APS life or death

momosgarage · 10-21-2004

I have a chance to get a APS SLR, which is actually quite small. At first I thought RF, but its a slr. How long do you guys thinks APS film will be made? I think longer than most expect because a a lot of photo labs invested in APS developers. From what i've been told they were quite expensive and some have not been paid off yet. I think they might make a big stink if the film was not produced anymore (after all 110 film still exists). I intend to get the aps film developed without prints. I have a scan dual II with the aps adapter and I wouldn't mind trying it out. I 'll bet shooting APS with the intention of scanning will give quite good results and be pretty cheap. What do you guys think, could APS have done better if it was sold as a product to be scanned and photoshop edited?

MP Guy · 10-21-2004

Read this ...

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0401/04011301kodakfilm.asp

Roman · 10-21-2004

Well, I believe APS is already dead - no more new cameras, few films available, the were focussed at the same customers that are now using digital compacts; kinda like disc cameras; film might be available for a few more years, but I would not bet on it...

DougK · 10-21-2004

Depends on the price of the SLR. If it's cheap enough, go ahead and get it, it'll be a fun toy to play with. Like I mentioned elsewhere on these forums, I have two APS cameras and I intend to keep shooting them. If the film supply eventually runs out, well, I still have 35mm and MF to play with :-)
I seem to recall seeing a trade mag article posted to the web somewhere not too long ago that Olympus marketed their cameras with scanners for a time, I'll have to see if I can track down the reference.

Doug K.

Doug K.

momosgarage · 10-21-2004

The article hits on what I said. Retailers have made big investments in APS, will they let it die without a fight? Super-8 cameras have not been made in a long time, but film is still sold by kodak. Even fuji still make single-8 film. Single-8 and super-8 combined have a smaller worldwide user base than APS. So, what about scanning? APS film is pretty cheap in bulk. Could APS have done better if it was sold as a product to be scanned and photoshop edited?

DougK · 10-21-2004

I knew I'd find the reference...

http://www.worldofphoto.com/pdf-Arch...ic02_06_15.pdf

Doug K.

DougK · 10-21-2004

My $0.02 worth...

I think digital cameras got cheap enough for acceptable photo quality much more quickly than anyone anticipated, otherwise APS might have done better. Also, it probably would have helped if the first generation cameras would have been of better quality out of the gate. The quality showed up, but only after a bad impression had already been formed in people's minds. Just think how pocketable a fixed-lens manual RF could have been...

Doug K.

pshinkaw · 10-21-2004

Remember that 126 is really 35mm film and 110 is 16mm film. They can be hand processed in small quantities. Capital investment in expensive processing machinery can be stranded very quickly. I wonder how much Kodak really cares with their bottomline sagging as badly as it must be.

Have a good time while the film is still around. I'm going to retire my Instamatic 500 (126) and Pocket Instamatic 60 (110) after I use up my dwindling stocks of Verichrome Pan. I'm astonished that there are still supplies of 127 film around for my Yashica 44.

-Paul

rover · 10-21-2004

I think the APS SLRs will be collectors items some day worth lots of money.

Anyone want to buy a Canon IX?

pshinkaw · 10-22-2004

Just like Disc cameras?

The only 126 camera swith any value above the "junk" level seems to be the Contaflex 126 plus any 126 still in its original box with with instructions and accessories.

-Paul

oftheherd · 10-22-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by pshinkaw
Just like Disc cameras?

The only 126 camera swith any value above the "junk" level seems to be the Contaflex 126 plus any 126 still in its original box with with instructions and accessories.

-Paul

Try to buy one of the Rollei 126 cameras the next time you see one on eb*y.

pshinkaw · 10-22-2004

True, There seem to be so few I forgot about them. You do mean the Rollei SLR model right? I have one of the collapsing brick shaped viewfinder models, but it had junk status even when 126 was still widely available.

-Paul