What
camera to buy
by J. Ramón Palacios
tell
a friend about this article
|
Advanced
Photo System
Some
say that one hot summer, somewhere around Tokyo, camera and film
manufacturers gather together, very late at night in a dark sushi
basement bar and came to conclude that they were giving away "too
much negative" for the kind of snapshots people were taking and
ordering prints from, in small sizes (3 1/2 X 5, or 4 X 6 inches).
Therefore "also too much of cameras and lenses" for such menial
tasks; no enlargements!
To
top it all, the registered statistics on film loading failures
was amazing, as proven by the high number of unexposed rolls being
developed at the corner photo shops and the taped loud screams
from customers. To make things worse, customers were dismayed
and taking less and less pictures and ordering less and less reprints
from the poorly handled negatives. Top of the line camera models
were not moving from retailers' shelves, but disposable cameras
were on the rise. So ...... after much laugh from the anecdotes
and serious concern for the future, the "Advanced Photo System"
or APS came about, with features to solve the common problems
..... of the moronic.
 |
The
camera that created the appetite for APS. The Elph, with
great marketing.
.
|
The
cold facts:
The following table shows film dimensions and relative
area sizes
Film
type
or format |
Negative
size
mm |
Area
square
mm |
Relative
negative area
(as % of the base chosen) |
APS
base |
35mm
base |
645
base |
6X6
base |
6X7
base |
|
APS
- H
|
16.7X30.2
|
486
|
100%
|
56.3%
|
20.7%
|
15.5%
|
12.5%
|
|
APS
- C
|
16.7X23.4
|
391
|
80.4%
|
45.2%
|
16.6%
|
12.5%
|
10.0%
|
|
APS
- P
|
9.5X30.2
|
287
|
59.0%
|
35.2%
|
12.2%
|
9.2%
|
7.4%
|
|
35
mm
|
24X36
|
864
|
177.7%
|
100%
|
36.7%
|
27.6%
|
22.2%
|
|
645
|
56X42
|
2,352
|
483.9%
|
272.2%
|
100%
|
75.0%
|
60.4%
|
|
6
X 6
|
56X56
|
3,136
|
645.3%
|
362.9%
|
133.3%
|
100%
|
80.6%
|
|
6
X 7
|
56X69.5
|
3,892
|
800.8%
|
450.5%
|
165.5%
|
124.1%
|
100%
|
.
Several
conclusions can be drawn from the simple table above and
can be related to the factors selected for consideration:
The
APS negatives use -at best- only 56%
the area of a 35mm negative. In other words, the 35mm negative
is almost 78% larger.
And the APS negative is less than 16% of a 6X6 one. Do I
need to say more? These cameras provide several conveniences
but have only one place: a small pocket or a ladies small
handbag. |
.. |
|
-
APS
does not let you handle the negatives, the film is kept inside
the cartridge to avoid scratches, hamburger grease, soy sauce
or nail polish
-
Some
APS camera models are the most convenient in terms of size
and weight
-
Film
is not always available at all locations
-
Most
are fully automated, both for focus and exposure
-
Some
models are very solidly constructed but the somewhat fragile
flip-up flashes and built-in flashes are not powerful enough
-
"Good"
APSs are in the mid level price range
-
In
terms of status, these give you not much, some are 'cute'
but they all are very affordable and can be found at K-Mart,
Wal-Mart or Target
-
APS
format cameras have been discontinued by Nikon
Great
for what it was designed for: 4X6 snapshots; unless you use Fujicolor
Nexia H400 or 800 film at all times, to obtain reasonable shutter
speeds with those small aperture zoom lenses, avoiding blurred
images. But one cannot expect to get great results always, regardless
of advertising. As long as you are aware of what to expect from
them, they can be nice to have if the only other option is nothing.
Few (if any) professional photographers use them at all. This
format was designed to expand the interest in photography and
it has in fact increased film and processing sales and margins.
At that it has been very successful. However, to the limitations
of the lenses (specially zooms with their large number apertures)
we must add those inherent to the negative size, plus the fact
that the integrated tiny flashes on these units typically have
limited power for distances beyond 10 feet or enough coverage
for group pictures. Sorry, but I still crack in tears when I remember
guys taking flash pictures towards the center of a dark stadium,
at night, with an APS camera; and a sweet girl taking shots at
the moon with flash! ("To have it well illuminated").
.
|
APS
Recommendation:
For
about the same price of an APS you can keep convenience
and move up to at least a "compact" or Point
& Shoot 35mm camera, just a bit bigger but better
armed in terms of both negative size, better lenses and
nice integrated flashes, most of them now with red eye reduction
capability and variable power.
If
nevertheless somehow you must, take a look at some
APS options ...» |
. |
