----- Original Message -----
From: "K.Takeshita" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: April 10, 2001 9:09 AM
Subject: Re: Film rewind with memory (WAS: Photo Expo Japan
2001 - MZ-SandFA31Ltd)
> on 4/10/01 10:29 AM, William Robb at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
> > BTW, the APS system is extremely problematic. Considering
the amount of R&D
> that went into it, I am surprised it is as bad as it is.
>
> Hi Bill,
>
> It seems you do have bad experiences and observations on the
APS system.
<snip>
> Could you be kind enough to elaborate a bit more about your
experience?
Most of the bad stuff is caused by the cassette itself.
Sometimes there are obvious problems with the camera, but
mostly, the cassette.
You are correct that the APS magazine is a (relatively speaking)
complicated little device. There is one more moving part on the
cartridge (the door) than 35mm, and a couple of data exchange
devices attached to the spool.
You also surmise correctly that they are made as cheaply as
possible. We buy factory tested APS replacement cartridges from
Kodak for less than 50 cents each. I am sure Kodak makes pretty
good money on them too.
Cheap and quality unfortunately don't go together.
So, here are the common APS problems:
Film thrust jams: This happens when we are exchanging the film
from the user cartridge to the temporary processing cartridge.
What happens is that the cassette, for whatever reason, jams up
and doesn't open the door properly. The film doesn't come out,
and usually suffers minor damage at the leader end, which is not
a big deal, as the leader is quite long.
Cartridge release failure: At the end of the film cartridge
exchange, the film must release from the cassette. Sometimes it
decides not to, so must be manually removed.
Film return error: Sometimes, no matter what we do, the cassette
just refuses to reload the processed film. We then have to
resort to the replacement cartridge.
Cartridge/printer interface problems: Sometimes the cartridge
will not work in the printer, so the film has to be put into a
replacement cartridge.
IX data exchange failure: This one is the most common. What
happens is that the magnetic data is scrambled or otherwise
incorrectly encoded. This causes us PQI problems, and also
formatting problems, as we don't know which format the frame was
shot in. Note this is more a camera/printer problem, but is
still a problem with the format.
Small negative syndrome: People insist on shooting 400 speed
film and specifying panoramics from that little 18x27mm
negative.
What really surprises me is the number of mechanical failures we
have. The format should have been designed with minilabs in
mind, as they were certainly the reality by the time the format
was in the design phase. What they have done is created a
technology that is almost designed to cause problems (at least
that is my opinion) at all stages of the process.
I suspect that it is the cheap cameras that create most of the
problems all the way through the process, and that this likely
is why you haven't had any difficulties. I expect you bought
into a quality product when you purchased your APS camera.
My reality, however, is the customer who paid $49.99 for their
camera.
Thanks
William Robb
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