Kodak's pocketable APS compact — 28mm f/3.5 Ektanar lens, flip-up flash cover, c.1999
The Advantix T550 was a compact autofocus camera for the APS film system, made by Kodak from about 1999. It sat near the top of the Advantix point-and-shoot line, marketed as one of the smallest cameras in its class, with a distinctive flash built into a flip-up lens cover.
It carried an all-glass Kodak Ektanar 28mm f/3.5 lens with active multi-zone autofocus, shutter speeds from 1/4 to 1/500 second and fully automatic exposure with APS film from ISO 50 to 1600. Five flash modes fired from the flip-up unit, which also switches the camera off and protects the lens when folded down. Like all APS bodies it offered drop-in loading, mid-roll film change and a choice of three print formats per shot, plus print back-titling in five languages.
Its pocketable size, decent glass and raised flash position — which helps reduce red-eye — made it a well-regarded travel snapshooter in its day. It suits APS collectors and anyone finishing off remaining film stock; the fixed 28mm frame favours groups, streets and landscapes over tight portraits.
APS film is discontinued, so shooting one today means expired stock at collector prices with uncertain results — many T550s now sell as display pieces or props. If shooting is the aim, confirm the camera powers up, the flash charges, and the film door closes cleanly, and expect processing to need one of the few labs still handling APS.