Fujifilm is replacing its 2020 instax SQUARE SQ1 with the instax SQUARE 2, an analog instant camera that adds a landscape mode and a color filter that drops in front of the lens at the flip of a switch.
According to Fujifilm, the camera goes on sale in Japan from October 28 in three colors: Slate Blue, Brick Red and Misty White. It keeps the twist-to-operate body, now styled with large curved surfaces and striped accents on the grip and lens, and the company positions it as the entry model of its square-format line. A new square film called Soft Haze and two accessories, a camera case and an acrylic frame for square prints, arrive with it.
The practical changes sit at the lens. Rotating the barrel selects standard, close-up or the new landscape mode, which Fujifilm says gives clearer results on distant subjects and group shots. Automatic exposure and the selfie mirror from the SQ1 carry over. Of the two headline changes, landscape mode is the more useful one for everyday shooting.
The Mood Filter is the feature Fujifilm is building its "follow your mood" marketing around. A switch beside the lens places a physical Warm or Cool filter in front of the glass, so the effect is optical and happens before the film is exposed. The switch also has an Off position for the classic instax look, with Warm giving a golden tone and Cool a crisper, blue-leaning one.
In the US, Fujifilm lists the camera at a suggested retail price of $119.95 and Soft Haze film at $18.99 per pack of 10 exposures, with both expected in late October, per Fujifilm. Film is sold separately, and the box includes a hand strap and four AA batteries. In Japan, Fujifilm sets no suggested price and leaves pricing to retailers.
Soft Haze comes from a newly developed emulsion rather than a filter, with reduced saturation and contrast, warm tones and diffused shadows, Fujifilm says. Because it is instax SQUARE film, the format the SQ1 already takes, current SQ1 owners can try the look without buying the new body.
