APS film cameras

[yinyangbt]

Hello, again !
I'm just curious if there is somebody still using advantix APS film ? I find appealing the 16/9 original crop ,the cameras are cheap (even the film isn't) and I'd give a try ,just for fun .As for the cameras I'd have to choose between Canon IX , Nikon Pronea and Minolta Vectis .Any hints?

[Tom hicks]

Teo , I still play with it and find it a lot of fun . I can still produce some nice images . Follow the link below.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...d.php?t=121624

[tom.w.bn]

Expensive film, expensive development, inferior quality compared to 35mm film, not easy to scan with a normal scanner. I had such a thing 10 years ago and even the cameras where no fun to use compared to other PS cameras. Just my opinion.

[Ezzie]

I rather liked my Ixus 1 APS camera. The first ever Ixus. Really beautiful camera, and easy to use. Mediocre results compared to 35mm though. Nowadays I can´t get APS processed here in Norway.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/awcam/2664405313/

[yinyangbt]

Originally Posted by Tom hicks

Teo , I still play with it and find it a lot of fun . I can still produce some nice images . Follow the link below.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...d.php?t=121624

Great link , Tom , thanks !
tom.w.bn , seems right about prices of film and processing
Ezzie , so ,no way to send my films in Norway ?!
Wich are the best lenses for this format , in your experience?

[David Hughes]

Hi,

The cameras are dirt cheap, often pennies on ebay and in charity shops. The best are brilliant (look at the Contax Tix but don't curse me if if fails and can't be repaired). The Minolta SLR is an eye opener and the Kodak T550 is a neat design and a fine pocket camera. Konica does the Z3 - a great compact zoom and there's the Rollei Nano 80 as well. There's even a Leica C11 but I'd rather not say what I think of it!

Sample:


Film's cheap as some are unloading it and D&P costs no more than a 24 or 36 exposure 35mm camera film.

Regards, David

[GaryLH]

+1 Contax tix is best of the lot.. Minolta slr was really good...

Gary

[Spanik]

Never used my Ixus much after I got the first 2 rolls back. Big disappointment.

[Doug]

Back in 2004 I got a Canon ELPH Jr as a tiny pocket camera; fast 26mm f/2.8 non-zoom and just big enough to fit an APS film. It's been handy as an alternative camera while traveling.

[David Hughes]

Originally Posted by Spanik

Never used my Ixus much after I got the first 2 rolls back. Big disappointment.

Hi,

I'll second that but it cost me pennies with the leather(?) case and manual. I could never see what the fuss was about the IXUS/Elph.

Regards, David

[David Hughes]

Hi,

My Contax Tix taken with the wife's Tix (or, perhaps, the other way round.



BTW, the picture of the green MG was taken with a Konica Revio Z3.

Regards, David

[Peter_wrote:]

i bought a nikon pronea s some time ago. just because it was more or less for free and i liked the design somehow. i also bought one film for it, but haven't used it till now.
unfortunately the mirror sticks sometimes.

i especially like how to flash pops up. to bad that it uses such an ugly film format.

[yinyangbt]

Very good samples , David , very encouraging . Konica and Contax seemed to do a good job here .Canon IX and IX 7 could also be a choice using best Canon fit lenses I can afford (the best lens available should be important because of the small frame .In Romania I doubt I'll find a lab still processing this ,so I'll have to do this myself (wich probably is doubtful ) or sending to a more distant location to process .Do you find a good lab processing this in your area or you have similar problems?

[kdemas]

The Contax Tix is a gem of a little camera, beautifully built and a terrific performer. The Nikon Pronea 600i when married to top end Nikkor glass probably takes the all time best award.

[David Hughes]

Originally Posted by yinyangbt

Very good samples , David , very encouraging . Konica and Contax seemed to do a good job here .Canon IX and IX 7 could also be a choice using best Canon fit lenses I can afford (the best lens available should be important because of the small frame .In Romania I doubt I'll find a lab still processing this ,so I'll have to do this myself (wich probably is doubtful ) or sending to a more distant location to process .Do you find a good lab processing this in your area or you have similar problems?

Hi,

Thanks, I'm pleased with them both but wonder what will happen when they fail. I hope they fail after my APS film in cold storage runs out.

As for processing, there are four one hour labs within a short distance of me (in small market towns) and one of them is brilliant and gets all my work.

Once out of the cassette APS looks like any other film as, once, a label came off in the lab and they asked everyone if they could recognise the negatives. So you ought to be able to process them if you can adapt a tank to take them.

Regards, David

[nikonosguy]

leica made an aps camera -- the local dealer has one for $100

[kdemas]

Originally Posted by nikonosguy

leica made an aps camera -- the local dealer has one for $100

I have one, the C11. Actually a very sharp lensed (though slow) little P&S. I bought one for my sister years ago and it served as a great little travel/family camera.

[Godfrey]

I had a few of them ... the Contax Tix was by far my favorite. I still have the excellent little Canon ELPH Jr and a Nikon Pronea S, and a ton of now hard to find film (Kodak B&W, Fuji F100, etc) stored in the freezer.

Difficult and expensive to process? Hmm. It costs the same to process a roll of 40 exposure APS negatives at the local drugstore (Walgreens) as it does to process a roll of 35mm negatives. Printing APS is a pain if you are working in a darkroom, but if you've got a Nikon Coolscan IV or V film scanner and the APS negative carrier, it's a doddle! Load a roll, tell Vuescan to preview all the frames, walk through them and set capture parameters for each frame individually, then say 'scan' and walk away. An hour later the scanner will be done and your image ready for you to work with in Lightroom or other image processing app of your choice. Much easier than working with rolls of 35mm.

Nikon Pronea S + IX-Nikkor 30-60mm
Kodak Advantix B&W

It's fun. I wish I had more time ... most of my photographic time nowadays is going into 6x6 film and Leica M9 digital work. If anyone's interested in the APS stuff I have, I'll be happy to offer it all at a very reasonable price. Just send me a note.

[nikonosguy]

but they don't have any bokeh....

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by nikonosguy

but they don't have any bokeh....

I think you miss the meaning of the word 'bokeh'. It means the 'quality of blur' not the amount of blur. If you've used a small lens opening at a reasonable distance to achieve a good bit of depth of field and image sharpness, you won't see much blur.

But I assure you that if I fit my Pronea S with the Nikkor-H 85mm f1.8 lens or Nikkor 50mm f/1.2, and set the lens opening to f/2, and make a portrait distance photo with it, you'll see not only a good bit of blur but also some lovely bokeh.

[yinyangbt]

Great feed back from all of you , thanks !
So , I decided to take a plunge : I am waiting for a Canon EOS IX body + 4 rolls of 25 exp (200 ASA) for 25 $ ! Couldn't resist !
a good news for me is that my local lab wich processes my 35mm can process also the APS film (well , in a crude manner , they have not the hardware dedicated , but manually open the cassette and develop. After all ,I'll scan myself and I'll need the strips )
I'd pair the IX with the Tamron 17-35 (wich gave me good results on EOS XTi) and the MkI 50mm/1.8.

[David Hughes]

A little while ago I took some photo's using both the Contax Tix and the Leica C11. Both cameras were carried round and pictures taken within seconds of each other under almost identical conditions and the cameras both set to auto. The Contax has a prime 28mm lens and so the Leica's zoom was used at the 23mm setting.

Here are two samples:





I expect the focal lengths will give the game away but have a look at the difference.

Regards, David

[Messsucherkamera]

I could never see any point in the whole APS thing.

I have an Olympus Stylus Epic that I used during the APS era but I could never see why anyone would
want a camera that made such tiny negatives.

JMHO...

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Well, you can make big pictures with it and the truth is that to millions of people a 4" x 6" is normal and 5" x 7" is big. Ask any one -hour lab what paper roll they use most... Then wonder why people waste time with 35mm film but that's being logical.

But I get 5" x 7 1/2" out of mine which is better than the cropped 5 x 7 from 35mm. And an 8" x 12" from the Contax Tix is easy but I've not gone bigger. I guess I could but it would be expensive to check.

The other advantage to the Contax is it's size and facilities. I can easily get the exposure details printed on the back of the prints, even by one hour labs. And a lot of APS cameras are being given away on ebay and so on. Try the Rollei Nano 80 for a decent camera with a zoom lens and compare the price with its 35mm film equivalent. And look at the Minolta Vectis S-1 which is a SLR with some very nice lenses and excellent state of the art facilities.

OK. Rant over, I'll go and lay down quietly. ;-)

Regards, David

[dct]

My biggest print from an APS negative was ~12x15" (30x40cm exactly) and I would even go further. Definitly no problem.