With smartphone cameras getting more advanced every day, it’s becoming more convenient to take photos and videos just by opening the camera app. But when you scroll through your gallery, you realize you have a gazillion photos buried in there. Photo printers and instant cameras have become hard for me to resist over the past few years, and every time a new one comes out, I’m always like, “I want that!” or “I actually need that!” The appeal is having physical photos to add to my journal or tack onto my corkboard instead of leaving everything on a screen.
Fujifilm’s instax instant camera line has a new addition to the family. The instax SQUARE 2 is an updated version of the SQUARE SQ1, letting you enjoy on-the-spot photographs in a square format. This time, there are more features, like Landscape mode and the Mood Filter function, which give you more ways to have fun with your pictures. Fujifilm announced the camera on October 14, 2026, with release scheduled to begin October 28.
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The previous model, the SQUARE SQ1, already included Automatic Exposure and a Selfie Mirror, and both return here. This time around, you get Landscape mode, which Fujifilm says helps you take clearer shots of distant scenery and groups. It’s designed for subjects approximately 9.8 feet away or farther. Standard and Close-up modes cover nearer subjects, and you select them by turning the lens ring. You still get the 1:1 aspect ratio that makes the square format appealing, but you’ll need to choose the appropriate focus mode yourself.
The Mood Filter function lets you change the, well, mood of a photo you’re taking with just one switch. You can choose between “Warm” and “Cool” to fit the atmosphere and aesthetic of your subject, or leave it off for the standard instax look. The interesting part is that these aren’t digital effects. Moving the switch places a physical filter in front of the lens, adding golden or blue tones before you take the picture. It’s a creative choice you make while shooting rather than during an editing session afterward.
They’re also introducing the new SOFT HAZE SQUARE-format film, sold separately. According to Fujifilm, its newly developed film emulsion produces softer light effects and warmer tones, giving your photos a dreamy quality. That effect comes from the film itself, rather than the camera’s filter switch. The two features offer different ways to influence the finished photograph, even though both lean into changing its atmosphere.
The camera itself comes in three colors: Misty White, Slate Blue, and Brick Red. The palette has a muted feel, and design-wise, the SQUARE 2 has soft, rounded body styling and tactile detailing. Striped accents on the grip and lens give the areas you hold and turn a different texture from the smoother body, while debossed branding keeps the logo subtle. The controls also stay physical: a lens ring for shooting modes and a switch for filters, rather than a menu to scroll through.
The US MSRP is $119.95, excluding film, so the camera’s purchase price is only part of the cost. Every photograph uses a sheet of film, something worth remembering before experimenting with every filter and subject combination.
Keep in mind that this is an analog instant camera that captures new pictures directly onto instax SQUARE film, sold separately, rather than a printer for the photos already buried in your gallery. The photographs take approximately 90 seconds to develop, depending on the temperature, so “instant” still involves a little waiting.
For me, the appeal is having a photo you can hand someone right there or save for a journal page. I’d still want a smartphone printer for those gazillion existing pictures, but this offers a reason to make a few new ones with a particular place on the corkboard in mind.
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