I brought it with me to work, on holiday and while doing chores
The first time I heard about the video diary app 1SE, I was obsessed. The idea of capturing a second, a moment that was the highlight of my day was so novel to me. But while I appreciate watching and re-watching slices of my life on video, I like the idea of being able to hold onto something and in a form that feels private to me, like instant prints. Of course, there’s also that thrill that comes with waiting for a picture to appear on film. So imagine my excitement when we were asked to take the Fujifilm Instax Square SQ20, the newest addition to the Instax family, out for a test run.
For two weeks, I brought the Instax Square SQ20 with me to work, on holiday and while doing house chores, and took one square picture a day.
Who is s/he?
The Instax Square SQ20, which we got in matte black but also comes in beige, is a hybrid instant camera. It has an optical viewfinder that allows you to shoot, review and edit photos right before you print them. Highlight features below:
Camera features
Specs
Still picture and can hold up to 50 pictures
Video recording (no sound) up to 30 seconds
Frame grab
Timeshift collage
Double exposure
Split
Filters
Selfie mirror
Zoom
1/5-in. CMOS image sensor
1920 x 1920px
Built-in memory
800 x 800 video recording @15fps, H.264
f/2.4 Single/Continuous AF 33.4mm lens, 1/7500 sec to 1/2 sec shutter speed, 100 to 1600 ISO
2.7-inch TFT color LCD monitor
Micro USB Type-B (charging/ file copying)
10 prints/pack
800 x 800 print supported image size
Takes 2 to 3 hours to charge
WEEK 1
Day 1: Time is indeed a series of moments
The manual of any gadget or product I own is not the first thing I look at. All people really need to know anyway is how to switch something on and off, and use other basic functions.
Well, I was wrong. Had I known that when I toggled to the middle of the power button, I would have been able to capture the moving subjects of a day-long family affair (my son and nieces) better.
With the SQ20, you can shoot video up to 30 seconds long and frame grab the best moment to print out.
Day 5: Filter magic
By day four, I’ve gotten pretty used to using the built-in filters and editing my photos, only to enhance color.
While I started out using the Martini filter and then manually increasing brightness and contrast, the photos sometimes still came out dark. I found it best to use Skin Brightening followed by additional editing for the instant prints to come out how I like them.
WEEK 2
Day 10: A walk to remember
Our household is comprised of three humans and two animals, one dog and one cat. I couldn’t take Kiki the dog out for a walk one night so I took her on a balcony walk instead. Everyone knows it’s no easy task to make a dog sit and stay while you take pictures, so the SQ20’s frame grab came in handy. I snapped away as Kiki chased her own tail.
In low light: The resolution is low to begin with so you can’t expect image quality to be great. Quality is also noticeably compromised in high contrast situations and in low light.
Day 11: All for fun
A chill and quiet holiday at home for me means a proper breakfast, squeezing in a few chores and just spending time with the family. And that’s exactly what I took pictures of.
The Instax Square SQ20 features a range of fun shooting modes, like Bulb, Double Exposure, Split and Timeshift Collage.
Split, one of my two preferred shooting modes, allows one to take multiple pictures on a single image (see: plants). Choose from four segmentation options: vertically halved, horizontally divided in three or nine and in quarters. Meanwhile, Timeshift Collage lets you take four images with a time difference at once. Note: not advisable for slow moving subjects, like my cat.
Day 13: First Friday of the month means…
Wonder's June cover featuring Karencitta is out! A team photo became mandatory given the tech challenges we experienced prior to publishing. Here’s a full shot of (some of) us posing with our digital cover, zoomed in.
Get those full shots right: The SQ20 is the first camera in the instax series to have a digital zoom function, which allows you to zoom up to 4x to adjust your view.
Real Talk
The Fujifilm Instax Square SQ20 is a sight to behold in terms of design; it’s sleek, it’s matte, it looks good between my two hands. It’s comfortable enough to hold but the placement of the shutter buttons feel a little unnatural to me. I have to actively remind myself where to hold and press. But fortunately, the SQ20 doesn’t shoot and print automatically.
While the viewfinder allows you to review your shots, what you see onscreen is not what you get on your film print. So make sure to edit, edit, edit; in my case, some of my pictures had to look almost washed out on the display to look bright on print.
So if you’re looking for a fun way of capturing everyday moments and the film prints are for personal use anyway, the Instax Square SQ20 might just be the camera for you. Â
Available at an SRP of P12,999 in authorized FUJIFILM dealers nationwide.
