In February 1996, the Advanced Photo System (APS) was introduced as a joint project with Kodak, Fuji, Canon, Nikon, and Minolta. The IX240 film cartridges are optimized for fully automatic film loading, enclosing the 24mm wide film completely when not in use. (Camerapedia).
Some of the features provided by the Advanced Photo System include:
- Magnetic information exchange (IX): A virtually transparent magnetic layer coated across the filmstrip that can be used by cameras and other writing devices to record scene related information that, in turn, can be retrieved by photofinishing and post-processing equipment to provide higher quality pictures and other features.
- Drop-in film cartridge loading.
- Three different picture formats (Classic, HDTV, and Panoramic aspect ratios). (Wayback Machine).
Most APS format cameras support 3 exposure formats:
- C for “classic” (25.1 x 16.7 mm; aspect ratio 3:2; 4×6″ print or 10×15 cm print)
- H for “HDTV” (30.2 x 16.7 mm; aspect ratio 16:9; 4×7″ print or 10×18 cm print)
- P for “panoramic” (30.2 x 9.5 mm; aspect ratio 3:1; 4×12″ print or 10×24 cm print)
The exposure data is used for corrections of underexposure or overexposure by the photo lab. It’s also used for removing a film from a camera for putting it back into it later. Thus a photographer can switch between color film and black and white film until both films are full. The additional mechanical marker in the film cartridge shows when a film is full. This marker shows whether the film is empty, in use, full, or developed. (Camerapedia).
The Visual Exposure Indicator is a series of four icons located on one end of the film cartridge which provide the following information regarding the exposure status of the filmstrip:
The “partially exposed” indicator is designed for photographers who have cameras designed for mid-roll film changing. Cameras with this feature provide the flexibility to change film types and speeds, at any time, at the user’s discretion. (Wayback Machine).
“Despite the new film’s features, its size hindered its adoption by professional photographers, having only 80% of the frame size (diagonal) of 35mm film and 56% of the area (at best, with HDTV format; panorama format has only 30% area). It was planned to give this sort of film a higher resolution to give APS users a clear advantage. But soon, 35mm films were sold with the same resolution.” (Camerapedia). The APS film advantages were overshadow within five years by higher resolution 35mm films and by cheaper digital cameras. To compound the problem fresh APS film was last manufactured in 2011 with Kodak being the only company to issue black & white film.
Outdated film that was not stored properly does not develop well. Despite that you get film with weird characteristics that can be exploited by digital editing. Posted here are two APS film images I took with one being color and the other black & white. You see the before and after photos can be quite dramatic. The color film was reasonably fresh thus it developed quite well. By contrast the black & white film was not fresh and you see how it came out. This image was edited to bring out the highlights of the scene and it came out in a way you could not Photoshop it. Photoshop does not have a feature where you can turn an original image into an outdated ‘stale’ image than reedit it to look funky.
Advantix is Kodak’s brand name used for its APS cameras and film, including some disposable cameras. For the above photos I used the Olympus Centurion. “The Centurion was Olympus’s SLR for the Advanced Photo System (APS). It was called a “bridge camera” or a “ZLR” (Zoom Lens Reflex) since it was a real single lens reflex camera, but with built-in lens. It was more compact than other SLRs for the APS film system.” (Camerapedia). When you buy outdated film there is no way to tell if it has been stored properly until you have it developed. You can take a chance and just digitally edit it for maximum effect.
About the Advanced Photo System
Artfulness 