APS film photos

RonKolos · Feb 17, 2025

Hi all,

I accidentally bought 2 rolls of APS film thinking it was normal 35mm film. Now I want to use them up so I'll buy a little APS camera. Can someone tell me if the APS photos have the numbers on their edges after they get developed? Because online I see a lot of the APS photos have the film exp numbers on their edges

loccdor · Feb 17, 2025

It should if it's normal APS film coming from a major manufacturer. If it was recut/respooled, maybe not.

AZD · Feb 17, 2025

They should have factory edge markings.

After processing you are unlikely to get an index print as originally intended, and your film may be permanently removed from the canister as all the specialized processing doodads and whatnot are long gone.

Should be fun, you could get something interesting. APS cameras are practically free now, so low risk. Use that film! Might as well.

FWIW, I recently found an undeveloped roll of Kodak something or another from my APS phase and had it processed. It had aged very poorly.

Never say never, but I don’t think there was ever respooled APS. The substrate was very thin, and the cameras may have used a magnetic strip on the film for frame spacing.

Good luck!

Don_ih · Feb 17, 2025

AZD said:
I don’t think there was ever respooled APS

We've had a long discussion of this in this thread - the upshot is: it's not worthwhile thinking about it. Someone claims to be able to do it, someone claims to have done it, others claim it can't be done. I think the consensus is, while it might be possible, it's just not worth doing because it probably still won't work.

Paul Howell · Feb 17, 2025

I found 4 rolls of Fuji 200 APS, still had a camera my wife use to use, shot the roll had it processed, after 20 years the unrefrigerated Fuji aged poorly. Lots grain, even for APS, some fog, and color looked odd. My local shop still has the tool to detach and reattach the film from the cassette and their Frontier has the setting for APS, just not worth the effort to shoot the other 3 roll which I gave to the store owner. He intends to cross process in E6.

RonKolos · Feb 17, 2025

Interesting stuff. Ok, thanks. Yeah I'll use them up and see how they come out.

AZD · Feb 17, 2025

Don_ih said:
We've had a long discussion of this in this thread - the upshot is: it's not worthwhile thinking about it. Someone claims to be able to do it, someone claims to have done it, others claim it can't be done. I think the consensus is, while it might be possible, it's just not worth doing because it probably still won't work.

See, there you go. Still, it’s a bit like forging dollar bills. Sure, but why?

I’m all for using up what’s still available though, otherwise it’s truly wasted. Better to use it while it’s possible.

Hopefully the OP is wiser than me and didn’t pay three hundred genuine 1998 dollars for a Canon ELPH ix240. Still one of my more regrettable choices. It looked SO cool, and was SO tiny… and the pictures were SO fuzzy. I’d pay up to $5 for one today.

RonKolos · Feb 17, 2025

AZD said:
Hopefully the OP is wiser than me and didn’t pay three hundred genuine 1998 dollars for a Canon ELPH ix240. Still one of my more regrettable choices. It looked SO cool, and was SO tiny… and the pictures were SO fuzzy. I’d pay up to $5 for one today.

I went for this super, cool-looking Nikon Nuvis. Always wanted a Nikon. I heard they're quality cameras, Haha

BradS · Feb 17, 2025

APS...jeeez, it seems so long ago, and it lasted for such a short time. Seems really odd that it is still a topic of discussion.

Have fun. Let us know how the pictures turn out.

RonKolos · Feb 17, 2025

BradS said:
APS...jeeez, it seems so long ago, and it last for such a short time. Seems really odd that it is still a topic of discussion.

Have fun. Let us know how the pictures turn out.

I never even knew there was such a thing until I couldn't fit the film into my 35mm camera. I thought I got sold a dud. Then I noticed it said "APS" on the label, so I searched online to find out about it and read the story. Fascinating story actually. Funny how it never caught on, while the 120mm and 35mm film is still going strong.

AZD · Feb 17, 2025

Under £6, you did well.

APS was kind of all the wrong answers, at exactly the wrong time, to all the right questions about how to make photography easier for people who didn’t really care about photography and just wanted to get on with their birthday pictures and sunsets. Once digicams answered the questions correctly, APS died almost instantly. Then the iPhone killed the digicams.

35mm and 120 still had enough dedicated users to stay somewhat relevant for longer. That might still be true.

Paul Howell · Feb 17, 2025

APS replaced 110 and 126, it was a joint project that allowed for Kodak, Fuji, and Konica film to be used in any number of APS cameras, Nikon, Canon, Minolta, along with a number of point and shoot brands. Film size is about the same as 1/2 frame, with Kodak or Fuji 100 it was possible to get a pretty good 5X7 and a passable 8X10, never saw a decent 11X14. My wife liked it as it was plug and play. She wanted to use for work, she was a feature writer for the local paper but soon discovered that the paper could not process it so she got a point and shoot 135mm. APS came out just as some advanced 135mm hit the market, auto film advance, auto leader loading, good metering and a few expensive models with fast lens. Then came digital. APS was way better than disk, as good as 110 in an higher end camera, but not as good as 126 which was about the same size as 135mm.

xkaes · Feb 17, 2025

Don_ih said:
We've had a long discussion of this in this thread - the upshot is: it's not worthwhile thinking about it. Someone claims to be able to do it, someone claims to have done it, others claim it can't be done. I think the consensus is, while it might be possible, it's just not worth doing because it probably still won't work.

My understanding is that there is a monk in Tibet who has reloaded APS cassettes, but getting there in one piece is a chore -- and getting back alive is even more difficult. Apparently he's being protected by a group of very dedicated Yeti.

Don_ih · Feb 17, 2025

xkaes said:
My understanding is that there is a monk in Tibet who has reloaded APS cassettes, but getting there in one piece is a chore -- and getting back alive is even more difficult. Apparently he's being protected by a group of very dedicated Yeti.

Sounds about right.

BradS · Feb 17, 2025

xkaes said:
My understanding is that there is a monk in Tibet who has reloaded APS cassettes, but getting there in one piece is a chore -- and getting back alive is even more difficult. Apparently he's being protected by a group of very dedicated Yeti.

He was recently exiled and now lives incognito in Evanston Illinois.

Don_ih · Feb 18, 2025

Also, the guy who was "going to be selling reloaded APS film" mentioned in the other thread has not posted an update in over a year (last update I found was him saying it would be available to sell in a few months). So ...

APS film photos

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