APS stands for Advanced Photo System and was created in 1996 to provide new technologies and automation that 35mm cameras couldn't even dream about. The secret is in the film. First, it's 24 millimeters (mm) wide instead of 35mm, which allows APS cameras to be a little smaller, easier to carry. Instead of having negatives that need to be printed using light and analog techniques, APS films use magnetic technologies to create pictures. You can choose among 3 different print sizes for each exposure you take. You can title your prints from a choice of different titles in several languages. You can even stamp the time and date in the picture or in back of it. You even have some degree of adjusting the resulting picture because APS uses IX (Information Exchange).

Most of the same basic features exist in both. Flexibility and more options in taking photos along with more organized ways of developing and indexing photos are main selling points. The average APS camera is also much smaller than the average 35mm camera. While taking pictures you have a choice of what size (or mode) to take your pictures in. All APS cameras have the option of choosing between 3 different picture formats. Time/day stamps and optional titling are also advantages. When you develop 35mm film, the film is removed from the cartridge (as negatives) in order to be printed. Negative strips must be filed and may be subject to dust or wear. Developed APS film remains in the cartridge, safe and secure. You receive a contact-sheet with small-size prints that is easy to file and store. It is difficult to try to optimize a picture from a 35mm negative whereas APS offers considerable latitude in doing so.

When you expose 35mm film in a camera, the film's reaction is based on chemical processes that are activated by light. An APS camera converts light into electromagnetic energy. The film records the image magnetically; somewhat similar to the way digital videotape might store an image.

Using electromagnetic energy allows more than an image to be stored. You can add other forms of information. Using the camera to add custom information onto APS film is called IX, Information Exchange. You can select whether you want a picture to be printed as a 4x6", 4x7" or 4x11" (panoramic) image. You can enter titles, special effects and time/date stamps that the processor can read. If you entered a title (as for a greeting card), you can ask the processor to print the image with the title or without it.

While many 35mm cameras have auto film load, you still have to pull a little film into the auto-feed mechanism. With APS, you never touch the film. Slip the cartridge into the APS camera and you're set. Unlike 35mm film, APS is not on a traditional roll. When you rewind 35mm film in mid-roll, you may lose all the remaining exposures. With APS, that's not the case. You can reload it later and finish all the remaining exposures. 35mm film leaves negatives or transparencies that can be damaged over time by exposure to dust, heat, light. APS film remains in the cartridge, safe and secure. Its contents may be seen on a contact-sheet, which has little prints of each picture, that's easy to file.

Have you ever seen a film developed with a really long photo, the panoramic type? Those photos have been taken with a 24mm APS camera. All photos taken with APS cameras don't have to be just panoramic, in fact, you have the choice of three different formats or sizes of pictures. You decide how you'll take the picture before it's taken rather than when it's developed. The different formats relay different perspectives. The classic mode produces standard size 4" x 6" prints. The group mode gives you 4" x 7" pictures. And the panoramic mode gives 4" x 11" photos.

All 24mm APS cameras have a built-in electronic flash. It is designed to provide additional light, when needed. Many cameras include several selectable flash modes for different situations. Among these modes, the most popular is Red-Eye Reduction.

One of the most convenient features with developing APS film is a small postcard-type paper that displays a color index of all the pictures you've taken on each roll of film. They are displayed one next to the other in thumbnail form. This makes it easy for you to see all of your photos and easy to pick some out to later be enlarged, reprinted etc. (unlike squinting with negatives with a 35mm camera). Plus, along with your prints and index print, you'll get your negatives back in the sealed film package.

Virtually all APS cameras do not have removable lenses. Most APS cameras can zoom anywhere from 24mm to about 80mm, which represents the focal length. A camera with a zoom lens offers a wide choice of perspectives as you zoom down or up. Usually, the focal range of the zoom lens is measured by magnification (from the lowest to the highest) so a 25mm to 50mm zoom lens has a 2x magnification. As the range of the zoom capability increases, the price of the camera tends to go up.

There are also many other helpful features that come with some APS cameras:

• Date / Time Stamp
  One of the more common ones is a date / time stamp. When this mode is active, some cameras will print the date and time of the front of the photo, and some on the back, and others may even give you the choice of where you'd like it printed. This feature is also available with many 35mm cameras.
• LCD Display
  Because APS cameras are made for ease of use, most of them come with a conveniently located LCD screen that clearly state modes and film status.
• Red Eye Reduction
  When a photo is taken of a person, using the electronic flash, you may see a red shadow in his/her eyes. The Red-Eye Reduction mode fires a pre-flash before the picture is taken which helps minimize this effect.
• All-In-One-Packs
  Some APS cameras come with gift packs where you can find packs of rolls of film and batteries and even carrying accessories like straps and cases.
• Preset Titles
  This is a neat feature that works well when taking pictures during standard occasions like birthdays and weddings. It gives you the option of having titles like "Happy Birthday" printed right on the back of your picture. Most APS cameras come with up to 30 titles and may feature them in up to 12 different languages.

Most APS cameras run on AA or AAA batteries. There are also optional carrying cases, camera grips, camera straps, wireless remote controls, lens cleaning tissues, photographic markers and pens, and shoulder straps. All available at JR.com!