Last month, I went on a dream holiday to Bali, for a week of intense water sports, local delights and café hopping. I barely touched my phone throughout the week as I had an action camera to take videos and the Fujifilm instax Square SQ6 that prints out pictures instantly.
Analog Vintage Goodness
Unlike its hybrid digital predecessor – the instax Square SQ10 – the new Fujifilm instax Square SQ6 returns the Square series to its fully analogue instax roots. My first worry was that this feature would downgrade the quality of the images especially with the plastic elements used in the lens. However, I soon realised that this was not the case. The ephemeral nature of the camera makes every single instax print unique and adds on to the nostalgia factor.
Selfies with an Instant Camera? It’s Doable!
Let’s face it, most of us use instant cameras for portraits and selfies. In these situations, the instax Square SQ6 does a very good job. The small mirror beside the lens helps me position myself – I have never failed to position myself properly out of a test sample of more than 30 instax prints. The camera is also equipped with Automatic Exposure Control that brightens both the background and me, and this is particularly useful in night scenes. I always switched it to that mode when I’m out at night and have found a nice spot to take a selfie. Even though the instax Square SQ6 doesn’t let me manually adjust the exposure, I can choose to brighten or darken the picture after the shot. However, due to the analog nature of the device, remember that there are no do-overs!
Remember Things Your Way
The instax Square SQ6 boasts a slew of camera modes. However, with the unique Double Exposure Mode, other functions like Macro Mode take the backseat. The Double Exposure Mode lets you press the shutter twice to capture an artistic shot with two images in the same print, or simply put, a layering effect. Take a look at my instax shot in the middle of the image above. I layered a selfie with a friend with brick patterns. I tried the same again by layering a selfie with a snap of lanterns and it unfortunately, didn’t turn out that well.
In my previous trip, I spent a lot of time walking around staring at my phone editing pictures and making sure that my InstaStories are updated. The instax Square SQ6, however, really makes photography so simple that I get to enjoy more time with my eyes peeled away from my phone to truly indulge in Bali’s exotic and rich culture. Even when I’m out of film, it takes less than a minute to open the rear door, align and load the film pack, eject the protective film, then point and shoot. No fuss at all.
