Gift guide: the new Instax SQ1 is the perfect Christmas gift for budding photographers

(Image credit: Fujifilm)

published 10 December 2020

The Instax Square SQ1 is the latest addition to Fujifilm's line-up on instant cameras. This brand-new, minimalist, user-friendly camera creates square format instant prints that are 1.5 times the size of its Instax Mini counterparts.

It's designed for instant photography fans across the globe, and features Automatic Exposure and One-Touch Selfie Mode to make getting perfect pictures even easier.

We've been using the SQ1 for the past few weeks, and think it will be a sure-fire hit this Christmas, and here's why:

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Who's it for?

Teenagers and university students: The Instax SQ1 is a great gift for students who want to record their school or university life.

Newly-engaged couples: Instant cameras always go down well at weddings, so it's a great gift for a newly-engaged couple.

Children: It's also incredibly simple to use, making it a perfect camera to get children into photography. We've seen children's eyes light up after they take a picture and have a physical print to hold after – it's like magic. Just keep an eye how many pictures they're taking – the paper isn't exactly cheap.

Age Range:

There's no official age range for the Instax SQ1. It's an equally great gift for children as well as adults.

What makes it the perfect Christmas gift:

Automatic Exposure

One of the best things about the SQ1 is how easy it is to use – just point and shoot thanks to automatic exposure. It automatically senses the level of ambient light when the shutter button is pressed and optimises the shutter speed and flash output according to lighting conditions. This allows even those who are new to instant photography to take photos that are automatically properly exposed regardless of conditions, producing clearer and more vibrant instant prints on the spot. It works really well.

One-Touch Selfie Mode

Along with its built-in selfie mirror, Instax SQ1’s One-Touch Selfie mode is designed specifically for selfies and close-up shots, setting the best focus and exposure for the shot by changing the position of the lens when activated. Activation is simple, by rotating the lens from ‘On’ to ‘Selfie’ mode.

Larger film format

The SQ1 doesn't use the small Instax Mini prints, it uses the larger Instax Square prints. This gives you more space to be creative with your composition and allows you to squeeze more faces into a group selfie.

New Square film options

Also accompanying the launch of the Instax Square SQ1 are two new Instax instant film varieties; Instax Square Rainbow film and Instax SquareE Monochrome film, designed so that you can add even more flair to your instant photography.

Fujifilm Instax SQ1: Where to buy

And don't forget to buy some film as well:

More Christmas gift ideas:

As the Style and Travel Editor at T3, Spencer covers everything from clothes to cars and watches to hotels. Everything that's cool, stylish, and interesting, basically. He's been a part of T3 for over seven years, and in that time covered every industry event known to man, from CES and MWC to the Geneva Motorshow and Baselworld. When he's driving up and down the country in search of the greatest driving roads, he can be found messing around on an electric scooter, playing with luxury watches, or testing the latest fragrances.