SHOP TALK : A Consumer’s Guide to Making Pictures a Snap : Here are some tips for choosing the right film and type of camera. It’s really a matter of taste, but it can all add up.

Ventura County weather has been wonderful, the kids are, or soon will be, out of school, summer plans are being finalized. And you’re finger is starting to itch.

It’s the finger that each year around this time waits for the rest of the hand to dust off the old 35mm camera so it can start shooting summer vacation-type photos for the family album. It’s the finger that seems to think it’s just wonderful to capture these moments--even if they’re blurry and unrecognizable.

We can’t help you take better pictures, unless of course you want to take us along with you on your next outing. But we can help you with the shopping end of things. This week we’ll focus on 35mm color film, particularly leading brands Kodak and Fuji.

First question: What’s the difference between one brand and another?

“The basic difference is very little,” said Fred Bauermeister, photographer at Budget Photo Shops in Simi Valley. “Some films tend to have different tints. It’s very subtle. But that tint is why some people prefer Fuji over Kodak over Konica over whatever.”

Dena Sparks, head of photo finishing at Dexter’s Cameras in downtown Ventura, said the difference between Kodak and Fuji is that “Kodak has more natural colors and Fuji has brighter colors.” In what she called a possibly biased opinion (Dexter’s is a Kodak retailer), Sparks said, “The Fuji color has an added pizazz, but it’s not true-to-life.”

Another difference between films, of course, is price. We visited Camarillo Camera & Video, K mart in Santa Paula and Kinko’s copy center in Ojai.

A 24-shot roll of Kodak Gold Plus, with film speed of 200 (a multipurpose speed) was $4.95 at Kinko’s, $3.67 at K mart and $5.75 at Camarillo Camera. The same type of Fuji brand film was $4.85 at Kinko’s and $3.47 at K mart.

We also priced the store brands at Kinko’s and K mart. Again, these films were 24 exposures, 200-speed. A roll of Kinko’s 24-shot, 200-speed film was $2.95. The K mart brand, called Focal, was $2.97.

When discussing film it’s hard to ignore the trend toward throwaway cameras--the ones that come with built-in film, that are used just one time.

Sparks said a throwaway camera is good for infrequent photographers.

“People who wonder if they should get a camera or if they should keep buying throwaways usually end of buying a camera they can use more than once,” she said. “It’s more expensive to keep getting the throwaways unless you’re the type of person who takes pictures once a year.”

As with the rolls of film, the cost of these throwaways varies.

At K mart we found the Kodak FunSaver, with 27 exposures and 400 speed, for $7.47. The store brand, the Focal One Time, was $6.47 for 24 exposures. K mart also had a Kodak FunSaver Panoramic, at $10.47 for 15 shots. The Focal One Time Panoramic was $8.97 for 12 shots.

At Kinko’s we found the Kodak FunSaver, with 27 shots and 400 speed, for $9.95. The Fuji Quicksnap, with 27 shots, was $14.95. And the Kinko’s brand was $8.95 for 24 shots.

Now if you can only get the kids to smile before you click.