Minolta Vectis 300 Beam APS Camera

The Vectis 300 is encased in a distinctive, stainless steel body. The camera uses a 24-70mm zoom lens (equivalent to a 30-87.5mm lens on a 35mm camera) that's easily controlled by two buttons on the camera back. It includes both autofocus and focus-hold systems--you can focus on objects as close as 16 inches. Select from five flash modes including red-eye reduction and fill. Depending on the film speed and zoom setting, the flash range extends to 20 feet. As with most APS cameras, you can select from three print formats: Classic (C--4 inches by 6 inches); HDTV (H--4 inches by 7 inches), and Panoramic (P--3.5 inches by 10 inches). Other features include a self-timer and time-date stamping and titling options, which are imprinted on the film's magnetic strip and can then be printed by the film lab on the front or back of your prints. A remote control can be purchased separately. Fun and easy to use, the Vectis 300 is about as good as it gets in point-and-shoot APS photography. --Harry C. Edwards

Amazon.com Review
The Vectis 300's great looks and special features make it a camera we'd like to take anywhere. It's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but includes a powerful zoom and a wide selection of flash and exposure options. The brushed stainless-steel casing of the Vectis 300 wins major points for style. The lens hides behind a smooth cover that automatically retracts when you turn the power on. The camera is small enough to take on any excursion, and its steel construction makes it durable enough to carry in a pocket without a bulky case.

The Vectis 300 uses dual-segment exposure metering, in which it compares the brightness of the foreground to the overall brightness of the scene. If the foreground or subject is much darker than the background, the camera automatically uses the flash to compensate for backlighting. We found this feature especially useful in outdoor scenes, where our subject was standing against a bright sky. The Vectis 300 also offers a wide range of flash options, including a combination flash and long exposure for portraits against a night scene. Red-eye reduction works well for indoor portraits, as long as you warn your subjects to sit still through the entire strobing time and subsequent exposure. The zoom is quite powerful, especially for such a compact camera, and we were able to get up to 3x magnification. The only difficulty we encountered was in backing up the zoom from telephoto to more wide-angle shots; the lens has to retract and push forward again each time you back up from a scene.

Overall, the Vectis 300 is a pleasure to use and produces bright, clear photos. Because the Vectis 300 is an Advanced Photo System (APS) camera, it provides all the advantages of APS technology, including drop-in film loading, three photo formats, and easy negative storage and indexing.

Pros:

• Lightweight, compact stainless-steel construction
• Backlight detection avoids silhouetting
• Soft flash for closeups prevents wash-out
• APS photo system is easier to use

• Zoom lens retracts in steps