The Canon Zoemini range: your ultimate festival friends

From main stage singalongs and woodland wanders to tent-erecting disasters and befriending the entire dancefloor when 'your song' comes on, festivals are a chance to escape the daily routine – whether that's university deadlines or the 9 to 5 office grind.

With so much to see and do, remembering all the good bits afterwards – and even during – can be tricky, especially after several nights of very little sleep. That's where the Canon Zoemini range comes in. These instant camera printers and pocket printers are an easy, simple and quick way to document your festival adventure. And, from water bottle labels to on-the-spot selfie prints, they're also great for boosting your fun while you're there.

Here are our top tips for using the Canon Zoemini range to enhance your festival experience.

Whether you are using the Canon Zoemini S2 with its 8MP camera, or the Canon Zoemini 2 paired via Bluetooth with your smartphone, the light weight and compact size of the Canon Zoemini range means taking, printing and sharing snaps is easy.

The Canon Zoemini S2 weighs just 188g and can easily fit into a pocket or small backpack for making memories while you're on the go. You can load up to 10 printable sheets at a time, the battery lasts for about 25 shots and there's a microSD card slot for when you run low on paper.

The equally diminutive Canon Zoemini 2 has a built-in battery that can be fully recharged via a powerbank in just 50 minutes via USB-C. It can also print while charging.

The festival highlights aren't always on the main stage – the best bits often happen with your closest friends at the campsite. Why not document your friend's amusing attempts at erecting their old family tent? You could get creative and hang photos between tents to mark your territory or stick the 2x3-inch prints on bunting by the entrance.

You can add frames and filters in the Canon Mini Print app or decorate your favourite shots with doodles and writing – and the peel-and-stick backs make mounting effortless.

Both the Canon Zoemini S2 and the Canon Zoemini 2 can print on Canon ZINK 1.3" Pre-Cut Circle Sticker Paper, so you could also decorate reusable water bottles and other festival must-haves with circular selfies of you and your friends. It's a great way to remember what belongs to whom.

Partygoers put in a lot of effort to perfect their festival looks – the colourful hats, stylish glasses and outlandish outfits are all part of the fun. Choosing what to wear before leaving your campsite can be quite a conundrum, though. Why not ask a friend to take a few photos of some different outfit options, so you can print them out on your Canon Zoemini 2 to see which works best?

Alternatively, you could start a project taking shots of the best outfits you see during the day and then display your prints in creative ways.

The period of time before the sun rises and sets, when the light is at its softest and warmest, is known in photography as the 'golden hour' – and it's a great opportunity to capture atmospheric images. When you're walking between tents and music stages, keep an eye out for locations that would make for interesting shots, particularly as the light starts to fade.

You could also try experimenting with your Canon Zoemini S2’s different modes, including landscape without flash, portrait with auto flash and selfie with ring light.

The Canon Zoemini S2 prints at 314 x 600 dpi and the Canon Zoemini 2 at 314 x 500 dpi which should do justice to your creative shots and ensure colours really pop.

If the weather is flat and grey, try switching the Canon Zoemini S2 from vivid colour into black and white mode via the easy-access filter button.

The Canon Zoemini S2 is built for selfies and a festival site is filled with fun backdrops. Persuade a friend to join you on a fairground ride or find an elevated vantage point for a shot of you and your mates with the tents and stages behind you. There's a handy wrist strap to ensure you don't lose it while you're out and about.

After several days camping next door to each other, you've probably made friends with some of your fellow festivalgoers. Why not share your festival experience and gift your new mates with a tangible memento of your times together?

The Canon Zoemini S2 takes less than a minute to print and has a multi-colour LED indicator, so you know exactly when your prints are on their way.

When you open the Canon Mini Print app, it's not only your camera roll that you can choose images from – you can also access snaps from Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos. Plus, the app's camera function enables you to alter contrast, colour balance and saturation in real-time.

Your party memories might quickly fade but you can keep the festival spirit alive by crafting a special scrapbook to look back on in years to come – or to give to one of your festival friends.

The Canon Mini Print app features a smart collage tool for combining your favourite images. You can select two to eight shots and then use the app to alter the layout. There's also a tiling feature for making a sticky poster from four or nine smaller snaps.

So, the next time you pack for a weekend of fun in a field, don't forget to slip the Canon Zoemini S2 or Canon Zoemini 2 into your rucksack. Along with your tent and sunscreen, they're the new festival must-haves.



Written by Jack Fittes