing for the Sofort comes in at around £230 and they are available now