Say Cheese (Fujifilm APS Fotonex 265ix zoom)

Member Name: wtwildcats

Product:	Fujifilm APS Fotonex 265ix zoom
Date:	14/12/02 (258 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lightweight, Easy to Use, Good results

Disadvantages: expensive developing costs

A few years ago my old 35mm point and click camera stopped working. It had an accident. It tried to commit suicide by leaping out of my car window whilst I was driving round a corner.

It succeeded as well. The camera rattled when I picked up the case it was in. Oh dear. That was a good camera too.

So, after chatting to a workmate who was an amateur photographer, and going to a camera shop, I decided to buy this Fugifilm Fotonex 265ix Zoom APS Camera. The main disadvantage with APS in general is the relatively high processing costs. When I bought the camera, I expected processing costs to come down, and they have, but not as far as I really would have liked, but that's the only downside that I've found.

If you are like me, and only want a point and click camera, then APS is a good option with the choice of 3 different size prints you can have and you select what size prints you want by moving a switch on the camera itself, so you can have totally different size prints throughout one film. Excellent for scenery shots.

Well, onto the camera itself. Like a lot of APS cameras it is small (compared to a 35mm point-and-click). The camera will fit into the palm of my hand, but that's a total waste of time, cos I can't take photos then.

It is feature packed; here is a list of main functions with additional comments:

APS Film Loading

Excellent little feature which means to load a film you just open the compartment and drop a film in. Close the compartment cover, and the film loads automatically. You also find that the film will always move on automatically after each photo.

Mid Roll Change

This is a feature which would come in useful if you cared about photographic results more than I do. It allows you to remove a partially exposed roll of film, and put in a different roll of film in, without damaging the partially full roll. Different films have different DX Speeds, and so are su
ited to different lighting conditions, and to get the best results you should choose the right film for the conditions. This facility would be useful for that purpose.

Digital Display

So, the camera has a databank. Wow! It displays (permanently) the date in DD MM YY format (can be changed when setting the camera up to MM DD YY if wanted), and tells you how many exposures are left. Unlike a 35mm camera, it is impossible to squeeze an extra photo out of the film. If it says 25 exposures on the film, that's what you get. This display also tells you what mode you camera is set in, if the power is on. It is located on the back of the camera, and is clear to read.

Information Printing

You can set a function to print the time and date that you took the photo on the front, back or both sides of the photo if you wish. The information is stored on the film, and added during developing. Useful, I think. I have my camera set to put the time and date on all prints at the back of the photo.

Multiple Photos

Before taking a photo, you can choose how many copies of that photo you want. Then take one photo, and the same exposure is copied onto the film however many times you set it (to a maximum of 10).

Exposure Modes

The camera can be set to various exposure modes - for example, no flash, flash, red eye reduction, night use, landscape mode etc. You can also manually set the focus on the camera so that the object in focus can be offset, and not placed in the middle of the photo - this must have some uses.

Zoom

It has one!! It's easily operated by fingertip control on a rocker switch - but I don't know what the zoom goes from and to - the manual doesn't even tell you. It just goes in and out. Pretty smart, eh?

The camera battery is one of the lithium batteries and has lasted me ages - approximately 250 - 300 photos. I had to buy a new battery when I was in Amsterdam in A
pril. I can't remember how much it cost - it was only a few Euros, and I thought "Blinking Eck, that's cheaper than over here!"

The camera itself cost me around £140 when I bought it, which felt like a lot of money to me, but it's worth it. Anyway, the one thing about APS is that the price of cameras has dropped over recent years. Surely developing will follow soon. (NOTE: Price quoted below is a few years old - so it will have dropped.)

There are other features too, like the self timer but I think I've gone on for far too long already.

Thanks for reading this, ratings and comments are always welcome.

Andy.

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