Somewhere between the Y2K digicam revival and the collective fatigue of shooting everything on a phone, tiny standalone cameras have somewhere become cool again. They’re literally everywhere. Fujifilm actually got there early, releasing the palm-sized instax Pal back in 2023.
The concept was charming, but the rounded pod-shaped body looked more like a smart home gadget than something you’d want clipped to your bag. Three years later, however, and Fujifilm has decided to rebuild the entire thing, and the result is the new instax Pal 2.
Classic Fuji, Shrunk in the Wash
The Pal 2 swaps its predecessor’s blobby silhouette for something that feels more much more akin to one of Fujifilm’s vintage film cameras. Obviously, it’s in a more shrunken down format, of course. You get a semi-matte silver body, a knurled black midsection for grip, and a genuine optical viewfinder up front.
But the top deck is where the real fun lives with this shooter. A 1.0-inch LCD sits between a control dial and a film-advance-style lever, giving you honest waist-level shooting in a body that weighs just 41 grams.
Double the Pixels, Half the Babysitting
Fujifilm doubled the sensor’s output from 5 to 10 megapixels this time around, paired with a 28mm-equivalent f/2.2 lens and autofocus with face detection. Will it outshoot your iPhone? Absolutely not, but it’s also not the point. That lo-fi rendering is everything the retro digicam crowd is looking for right now.
Internal storage now holds 100 shots (up from 50), there’s a microSD slot supporting cards up to 2TB, and the built-in USB-C connector dumps images to your phone at roughly 0.7 seconds apiece. You can also frame shots in mini, SQUARE, WIDE, or standard 4:3 formats depending on which instax film you plan to print on.
Flipbooks, Film Moods, and One Catch
Through the companion app, you load six of the camera’s 30 total effects (spread across Modern, Y2K, Vintage, Chromatic, and Fantasy themes) and swap between them via the dial (not unlike changing film stocks on the fly). Flick the lever and you’ll enter instax Animation mode, which strings up to 10 burst shots into a flipbook-style clip.
Unfortunately, the one thing the Pal 2 won’t do is print. Just like the original it needs a separate instax Link printer or Evo hybrid camera to produce physical photos, so make sure to budget accordingly.
Spec Sheet
Brand: Fujifilm
Model: instax Pal 2
Sensor: 1/3.06-inch CMOS (10MP max)
Lens: 28mm-equivalent, f/2.2
Viewfinder: Optical
Display: 1.0-inch top-mounted LCD
Storage: 100 images internal + microSD (up to 2TB)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1 & USB Type-C
Weight: 41g
Colors: 2x (Black or White)
Pricing & Availability
The instax Pal 2 arrives stateside later this month in either black or white, priced at $169.95, with Japan following on October 9th.
Recap
Fujifilm instax Pal 2
Fujifilm rebuilds its palm-sized digital shooter with a real optical viewfinder and analog-style controls, all packed into a 41-gram body priced at $169.95.
