New Vectis 3000 APS camera
Written: Apr 28 '03 (Updated May 20 '03)
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Pros: small, lightweight, compact APS film camera....22-66 zoom, date time imprint.
Cons: none that I have discovered as of yet..
The Bottom Line: It is a lightweight, easy to use point and shoot. The price was right. I like the clear color and quality of my prints.
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| knc1's Full Review: Konica Minolta Vectis 3000 APS Film Camera |
Just before flying out of LAX to Edinburgh and London, my Canon Elph2 APS camera decided to quit working, right at the airport. I took a photo, and the film stuck. I tried to rewind the film. Eventually it rewound, and would not open. I could not get a battery, did not have a spare one. I could not figure out if low battery was the problem. During our layover (waiting to fly on to Glasgow) at London Heathrow my mom and I found Dixon's camera chain. I went and bought a new battery. I put it in but my Elph2 still did not work. I told my mom, and she took me back in to Dixon's.
We were told it by the staff member it was not the battery. I had 10 rolls APS film and no working camera. I was tired and upset. My mom decided I needed a new camera. She intended to just buy me an inexpensive APS one so I could use my film. I had my own ideas. Anyway we compared an Olympus model, a Fuji, the Vectis 3000, and a "no name" brand. I tried all 4 models. The no name brand camera had no zoom, literally just point and shoot. I didn't want it. I narrowed it down to the Olympus and the Vectis 3000. Mom wanted the Olympus, but I wanted the Minolta. Of course, it was a little bit more GBP. We bought the Vectis 3000, 93.88 GBP (exchange rate approx $1.71 U.S./GBP).
What sold me on the Vectis are the features. I find the APS film loading is easy with drop in loading. With APS film there is no film lead to load. The slide open case pops out the lens, and works very smoothly, no pop up flash to worry about. The flash settings include the red-eye reduction, flash off, nighttime, fill-in. The switch from telephoto to wide angle is at the touch of a button. It is on the top right on the back. I found the date/time is not as easy to set as my Elph2 though. The switching between the 3 picture modes, classic, tall and panoramic is electronic. My Elph2 had a manual switch. My Canon Elph2 had 23-46 zoom lens, with 2X zoom. This has a 22-66 zoom lens with 3x zoom. This is an upgrade from my Elph2. This camera is a bit bigger in size, more rounded corners, my Elph2 was squared and smaller. This one feels a little bit different.
The quality of my photos are pretty good. I shot 10 rolls of film on this trip with my mom. The panoramic setting I used to take a a photo of a long wall of cannons at Sterling Castle. I used the tall setting for several photos of churches, and of Edinburg Castle. A few of my photos were blurry because I was in a hurry. The APS processing is a little bit more expensive than regular 35mm. Costco's 1 hour price is $5.89. My mom takes all of our film there for developing.
Dixon's had the Vectis 3000 at a sale price 1/2 off, and no tax, duty free. My mom did not even consider buying me any disposable cameras.
One problem my mom had though was with the slide out case. A couple of times she almost closed the case by mistake. The lens pops back in if you do this.
I wanted a good quality, compact, easy to use camera, with the zoom lens. This camera will get a lot of use. I will take it with me to college in the fall.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 145.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
knc1
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Location: Riverside CA
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I am a High School Senior, active in Marching Band. I graduate 2003.
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