Fujifilm has announced the retro-inspired analogue instant camera, the Instax Square SQ40, in South Africa.
The look of the SQ40 leans towards the vintage camera style also featured on the Instax Mini 40 and Instax Mini Evo. This incorporates a black base-tone for the camera body, which is complemented with a touch of silver and premium-feel leather-look material. The surface is finished with a pleasant texture that fits comfortably in users’ hands, with a protective carry case available too.
The Square SQ40’s focuses on ease of use. With its Automatic Exposure function, users twist the lens barrel to turn on the camera, point the camera at the subject and press the shutter. This achieves optimum exposure for a given scene by automatically adjusting the shutter speed and flash output to suit each scene. This means the subject is suitably exposed, whether in sunny outdoors, poorly-lit indoors, close-ups and selfies.
Users can also switch to the Selfie Mode for taking selfies and close-ups by rotating the lens barrel to turn the camera on and rotating the barrel again in the same direction. Selfie Mode is best for distances between 30cm-50cm, with a small mirror on the front of the lens providing a framing guide for the perfect shot.
Once a photo is taken, it takes approximately 90 seconds for the print to develop. All Instax prints can be captured by the Instax UP! app via smartphone to be stored or shared on social media.
Local release date and retail price are still to be confirmed.