By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
July 7, 2002
Summer finally is here and we’re ready to hit the road. Whether it’s a drive to the Wisconsin Dells with the kids or a flight to Paris with the main squeeze, there’s one thing we’ll all pack for the trip: a camera (or two).
With so many options to choose from, we decided to test some of this summer’s most popular cameras. Our operatives? Some of the winners of the Van Kampen Funds’ Portraits of True Wealth student photography competition.
Grand prize winner Allison Reisz and first prize winner Maritza Urenda each won a digital camera as well as cash prizes in the Van Kampen contest. They, along with four other talented local winners, also can claim that their work was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago. Never mind that it was only during the awards ceremony at the museum’s Stock Exchange Trading Room. Technically, it was displayed there, if only for a few hours.
Reisz, 17, is the chief photographer for her school newspaper. The Fuji Digital FinePix30i ($399) we sent her off with was less sophisticated than some of the cameras she works with, but she liked the compact size when she tested the camera at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
“I have a Sony digital camera and I like that one better than this Fuji,” says the Buffalo Grove resident. “But for normal use, like vacations and family pictures, I think this camera is fine. I love the design–it’s so adorable. It seems a little expensive for what it is, but it’s really cute and compact.”
Fuji says at this point, they can’t bring their price down because there’s so much technology crammed into the 30i.
“This camera does cost more than some others out there, but that’s because it’s very compact and capable of recording audio, playing back a MP3, taking memos of each photograph, storing images for you to sort through later, et cetera,” says Darin Pepple, a product manager at Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. “It’s targeted more for the higher-end consumer than the mass market.”
In other words, this isn’t the camera you give the little ones to cram into a pocket when they go away to summer camp. For a more kid-friendly camera, you can’t beat the Polaroid i-Zone ($19.99), according to Urenda.
“I liked it so much I went out and bought one afterwards,” says Urenda, 17, of Cicero. “I have a journal and thought it would be cool to add some pictures into it. I also liked taking pictures and putting them up in my locker. I already have a 35-mm camera and a digital camera, so this is a nice, small, fun one to have for things like that. The film’s a little expensive, but it’s worth it for the fun factor.”
It didn’t bother her that there was no negative from which to make reprints.
“The picture develops immediately, so you can see right then and there if you want to take some more pictures to share,” she says. “You can get pretty similar shots if you’re all there, and then you can give your friends the photos they want to keep.”
Polaroid is counting on kids like Urenda to snap up the i-Zone and its slightly more expensive siblings, the Spectra ($59.99) and the Mio ($79.99), which prints out wallet-sized photos.
“There’s really room for all types of cameras in a household that serve different functions,” says Polaroid spokeswoman Kim Reingold. “Where we fit in is in the spontaneity factor. You don’t have to take the film in to be developed and processed. You don’t have to gather around a computer screen to see digital images. The pictures are right there for you to enjoy and share in the moment.”
