APS film

[JeremyLangford]

I have just recieved a free camera that takes APS film. Its a Canon ELPH LT with a 23mm lens.

I love how you can change the aspect ratio of the viewfinder into a pan mode, a normal mode and a square mode. I also love how small this camera is.

Do places like Walmart develop APS film if the develop normal 35mm C41? Do you feel like APS is a waste of time and I shouldn't waste my money on the film?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

It's a nice camera.

The APS film can be processed anywhere. It's almost always color negative film.

The negatives are small by modern standards, although they probably carry just as much information as the films of 70 years ago used by the greats of the time.

The format switching thing is a bit of smoke and mirrors. The photos are all the same size but are coded to tell the machine which format to make them. So you can take a 'panoramic' photo back for a reprint into a 'normal' format.

One more trick up its sleeve is the APS film is stored right back in the original cassette after processing - so no need for negative sleeving. And the film most often comes with an index print (like a tiny contact print) to let you find the photos you want to print copies of.

It's a shame that they invented APS right before they invented digital that killed it off.

 

[JeremyLangford]

So could I just have it developed at my local Walmart with no prints and then take the canister home and take the film out and scan it in my Epson V500?

Im thinkin its just gonna be too hard to scan the film since its smaller than 35mm.

The main reason I liked this camera was the panoramic mode that I can set the viewfinder to. Is there any type of cheap 35mm camera that supports this?

 

[Doug]

Jeremy, I'll add a bit to Jon's good info. I have a Canon ELPH Jr with 26mm f/2.8 lens that I usually carry around in a Canon leather belt pouch. Very handy, seems like an excellent little rig.

Most often I shoot Kodak BW400 chromogenic black & white, a C41 process film that I get on eBay from Ultrafineonline. My local lab processes the film, no prints, and supplies a CD of 2240x1260 pixel scans.

The negs are 16.7x30.2mm, not much different from the old 35mm half-frame size of 18x24mm. Some scanners have holders for APS film, but I'm not sure a flatbed would give very good results on such a small format.

 

[zuikologist]

So could I just have it developed at my local Walmart with no prints and then take the canister home and take the film out and scan it in my Epson V500?

Im thinkin its just gonna be too hard to scan the film since its smaller than 35mm.

The main reason I liked this camera was the panoramic mode that I can set the viewfinder to. Is there any type of cheap 35mm camera that supports this?

Both p&s cameras: the Pentax UC 1 or Espio mini has the pano function in 35mm format, as does the Nikon AF600. Both have 28/3.5 lenses. The Pentax seems to have the edge on lens quality, but the Nikon is probably cheaper. Both are tiny and well specified.

A number of SLRs also had the pano function (my MZ5 Pentax does).

 

[btgc]

They missed 35A format - normal 135 film, treated like APS - with exposure info coded on film edge for each frame, and catridge-supported midroll change capability (e.g. magnetic strip on catridge holds marks "is finalized" (Y/N) and "current frame" which can be seeked to when loaded again.

But then digital is easier to implement this ?

 

[quizzard87]

i tried to scan a roll of aps film recently.
the film is very flimsy, which makes it really hard to get into the scanner.
after taking the film out of the roll (you can find tutorials on that topic, just google) it curled so badly, that i couldn't fit it in my neg holder.
so i put the stripes in an envelope and put a huge pile of books on it and let them stay like this for a week.
now they were ready for scanning. a bit curly still, but usable.
the actual scanning works like with every other color negative film.

 

[ebolton]

I have a Nikon LS-30 film scanner, and a little Canon Elph I carry when on my bicycle. I bought an APS adapter for the LS-30 on E-bay, and found it is by far the best way to handle the APS film. I'd have given up on the Elph long ago if it wasn't for that adapter.

 

[photogdave]

Those of us who worked in photo finishing when APS came out absolutely HATED the format!!!
There was always problems extracting and replacing the film from the canisters (which meant you spent a lot of time sitting in a dark closet swearing with a screwdriver), the films always set themselves to read "exposed" halfway through a roll, and the customers were always confused about how to set the camera, inevitably shooting everything on "panoramic" mode, resulting in 40 10" prints of people with their heads cut off at $1 each! (The first printers didn't allow you to override pano mode!)
Nikon and Canon did make some sharp little cameras though.

 

[JeremyLangford]

So the APS camera Pan mode isnt real right? If I want to have pictures that are in the Pan mode Ill have to just crop out the bottom and the top when I scan. To me that makes it seem not worth it to go buy APS film for it.

Is the Nikon AF600 camera full-frame? Will its Pan mode be the same as the APS film cameras to where Ill just have to crop when scanning? I just really want to get my hands on a camera with the Pan mode that I can easiy scan.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Oh no!

a lot of time sitting in a dark closet swearing with a screwdriver

I do not want to spend time sitting in a closet, or swearing, especially with a screwdriver.

If I ever get an APS (Contax Tix looks nice) the film can go to Elizabete, and she can do the necessary.

 

[zuikologist]

So the APS camera Pan mode isnt real right? If I want to have pictures that are in the Pan mode Ill have to just crop out the bottom and the top when I scan. To me that makes it seem not worth it to go buy APS film for it.

Is the Nikon AF600 camera full-frame? Will its Pan mode be the same as the APS film cameras to where Ill just have to crop when scanning? I just really want to get my hands on a camera with the Pan mode that I can easiy scan.

The AF600 is full frame, as is the Pentax and a number of SLRs. I think there were many cheper p&s with pano mode. They work by cropping the full frame, so you just need to do the same when scanning.

Here's a link:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/htmls/slr9294a.htm

One bonus is the Nikon is tiny, smaller than an Oly XA, and has a retractable lens with built in lens cap. Very pocketable.

Some flickr shots with the Nikon in pano mode:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_chang/sets/72157600005090947/

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Panoramic mode is often only faux panoramic. The full frame is exposed as usual but the processor prints only the middle wide and low bit.

Your camera works only with APS film, so you've got no choice on formats when you load film.

But you've got a very good camera there. So use it it, and enjoy.

 

[JeremyLangford]

Panoramic mode is often only faux panoramic. The full frame is exposed as usual but the processor prints only the middle wide and low bit.

Your camera works only with APS film, so you've got no choice on formats when you load film.

But you've got a very good camera there. So use it it, and enjoy.

Well I was thinking about using it but I will have to buy film and a battery if I do. Im just kind of thinking that it will be hard to scan with an Epson v500 because it wont fit right and because the resolution will be lower. I was thinking that maybe I should try one of the 35mm point and shoots with Pano mode. I have an Olympus XA that is supposed to be my "carry everywhere" camera but I really hate the viewfinder. Its hard to see everything in the frame without pushing the viewfinder against your face. But after getting this Canon Elph and seeing a viewfinder that goes into Panoramic, I really think I want a camera that supports this.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

The panoramic stuff does not change the negative whatsoever. It just encodes 'panoramic' on the film rather than 'normal'. The negatives themselves stay the same.

 

[JeremyLangford]

So there are cheaper 35mm panoramic cameras that simply crop out the top and bottom of a normal size frame and then there are also expensive 35mm panoramic cameras such as the Hasslebad Xpan that don't crop out the top and bottom but instead actually give you a wider picture on the film strip.

I just found out that my Canon Elph's lens is an f/4.8. This disapoints me and makes me think that it will be no better than a point and shoot digital due to a its small film size and its slow lens. But theres no need for me not to try it out to see how APS works. I'm really thinking that I may like to try a Nikon AF600 because its 35mm and supports panooramic. I only wish it was an f/2.8 instead of an f/3.5.

Im really getting ahead of myself though because I have an Olympus XA that I need to try out also because I thought I was going to use it as my "take everywhere" camera. Basically, I am finally happy with my Minolta SRT-101 SLR camera and lenses, and now I am just looking for a point and shoot to have in my pocket at all times. The main reason I think I may not stick with APS is because I like the ability to do double exposures and also to change film speeds mid-roll. (I realize that a lot of APS cameras support this but not all do)

Does anyone know if the Nikon AF600 allows multiple exposures?