Monday, Mar. 02, 1987

Snap It, Scrap It

Disposable razors are one thing, but will anyone buy a throwaway camera? Fuji Photo Film and Eastman Kodak apparently think so. Their new rival models, both announced last week, combine film, plastic lens and a shutter into one small box. After shooting pictures, users will take the entire camera to a photo lab for film processing. Kodak's Fling, which could be available by the summer, will sell for $6.95 and take 24 shots. It contains the 110 film used in Kodak's Instamatic cameras. Fuji will begin selling its Quick Snap this spring. It will cost less than $10 for 24 exposures and will use higher- quality 35-mm film.

These gadgets will sell for roughly two to three times the cost of comparable film for regular cameras. They are meant for use at the beach or other places where people might not want to bring more expensive cameras. They are not picture perfect, though. Both models take outdoor shots only and cannot focus on objects that are less than 3 ft. away.