Pro 35 mm-Vs-35 mm Disposables ?

[Mr.Intensity]

This is cute; Every since I mentioned to my sister that I wanted a 35mm camera, she shows me disposable cameras, every day, and insist on finding me the sales- so I can save on all of that dSLR cost-lol
and thay all have "35mm" on the front of the package too, (she says:)
humm...How do I explain to her (and myself) that those are not the same quality.
Is it a matter of sensor size that makes the difference?
~Thank you~

[jdepould]

What? Are you talking about film or digital?

[Mr.Intensity]

What? Are you talking about film or digital?
the disposables are digital- as far as I know?

[Matthias099]

I don't think there are any disposable digital camera's. The cost of producing those sensors are just too high to make them into disposables. You can however get a CD with your shots on it, but those are scan's from your photo's. The quality however is not that great.

[Mr.Intensity]

...I was looking for a how-to piece I got on; How to rig a cable and upload your pics and reuse the camera- which suggested to me that they were digital, but besides that; what if they are film cameras, can they still be 35mm? and if so why aren't they the same quality as SLR 35's?

[Matthias099]

...I was looking for a how-to piece I got on; How to rig a cable and upload your pics and reuse the camera- which suggested to me that they were digital, but besides that; what if they are film cameras, can they still be 35mm? and if so why aren't they the same quality as SLR 35's?

Most of these disposable cameras (Fuji, Kodak, etc.) are 35mm. But they are not SLR's. They only have a fixed lens which is sometimes not even glass but plastic. Moreover they don't have any focusing mechanism. So they are limited in their DOF etc. Therefore they never can be as good as a dedicated SLR. That's why they are as cheap as they are.

[Mr.Intensity]

Thank You Matthias099, That's what I was looking for
!:) I was pretty much on track with what I was trying to get her to understand. But Now I can print your reply out and give it to her- people tend to, more readily, believe what they read:) Thanx again

[dakwegmo]

35 mm refers specifically to the size of the film. Both disposable and SLR cameras can use the same size film, but they have vastly different optics, metering, focus, etc. etc.

[mattdm]

I don't think there are any disposable digital camera's. The cost of producing those sensors are just too high to make them into disposables. You can however get a CD with your shots on it, but those are scan's from your photo's. The quality however is not that great.

There are a couple of "disposable" digital cameras on the market, from drug stores and big box stores that do printing. They're basically a cheap digital camera with a proprietary interface — you pay a small rental fee, and then you need to bring it back to the store to get your photos off.

But you can probably take better pictures with your cell phone anyway. :)

[jdepould]

To further confuse matters, most digital SLRs don't have the 35mm sensor size (24x36), which is why you hear about "35mm equivalents."