Pros: Pocket sized, ease of use, choice of photo sizes.
Cons: A little spendy to develop film, no zoom on this model.
The Bottom Line: A great camera for people on a budget like teenagers, college kids, etc. It's a good beginner camera and has above average quality, features, convenience, and excellent size!
bowesc's Full Review: Canon Elph LT APS Film Camera
I've had my Canon Elph LT for about 2 1/2 years now and I haven't had any significant problems with it yet. I chose to purchase this particular camera because of the Elph's reputation as a pretty good camera and primarily because I wanted a camera I could carry in my pocket while out on picture-taking adventures.
They seem to have come down in price since I purchased mine (as usually is the case). I paid $80 and have seen them advertised for $50-$60 so you can't really argue about the price.
Features:
*3 photo sizes to choose from--4x6, 4x7, 4x12
*APS film
*Date & time stamp on back of picture
*Ability to print title messages on back of picture in 6 different languages:
-I Love You
-Thank You
-Seasons Greetings
-Happy Birthday
-Congratulations
* 6 flash modes
Picture Quality: Well this IS fairly cheap camera, not a professional model but generally my pictures come out with reasonably good quality. It seems that the 4x12s have a bit more grainy quality than the other sizes but this is to be expected. The picture takes the same picture with either size you use but it stretches it appropriately for whatever size you have selected. Thus, naturally a 4x12 will have lower quality than a 4x6 because it has been stretched 6 inches. The reason the picture is the same regardless is because this model does not have zoom so it has no way of taking a closer or larger picture. I have the best luck with the 4x6 and 4x7 sizes and generally colors come out well and you don't get a lot of "red-eye" effects. With the different flash modes, and some studying & learning of how to use them, you can get around that problem as well as others often encountered in photos. I'm far from being an expert on this topic so I can't comment much further on this aspect, but I do appreciate having different flash modes for different situations.
Ease of use: The Elph LT is classified as a point and shoot and that is true. No sizing things up or changing the focus so it is pretty easy to use. The only thing that can be a little confusing is the different flash modes. While I am glad to have them, they are also hard to learn which to use in each situation, in my opinion. You have to remember what each symbol means on the camera and what circumstances you should use them under. The instruction book is kind of thick so I wouldn't want to carry it around with the camera. I made a copy of the flash mode instruction pages to fold up and store in the camera case. Otherwise, I can't say there are any cons to using the Elph LT.
Film: I love the APS. Some people say it's too expensive to develop and sometimes doesn't have the best quality but I think it's worth it. I think compared to other point-and-shoot cameras, the quality is equal. Sure, it's not the same quality as an expensive, professional camera. It's not meant to be. And as far as price of film and developing it goes...you get things you don't get with regular 35mm too (I pay $6 for a single set of 25 exposures or $10 for a double set at Costco). You have the choice of sizes, the cartridge instead of negatives, and ease of making reprints. No longer do you need to hold your negatives up in the light to see what one you want a copy of. You also don't need to keep track of all the negative strips and handle them with care because you have a small plastic cartridge that you can easily reuse over and over again. Every time you develop you get an index print so it's easy to see what pictures are on each cartridge. The index print has a number corresponding to the cartridge's number so it's easy to tell which print goes to which cartridge. I can't praise the simplicity enough in this category.
The only thing I wish I had on this camera that I don't is the zoom function. While those that do have the zoom function, may not zoom very far, I have had instances where it would have come in handy nonetheless. But generally you must pay a lot more for that function as well so it depends on what features are most important to you.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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