APS in the 21st Century?

[Rodchenko]

My lad is happy with the Canon SLR we picked up for bobbins from a local charity shop. But we were chatting, and he let me know he liked the APS cameras we used to have after we were burgled and the stupid insurance company insisted we bought at Jacobs, who said 35mm was pretty much dead, and APS was the future. Jacobs are now the past, but there it is.

Anyway, I got to thinking. The camera the lad was referring to particularly was not the ugly but a bit clever Canon zoom compact we had, but the Minolta Vectis S1. Not sure what attracts him, but the complete automation fascinated him when he was little. He does have Aspergers, which may be a factor, but he would always want to watch as I put a cassette in.

Anyway (again), I was thinking, as I said. There were some quite nice APS cameras, which can now be had for not much. The Contax Tix comes to mind, for one.

So does anyone still produce/process APS film, or would it be a case of buying up the OOD cassettes on ebay until they dry up?

And was there ever an APS rangefinder? That'd be a curious rarity if any were ever made.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Last time I checked, Ferrania still made it (the last manufacturer to do so). EDIT: But then I checked some more and found that Ferrania apparently no longer makes ANY film.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sevo]

Ferrania have on and off announced and revoked the end of their film production, and Ferrania made film (rebranded by Agfaphoto and others) surfaced well after their own distribution ended - but no matter whether they have finally closed the production, there is no doubt that they are not branding/marketing film any more, and with no third party distributing an APS film for many years, we can probably assume that they won't get back to that, even if some more 135 CN film from them should appear...

The particularly bad news with APS is that there probably won't ever be a substitute from a smaller maker - while LF, 120 or 135 can be packed at workshop scale, APS is even worse off than 110 or 126 (where cartridges already are quite an issue at low volume). It addition to a peculiar and complex cartridge, APS requires a magnet strip with pre-written data track for winding and positioning, and uses a thinner polyester base than regular film - in all, so much effort that it probably would be cheaper to buy a digital compact than a single cartridge of hand-made APS.

 

[ruby.monkey]

If it's the size and functionality of the APS cameras that he likes then just buy him a good digital P'n'S.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Minolta Vectis S-1's crop up on ebay and get ignored a lot. So why not go after one?

Several people bought up APS wholesale and are also selling it off (dearly) on ebay. So worth a look. Plus small batches (all stored in the 'fridge) come up on ebay from time to time.

Edit; (seconds later) one of the lenses (? 25-150mm) didn't have a MF choice and was AF only, which makes it cheaper.

Have fun.

Regards, David

 

[Rodchenko]

He's got a digital. He just likes APS. It may be because that's what he knew when he was young. I know I was keen for my dad to remember what type of camera he took on our holidays, but he doesn't know 🙁

 

[thegman]

Not sure where you are in the world, but in the UK, you can still buy new, in date APS Fujifilm film. I think it would be fair to say that it's future is limited, but I expect you'll still be able to purchase it in one way or another for years.

I don't see any harm in shooting a bit of APS, the cameras are cheap enough.

 

[oftheherd]

As thegman said, I don't know where you are, but you might find the below links of interest.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004TWM2

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TWM2/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2012/05/fujifilm-to-discontinue-aps-film

 

[Rodchenko]

Sorry, should have said. I live in England.

So it looks like a thing that's had its day, but it might be worth having some fun with a disappearing experience as it slides off into the sunset.

Interesting...

 

[Rodchenko]

Having a butchers at the Vectis S1, I am reminded of how it was to use. Lightweight and compact, but a bit limited.

And, though it isn't pretty, it's a lot easier on the eye than most of the other APS cameras. Let's face it: It'll never be regarded as the Golden Age of camera design. I love Olympus, I really do, but their efforts are best viewed from a distance or behind a wall.

I'd quite like a Tix, but the prices are higher than I had thought. I'm not paying that for something with a deeply uncertain future, and very little resale value when I've done with it. An S1's a possibility, though.

Whatever I do, I'm not getting a Canon Ixus Z90, which is the other APS camera we had, and has a face not even a mother could love.

 

[Mystyler]

Fuji has just recently stopped making APS film. Can still find a bit kicking around so if you want it, now is the time.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

While in France I've only seen one place where they sell Ilford XP2, I've seen quite a few that sell rolls of APS film and develop it; topsy-turvy. I wanted to buy a pack just for curiosity's sake, but then I thought about the other important stuff that needs to be taken care of at home!

 

[David Hughes]

HI,

You said " Lightweight and compact, but a bit limited." and that's not the S-1 I know, perhaps you had the other version, S100 or similar? They seem to be even cheaper.

Anyway, the S-1's the only APS SLR I know with a dedicated macro lens, choice of MF or AF, spot metering, pop-up and dedicated flash, etc, etc.

Regards, David

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

BTW, I used to own a Nikon APS SLR; so long ago I can't remember the name, but it was pretty good; I'd venture saying that it felt better than the Elan II (that I still have), the only drawback (film format aside) was the viewfinder. The kit lens was OK, but not worse than the Canon 28-70 kit zoom for some film cameras.

An APS rangefinder as a "curiosity" would be an excellent collectors item, I'm sure.

 

[Rodchenko]

It was definitely an S1. Perhaps I'm being unfair.

 

[Rodchenko]

HI,

You said " Lightweight and compact, but a bit limited." and that's not the S-1 I know, perhaps you had the other version, S100 or similar? They seem to be even cheaper.

Anyway, the S-1's the only APS SLR I know with a dedicated macro lens, choice of MF or AF, spot metering, pop-up and dedicated flash, etc, etc.

Regards, David

Oh blast you, David! Your reasonable reassessment has caused an oops on ebay involving an S1 and two zooms.

GAS strikes again. I wonder how I can explain this one away when the parcel arrives... 😱

 

[mugent]

I used to work in Jessops, the ex-major camera shop in the UK. There were some really lovely APS cameras, the Canon IXUS range were tiny, and lovely build quality (not all of them). APS was never going to catch on properly though, as the frame size was less than 35mm so it was a tough sell when people asked me 'whats the advantage of APS over 35mm?), I had to say, er, nothing really, easier film loading (although compared to modern 35mm compacts, not really)

Had they made APS a bigger frame than 35mm, then it may have been a different story.

 

[someonenameddavid]

However, the Minolta Vectis shares the name with the Roman Isle of Wight...

(There's not many people know that)

David

 

[Rodchenko]

The little Ixus was a design classic IMO, which is a lot more than you can say for most of these cameras, including our Ixus Z90, which was bulgy and ugly where the baby one was neat and compact.

I agree that a larger neg would have been a good move, but I think the industry was going through a crisis of confidence just then, and had decided no one was interested in 'photography', but people were after snaps, which implies convenience, fashion, and small sized cameras. It's noticeable that very few of them gave much technical detail in their promotion.

Since then, I'm pleased to say, there's been such a flourishing of our hobby, and a wider range of 'seriois' cameras as well as versatile but inexpensive ones.

What we do see in APS is the beginning of the user friendly interface whichi found very weird at first,w but which are now recognisable as the basis for the controls of digital cameras. In fact, it was the fundamental break with manual interfaces which paved the way for the digital cameras which spelled the end for this short and unusual diversion in equipment history.

 

[David Hughes]

Oh blast you, David! Your reasonable reassessment has caused an oops on ebay involving an S1 and two zooms.

GAS strikes again. I wonder how I can explain this one away when the parcel arrives... 😱

Um, try saying you forgot to take a tablet and that, even if you'd remembered, they don't work on really bad attacks of gas.

Or, when you compared your film prints with the digital ones it's obvious that digital makes people look much older than they are but don't answer any questions about when they were taken...

Regards, David