What's New with APS

* Easy-load film canisters. Just pop them in; there's no film-leader to thread. A mechanism prevents the camera door from being opened when film could be exposed.

* New smaller 24-mm, more light-sensitive film.

* Magnetic strips in the film can store brief notes and dates in addition to lighting conditions and image size preferences - normal, wider, or panoramic. With some camera models, photo finishers can use this information to correct exposure.

* Index prints, like older contact sheets, with thumbnails of all the pictures on a roll. These are returned with every roll developed and can be used to order reprints. A frame appears on the index print images indicating the original frame size.

* No more delicate negatives to handle and store.