What is APS?

[leeroy]

What is APS?

[John]

Assuming this is not a troll question, I'll attempt a simple answer, which
is strictly IMHO.
APS is yet another attempt by Kodak to sell less film (in terms of square
inches per box) for more money. They have been trying this ever since 110
film was made. Remember the "Disc" format?

APS is supposed to have a coating upon which exposure info is recorded.
This is supposed to help the photo finisher make better prints.

Sadly, most consumer cameras do not have the elctroincs to apply this
information, and many processor have not spent the money to read the info,
even if it is written.

So, unless you have a crying, dying need to spend 15% more for 15% less
film, or really need a tiny camera, get a 35mm model.

[Steven]

For a more un-biased response....
Advanced Photo System (APS) is a film format slightly smaller than
35mm film. Despite its smaller size, the emulsion is constructed such
that the resulting print quality will not suffer. The film cartridges
themselves are shaped diffrently than ordinary 35mm, and allow for
drop in loading. This can be great for the beginner, because you
never have to worry about damaging the film during load time. APS
Film is capable of quite a few addition things that 35mm is not,
however the features that you can take advantage of are limited to the
features of the camera you buy. I suspect that, if APS becomes more
popular in consumer markets, then more cameras will be built to take
full advantage of these features. Companies tend to skimp on their
R&D budgets if they don't think anyone would buy the product to begin
with. Some of these features, by the way, include the ability to
switch back and forth between formats (panoramic, classic, and
wideformat), mid-roll rewind, a Print Quality Improvement (PQI) layer
that magnetically stores exposure data for the photo lab to process
your prints better, and a Fixed Time Printing Mode (FTPM) that ensures
the photolab won't make a color correction for an effect that you
correctly exposed. Granted, the latter two features require your
photo lab to own special equipment. If you think it'll be a problem,
call local labs and ask before you run out to buy an APS Camera.

Another note about processing. You can buy APS film in 15, 25, or 40
expsoures I believe, but I may be mistaken. When you drop off your
film to be processed, you will get the negatives back rolled into the
APS Cartridge. This is kinda neat as you won't have to handle the
negatvies yourself, and they will be kept much cleaner as a result.
Also, you'll get an index print back, too. This is just a single
paper that has reduceded versions of all the pictures on your roll.
It makes reprinting and archiving nice and painless.

Personally, I don't use it. Primarily, just because there are not
enough types of APS out there yet. You're pretty much just stuck with
4-5 choices, in comparrison to well over 150 with 35mm....

[Jim]

APS
Advanced
Photo
System

Acute
Profit
System

A
Piece of
Sh*t

It all depends upon your point of view.

I work in the industry selling cameras and see no need for APS, other
than to introduce something *NEW* into the industry.

Why am I so negative about APS?
The industry as a whole made several claims about APS when it first
came out.

Among them were the fact that you'll never get a bad picture again.
BULL! I've seen underexposed pictures and rolls developed where the
balance on the machines was off, so the sky was a bit off-color.

Second, the film can jam within the camera. This is NOT covered under
any defect warranty. And there is a charge of $50-$80 to retrieve the
camera and (hopefully) fix the camera.

Third, I HATE KODAK!!
They are the biggest liars when it comes to advertising. When APS
came out Kodak ran a commercial during the Olympics where they showed
3 pictures of a boy at a circus. These pics were to illustrate the 3
different picture size options. The 4x6 and 4x7 pics showed a tight
shot of a boy and an elephant. When it came to the panoramic, bannedbannedbannedbanneding
Kodak backed the lens up giving you much more in the picture.

Hey Kodak!! Ever hear about truth in advertising?

Save your money and stay 35mm or spend at least $500 and get a good
digital camera.

In my "professional opinion" APS is not all it is cracked up to be.

IMHO.