Kodak Advantix F 350

I was bought this camera for my birthday over five years ago and I would say it's a good camera that has done me well. I love the way the pictures come back developed with the negatives, but they are now little colour pictures on one sheet. This little camera went everywhere with me, and still use it now and again because I love to have photos printed out so that you can look through them with your friends or family without hunting them down and crowding round the computer too see them. The camera comes in a handy black material case and has a strap to fit on the side of the camera itself. The front is silver and the back is black.

Battery__

This camera takes 3v lithium Kodak kcr2 or equivalent. I have not bought one for a while as I take it out of my camera when I'm not using it to maximise the life, but I do remember them being about eight pounds but I'm sure if you shopped around you would find them cheaper. It is time to change the battery when battery symbol appears on the LCD display just under the picture counter.

Taking pictures__

The camera lets you take three different sized pictures. Classic which is 88.9 x 127 mm to 102 x 152mm. Group/HDTV which is 88.9 x 152 mm to 102 x 178mm or you have panoramic which is 88.9 x 254mm to 102 x 254mm. To do this you must choose C, H, or p, using the format-selector switch found on the top of the camera, on the left hand side if you are holding it the way you would to take a picture. As you look through the view finder and select the size you want the view finder changes shape so you can see what the picture will come out like, pretty handy as I can never remember which one is for what size.

Tips for a better picture__

Keep your pictures simple. Make sure you are close enough but no closer than one metre, you will need to do this as it has no zoom facility. Take pictures at the subject's level, kneel down to take pictures of children and pets. Hold the camera vertically to capture tall, narrow subjects. I think it is most important to keep the sun behind you, this also provides the best illumination.

Flash__

In dim light, such as indoors or even outdoors in heavy shade or overcast days you will need a flash. This camera has a built in flash which pops up on the right of the camera as you are looking at it. It pops up when you open the shutter and fires when needed. When the camera flash is ready the flash ready lamp will glow, which is found next to the view finder. To minimise red eyes in pictures turn on the lights if you are indoors and get the subjects to face the light, the pop up flash is meant to help fed eye too, not quite sure how.

Self timer__

You can include yourself in pictures as well using the self timer button, all you have to do is place the camera down, making sure you have looked through the view finder first to see if it is in the rite place, slide the lens cover open and press the self timer button, which is found on the top of the camera to the right hand side if you are holding it to take a picture, the button is smaller than the shutter button and has a clock like indicator next to it, this will also appear in the LCD display on the top to assure you that it is working. Press the shutter button and the self timer lamp on the front of the camera will glow and flash in the last two seconds of count down, this gives you ample time to get in place. To cancel the self timer before it goes off, close the lens cover.

Auto rewind__

The camera automatically rewinds the film after the last picture is taken. If you don't want to take all the pictures on the film there is a manual rewind button found just under the self timer one but is much smaller and can not be pushed with your finger, this will start the manual rewind but you can not reload a partially exposed film to continue to use this film.

Specifications__

Film type: Kodak advantix film for colour and black and white pictures.

Lens: Kodak Ektanar lens, 3_elements hybrid, 24mm.

Focus system: Fixed focus.

Focus range: Daylight 1.0m to infinity.

Viewfinder: Reverse galilean with C, H, and P format display.

Film speed: dxix (iso) 100-400.

Flash unit: Built in pop-up.

Flash range: 1.0-4.0m (ISO 200)

Apertures: Fixed at f/6.4.

Shutter speed: Programmed 1/60-1/250 seconds.

Power source: One lithium Kodak KCR2 (or equivalent)

Dimensions: 100x36x59mm.

Weight: 93g (without batteries and film)

__ My conclusion__

It is a very easy camera to use which is small and light, perfect if you are not into digital cameras, the only downfall I can think of it the fact that it does not have a zoom facility. I do not know the price of the camera so I can't really say its good value for money because I might be wrong. I would recommend it and was very impressed with it when I received it for my birthday, but we are talking over five years ago. I must say I like the way you can choose the size of the picture you are about to take.

Thanks for reading.