Still elicits that "Wow, cool camera!"
Written: Apr 17 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Tiny size. Metal body. Inherent advantages of APS film format.
Cons: Bad flash. So-so lens quality. Inherent limitation of APS film format.
The Bottom Line: If you've decided APS is a film format you want to use, this is a fine choice, especially for casual and spur-of-the-moment use.
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| theinnergeek's Full Review: Canon Elph 240 APS Film Camera |
Small is cool
"It's so small!" Whip out the Canon Elph and hear this comment from someone everytime. Now, being a man, that's not typically a comment you enjoy hearing upon whipping something out, but for cameras, it's cool. The metallic casing and nice form factor generally also contribute to the Elph's coolness factor.
The unit is sturdily built except for one feature: the pop-up flash is weak in terms of both illumination and also in terms of construction. The flash on my Elph won't completely shut anymore.
(Note: My particular Elph has "Made in Taiwan" on the bottom. The Good Guys salesman informed me that some units are manufactured in Japan and others in Taiwan. Get a Nipponese-made one if you can.)
But how's the picture quality?
Cool is nice, but what sort of pictures does the Elph take? After having taken upwards of 30 rolls of film on my Elph, I'd rate the photo quality as "adequate". The grain and depth just can't compete with standard 35mm prints. I use a very high-quality photo developer (not the local supermarket!) and they try their best, but the original negatives just cannot provide the source material they need to work with to produce excellent prints.
Advanced Photo System (APS) format does afford a lot of neat-o options, however, and those shouldn't be discounted. Most APS cameras allow you to shoot in Normal, Wide, and Panoramic aspect ratios. The time-date stamping options are more advanced compared to most 35mm cameras. And the film stays inside the cartridge after developing; you get the same roll canister back that you submitted to your photo developer, plus a little color index print of all the shots. Very handy for storing your originals and making reprints and enlargements.
Also, because APS is a smaller format (24mm, I believe), the cameras are smaller. Loading film is a snap, too. Just drop the canister inside the Elph and close the door. No threading of film.
The Elph's zoom is a decent 2x but if you need more, your camera will need to be larger in size to accommodate the deeper lens. Pretty clearly, Canon engineered the Elph around a size and price point. All the limitations I've noted stem from its small size.
But its size and price point are both positive attributes of this camera. If you don't need professional-quality photos and don't want manual options and want a cool-looking and tiny camera, the Canon Elph is a fine choice. I happen to like the APS format, despite its lesser quality compared to 35mm, and I like my Elph.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
theinnergeek
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Location: South Pasadena, CA USA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
I am the CEO of an Internet startup, thus, I have no life.
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