Fujifilm's Instax Square 2 puts a warm/cool filter switch on a camera built much like the SQ1
Fujifilm's Instax Square 2 is due later this month at about $120, with a switch that slides a warm or cool filter in front of the lens. The Verge says that matches the 2020 SQ1's price, so the running cost to plan for is film.
The Product Desk
Key figures: a Soft Haze film pack of 10 exposures costs $18.99. Six packs cost $113.94. The Instax Square 2 is expected to sell for $119.95, according to The Verge.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Haze film pack of 10 exposures | $18.99 | 4 | |
| Six Soft Haze packs | $113.94 | 15 | |
| Square 2 expected price | $119.95 | 1 |
What happened
- A ring around the lens switches among Close-up, Standard and Landscape modes, with focus from 0.3 meters to infinity, The Verge reports.
- Fujifilm is launching Soft Haze square film with the camera, at $18.99 for a pack of 10 exposures.
- The Verge says the Square 2 keeps the analog approach of the SQ6, SQ1 and SQ40 and skips digital functionality.
- Gizmodo reports the camera runs on AA batteries, which it frames as relief for anyone tired of buying CR2 cells.
Why it matters
- cost With no digital step, a wrong tint choice is paid for in film, so each wasted print comes out of the same pack budget as the keepers.
- decision Anyone with SQ1-class cameras in service is choosing between a tint switch and a body that otherwise works much like the one they own.
- constraint Two things now change the look, the filter and Soft Haze film, and the reports do not say how the two combine in a print.
Picking up the Square 2 means making two choices before the shutter: how far away the subject is, and what tint to put over it [6][5]. The pitch in The Verge's report is customizing the look and feel of the photo [13]. The camera's version of that is a switch that slides one of two colored filters in front of the lens [5]. In Fujifilm's wording, as The Verge relays it, Warm gives a "subtle golden tone" and Cool is "crisp, blue-toned" [5]. Exposure and the xenon flash adjust on their own [10].
On function and layout, the body is mostly the SQ1's. Gizmodo calls the Square 2 "very similar in functionality" to earlier square Instax cameras like the SQ1 [9], and The Verge describes a similar design and layout [8]. The shell is what changed. Fujifilm calls it a "clean, new sculpted body" [12], and The Verge says it looks like the SQ1 sanded down to round off its sharp edges [8].
The film is where the bill grows. At The Verge's $18.99 for a 10-exposure Soft Haze pack [4], each print costs about $1.90 [14]. Six packs cost $113.94, under the $119.95 camera price The Verge reports [1]. The seventh pack takes film spend to $132.93 [15]. Gizmodo's rounded figures, $120 for the camera and $19 for the film, agree [3].
Neither report includes usage data on how often buyers move the switch. Teams tend to assume a visible new control gets used. Here that is an assumption, and the documented fact is a two-position switch on a camera that skips digital functionality [7].
We would buy the Square 2 for someone who wants to pick a tint in hand, with no screen or app involved, and who will shoot fewer than seven packs over the camera's life. The cost of that choice is that a wrong tint goes onto film at about $1.90 a print [14]. Two questions sort the decision: does the person want to choose a look at the moment of the shot, and will they shoot seven or more packs [15]?
Wants the look, under seven packs: buy it. The switch is the reason, and at Soft Haze prices the body is the larger cost. Wants the look, seven or more: buy it and budget for film, which is now the larger cost. Does not want the look, under seven packs: the switch adds nothing, so compare bodies on everything else. Does not want the look, seven or more: ignore the camera price and compare film cost per print.
What to watch
- Whether retail listings match the $119.95 price The Verge reported and the late-October timing Gizmodo gave.
- Hands-on reviews with prints from each filter, and from Warm or Cool combined with Soft Haze film.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap
- Insufficient
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence60
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The Instax Square 2 is expected to be available later this month for $119.95, according to The Verge.
- [2]
The Square 2's $119.95 price is the same as 2020's SQ1.
- [3]
Gizmodo reports the Square 2 and Soft Haze film will both be available in late October for $120 and $19, respectively.
- [4]
Each Soft Haze film pack will sell for $18.99 for 10 exposures.
- [5]
A new mood filter switch slides one of two colored filters in front of the lens; the Warm setting creates a 'subtle golden tone' and Cool produces 'crisp, blue-toned' results.
- [6]
A rotating ring on the lens switches between three shooting modes, Close-up, Standard and Landscape, with a focus range from as close as 0.3 meters to infinity.
- [7]
The Square 2 continues the analog approach of the 2018 Instax Square SQ6 and follow-ups like the SQ1 and SQ40, and skips digital functionality.
- [8]
The Square 2 has a similar design and layout as the SQ1 but with a 'new sculpted body design' that looks like Fujifilm aggressively sanded down its predecessor to round off all its sharp edges.
- [9]
The Square 2 is 'very similar in functionality' to previous square-format Instax cameras like the Square SQ1.
- [10]
The Square 2 has an optical viewfinder on the back, a small mirror on the front for selfies, automatic exposure and automatic adjustment of its xenon flash.
- [11]
According to Fujifilm, Soft Haze film uses reduced saturation and contrast for a softer look with 'glowing highlights and warm, diffused shadows'.
- [12]
Fujifilm says the Square 2 has a 'clean, new sculpted body.'
- [13]
The Square 2 skips digital functionality while introducing the ability to customize the look and feel of instant photos.
- [14]
A Soft Haze exposure costs about $1.90.
- [15]
Six Soft Haze packs cost $113.94, under the $119.95 camera price; seven cost $132.93, over it.
- [16]
The Square 2 uses AA batteries, which Gizmodo presents as good news for people who dislike buying CR2 batteries for their Instax.
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Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- gizmodo.comFujifilm’s New Square 3 Instax Camera Comes With Analog Filters
1 article · October 14, 2026
- theverge.comFujifilm’s new square format instant camera adds analog color filters
1 article · October 14, 2026
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